Vauxhall Agila (08 on) - Review

While the Splash may be a small car, it's impressively spacious inside. It comes with five-doors as standard (there's no three-door version) and in the back there's room for two adults or three children to sit comfortably. There's a surprising amount of legroom for such a small car and head and shoulder room is good too. On the move it is fairly refined - wind noise is evident, but engine noise is well suppressed. while the big windows make the cabin light and airy. However, unlike the Splash, air conditioning isn't standard on all models - only the top Design version - while the basic Expression doesn't even get electric windows.

The basic Expression model isn't as practical as other models in the range and does without 60/40 split folding rear seats. This limits practicality as the rear seats can not be used for a combination of longer loads and passengers at the same time. Loadspace is pretty good for a car of this size and it's capable of carrying several bags of shopping. Plus the seats fold flat for a large, almost small van-like, interior. That said, the Agila isn't quite as clever as similar cars like the Renault Modus (with its 'boot chute') and Honda Jazz (with its origami-style rear seats). However, there is an additional luggage compartment under the boot floor (Vauxhall calls this DualFloor) big enough for hiding valuables and CDs.

A clean and functional design puts all the major controls well within the driver's reach while the big buttons and chunky dials make the stereo and heating system easy to use on the move. Orange and blue colour schemes brighten the interior, though they're only available on higher specifications – the standard colour is charcoal. Overall it's comfortable, the driving position is good and there's no major obstruction to visibility. The only grumble is that the steering wheel adjusts for height only, although there are not many small cars that offer reach adjustment too. Another annoyance is the strange toy-like noise the indicators make.