A agile Agila

Vauxhall’s Agila is a handy runabout but not a shoutabout, says Paul Carter

Launched as a rival to Ford’s now ubiquitous Ka, the Vauxhall Agila is a reworking of Suzuki’s Wagon R and is aimed squarely at drivers in the market for a small, runaround vehicle.

In that regard, the Agila ticks most of the boxes.

It’s certainly a solidly-built car and despite its size it has a sense of gravitas.

The Agila is deceptively roomy inside considering its external dimensions and affords plenty of legroom for both front and rear seat passengers, as well as ample storage space for a vehicle of its size.

Despite this, space would be tight if a wheelchair had to be carried regularly and there are better options (such as Vauxhall’s own Corsa) if this is a deal-breaker.

Ultimately, the Agila is very much an inner-city car, and this is evidenced when pushing it a little bit harder.

The engine becomes very noisy at higher revs and while it remains nippy and responsive at low speeds around town centre streets, it clearly shifts somewhat out of its comfort zone when asked for some extra pull.

Ride quality is firm but not uncomfortable and it made light work of speed bumps and potholes while the steering was light and reactive without being overly twitchy.

Up front, the dash is a fairly standard Vauxhall affair with the main console dominated by the surprisingly impressive CD player, with its easily accessible controls.

There are very few other standard features to shout about, though considering its position in the market, perhaps this isn’t such a surprising revelation.

One startlingly obvious omission, however, was the lack of any central locking, something almost unheard of on modern cars. This led to a rather laborious “door test” each time the vehicle was parked after carrying more than one passenger. This may seem a trivial observation but could prove an irritation for those with mobility difficulties.

This sparsity of features and lack of performance at higher speeds does cause concern, especially as the Agila can only be described as “competitive” with similar cars in its class.

On the whole, though, the Agila is a perfectly acceptable small city car, which would suit those looking for a compact, but well built, runaround for short journeys.

If you regularly spread your wings further afield, it may not be the car for you.

The Vauxhall Agila is on the Motability scheme in engine sizes ranging from 1.0i to 1.3 but only the 1.2 is available with automatic transmission. No advance payment is needed for the base model but the 1.3 requires an advance of £699.