Category: City Cars 
Price Range: £9,495 to £12,625
Roomy cabin; lively engines; responsive handling; low running costs; appealing all-round package.
Horrendously irritating indicator bleeper; seats not terribly supportive; small boot.
Much better looking and a much nicer drive than its predecessor, the Agila is a decent little car, despite lacking the desirability of rivals such as the Fiat 500.
The 2008 Vauxhall Agila is a sister model to the Suzuki Splash (and upcoming Chevrolet Beat). Developed for Vauxhall by Suzuki, it is built alongside the Splash in Hungary; both cars are based on a cut-down version of the Swift supermini's chassis, which is no bad thing at all.
Subsequently, the Agila and Splash are both much more fun to drive than the earlier box-shaped, square-cut Agila/Wagon R+, with far sharper handling and a more comfortable ride. They're better-looking, too, with a cute, curvy outline and friendlier faces. Mechanically identical, they differ only in their bonnets, tailgates, bumpers, headlights and badges.
Engines for the line-up are 1.0-litre, three-cylinder (65bhp) and 1.2-litre, four-cylinder (86bhp) petrol units, and the 1.3-litre (75bhp) diesel. An automatic gearbox is optional with the 1.2 engine and trim levels are labelled Expression, Club and Design. UK prices start from £7,595 (1.0 12v Expression).
There are minor differences in equipment levels and prices between the Agila and Splash, but ultimately it'll boil down to which dealer is most convenient for you and who can offer the best deal on the purchase. Either way, it's an appealing little runabout, if all-round abilities and no-frills usability are more of a priority than street cred and striking looks.
