Vauxhall Agila Estate

We say The Agila is an ugly little car. It's a tall supermini-cum-compact MPV, which means it’s quite practical but it also means it’s poor to drive.Performance

We say The Agila is an ugly little car. It's a tall supermini-cum-compact MPV, which means it’s quite practical but it also means it’s poor to drive.Performance 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre petrols are both eager to rev, but are unrefined, no use for cruising and offer peculiarly unremarkable emission and economy figures, despite also being weak in terms of performance. The 1.0-litre clears 60mph in 17 seconds courtesy of all 57bhp and the 1.2-litre is a little better at 12.5 seconds with 73bhp.Emissions Despite weak performance credentials, the Agila is equally weak in terms of emissions and fuel economy. That’s poor for a small car which should have one eye on running costs, especially if it lacks in other areas as well. The 1.2-litre unit returns 43mpg and emits 156g/km in CO2 while the 1.0-litre registers 44mpg and 151g/km respectively.Driving The Agila is only any good around town where its small turning circle and light steering are an advantage, other than that it’s poor around corners because of its tall size, lolloping as it goes. There’s no point taking it on the motorway either where you’re unlikely to be able to reach your desired speed.Feel Engines are noisy and there's lots of road and wind noise to contend with.Space Decent space in boot with 240-litres available and enough room in the cabin. There's good access and practicality, too. It’s about the only area where the Agila comes out with any semblance of pride.Equipment Power steering and electric mirrors t entry-level. Top spec gets aircon and a CD player. Anything else is more expense.Price Not especially cheap given mean levels of kit. Residuals should be decent, though running costs - for the car's segment - should be much better. List prices start from less than £6,500 and rise to less than £9,000, otherwise no-one would buy it.Quality The Agila’s suspension is very firm which is god around city when you’re weaving through traffic but diabolical when you crash into bumps and potholes where it becomes an extremely uncomfortable place to be.Safety A driver's airbags and ABS are sole concessions to safety kit on the base model, which is sub-standard.Pros The Agila is cheap and there’s a decent amount of space inside.Cons The Agila has a limited and poor engine range, it’s ugly and its emissions and fuel economy are dreadful for such a small car. It’s handling is poor and it’s dull to drive and there’s only basic levels of kit.Alternatives Suzuki Wagon R, Fiat Panda

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