Category: City Cars 
Price Range: £5,999 to £8,460
Good fuel economy and low emissions, low insurance and tax, should be tough and durable, good headroom, no-frills ethos
Poor refinement, dated feel, dull and cheaply-finished cabin, slow performance.
Cheap, and feels it; verve-free and devoid of any charisma, the Alto is outclassed and there are better choices out there.
A 3.5m-long five-door, the Alto is one of the smallest cars on the road, dwarfed by even averagely-sized superminis let alone lorries, so it's not an option for those easily intimidated on the motorway - not least because it is such a flimsy-feeling lightweight. This is very much a city car, then, and as such it functions fine. It's easy to park, slips through the traffic and takes up little more road-space than a Smart. Shame driving it is such a joyless experience, then...
Outright speed isn't all the story, but there's not much of that from the 67bhp/66lb ft three-cylinder engine. Top speed from the manual model is 96mph, with 0-62mph in 13.5 seconds, and the four-speed auto does 93mph and 0-62mph in 17 seconds, but it feels slower still: initial get-up and go is found wanting, there's no verve to the momentum it does gather, and at motorway speeds the Alto does begin to struggle. The engine is noisy and harsh under pressure, sounding far louder than in the better sound-proofed Splash.
A car that's theoretically slow on paper can still be great fun to drive, but the Alto is further hampered by a stiff, sticky manual gearbox and obedient but over-assisted steering, made less inspiring still by the large, narrow plastic steering wheel. There's not an ounce of character.
