Alternative review of Vauxhall Agila

People are taller and larger than they were just a few decades ago and, it seems our cars have followed suit. Certainly, today's Corsa seems a lot larger than its Nova predecessor or, come to that, Vauxhall's original 1960s Viva which, of course, I'm too young to remember. Increasing Western influence means the Japanese are getting bigger, too. Yet their crowded cities and draconian parking regulations have long ensured that their car makers are expert at getting quarts into pint pots, producing some amazing, if bizarre looking city cars over the years. Vauxhall's owner, General Motors, also owns a small slice of Suzuki and worked with them to develop the Agila which competes with the Japanese firm's similar Splash model. With parking and traffic snarls, bus lanes, over-zealous traffic wardens, ludicrously taxed petrol prices and all the other attacks on the UK motorist, it seems we're all going to be forced into smaller cars sooner or later. If they're all like the Agila, that shouldn't be too painful. Unlike the boxy first generation model (which in 'rouge' looked a bit like Postman Pat's little red van), this incarnation of the baby Vauxhall is a car you can park proudly, holding two adults and two children with ease with enough room for the stuff that goes with shopping, partying commuting or school run trips. For all but holiday travel, it would do me just fine.

This little car, just 3.7 metres in length, slots into the Luton company's line-up just below the Corsa. The key criterion that Vauxhall wouldn't diverge from is a requirement for five doors in a city car. Kia showed that this was a strong attractor with its five-door Picanto, an otherwise fairly unremarkable car that garnered big sales because buyers didn't fancy herniated discs by hauling a child seat in and out of a three-door car. The Agila integrates those doors a good deal more cleanly than many city tots, the rising waistline of the car giving it a dynamic, wedgy appearance, albeit to the slight detriment of a good view out for shorter kids in the back. The rear seat backs can also be folded down to create a totally flat load floor, serving up a total of 1,050 litres of available space. Suzuki Splash sister model aside, no other city car can touch this. The hip point for the front seat has been deliberately set high to make getting in and out of the car easy, offering a commanding view of the road and taking advantage of that high roofline. The styling is neat and very well resolved.

The baby Vauxhall is offered at entry level with a 64bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol unit and the range continues with a punchier 85bhp 1.2-litre powerplant. This engine is also offered with the option of an automatic gearbox which would certainly take the strain out of nose-to-tail city traffic. The range topper is the 74bhp 1.3-litre CDTi diesel that's also fitted to the Corsa and the Tigra. Rather underwhelming in the larger, heavier cars, it endows the Agila with a reasonable amount of oomph. I thought that the Agila looked good on paper, with big car features such as optional ESP stability control and four airbags. And of course, it's very attractive in terms of running costs, especially if you opt for the diesel variant. This compact but flexible citycar benefits from tax-busting CO2 figures of just 120g/km on both the entry-level petrol and diesel engines, meaning it will fall into VED Band B - the cost of a tax disc being just £35 a year. I was impressed with the car's responsive power steering, agile change of direction and lack of body roll. Sixty is around 17 seconds away from rest in the 1.0-litre model on the way to close to 100mph, so motorway travel, if not rapid, is well within this Vauxhall's ability. It gets a bit noisy when you rev the engine, though so you won't want to do too many long trips. Around city, town or village, the Agila will turn through 180 degrees in less than 10 metres - which should be handy in multi-storey carparks and tight streets.

The original first generation Agila was only a car that realistically appealed to the retired Eastbourne set. This version has a much wider attraction - ideal as a family's second car or as a starter model for a youngster. I wish I'd been given one twenty years ago.