The Vauxhall Agila is a small car that’s roomy and flexible on the inside, much in the same vein as the Honda Jazz and Renault Modus. Its height makes it slightly more versatile than a traditional small car (like Vauxhall’s own Corsa) and fold-flat seats means that it has the carrying capacity of a small van

It’s available with three engines and the 1.2-litre is the pick of the bunch for a mixture of performance and economy. The Agila is actually built for Vauxhall by Suzuki, which produces its own version called the Splash. The big difference is that an equivalent Splash is better value – and comes with more standard equipment.

Spacious cabin

While it may not be an outright MPV, the Vauxhall Agila has a lot of the elements of a people carrier that help to make it a very practical small car. It’s tall-sided styling frees up plenty of headroom for passengers and also adds to the amount of load space on offer.

The boot is a reasonable size to begin with and it can be extended by dropping down the 60/40 split and tip rear seat and there’s the option of the DualFloor for additional storage space under the boot floor to keep valuable items away from prying eyes. However, the Agila falls short of the versatility of the Honda Jazz as its rear seats don’t rearrange in more than one way.

Rival is cheaper

The Vauxhall Agila may be one of the more affordable cars in the company’s range and it offers plenty of space and practicality, buyers still need to weigh up the cost of the Agila against its sister model, the Suzuki Splash.

The Splash is cheaper to buy and there are some differences in standard equipment, so it’s worth comparing the two closely to make sure the car you buy is best suited to your pocket and needs.

They share the same engines, so there are no worries on this front, but it’s also worthwhile looking at what discounts and deals are on offer from respective Vauxhall and Suzuki dealers.