STEPPING out of a bright orange test car into a bright green one might not seem like much of a contrast, apart from the fact that the first was £100,000 of Aston Martin while the second was just about the cheapest car money can buy from a premier division car-maker.
I hadn't been looking forward to the swap and, I'm ashamed to admit, had actually come up with a cunning ruse to avoid the humble Vauxhall, one involving much delegation.
But when it came down to the choice of the Vauxhall Agila or the train, the
Vauxhall, even in the most horrible shade of green I've seen since the 1970s, won hands down.
Wow. What a car. And no, I'm not joking. The Agila is a sort of mini-MPV built in Hungary in a joint venture with Japanese car-maker Suzuki, which has a long and intimate knowledge of how to make tiny city cars civilised.
I have to admit it doesn't look the part, and the best thing anyone could say about the short, narrow and tall looks is that they are functional. But it will carry five large adults in some comfort and all their toilet bags. Or you could fold the back seat and carry the holiday luggage for a couple and all their presents for the family on the way home.
If that makes the Agila sound dull, it isn't because, with just one occupant aboard which is how the majority of cars seem to function, it is a lively little performer in spite of having just 1.2 litres under the bonnet. But it's a powerful and free-revving engine that gives up its performance willingly without excessive noise at high revs.
Most of the noise seems to be low-frequency road noise which makes listening to Radio 4 difficult at much over 40mph, but that's the only penalty.
Juggle the pedals and gear change correctly and you can get to 60mph from rest in just over 12 seconds and it will go on to a claimed 110mph on the autobahn.
In gear acceleration – the type you need to make progress through slower traffic on Scottish minor roads – the car is pretty dismal above about 40mph courtesy of poor aerodynamics, but the answer to that is to use anticipation to minimise braking and to make full use of the available tarmac to increase the radius of corners.
It's obviously not marketed as a sporting car given the 50mpg and its tremendous practicality, but I couldn't help but revel in the fun of driving it on a quiet back roads I use to test most of my cars. The high and narrow stance doesn't make the car look as though it can handle, yet thanks to well thought-out suspension it clings on surprisingly well and doesn't roll about too much.
The test car was the all-singing, all-dancing Design version priced at £9,595 before extras, which ran to £400 for the electronic stability programme which is probably worth it if you plan to cane the car – as I did – and a further £350 for that truly awful green paint.
Standard equipment on the Design version tested included nice alloy wheels, an MP3-compatible CD stereo, air-conditioning height-adjustable front seats and a rather welcome leather-covered steering wheel.
A much more sensible starting point though might be to go for the entry-level car at £6,625 then add a few bits to dress it up. I'd probably go for the nice feeling steering wheel from the factory but reckon it would be cheaper to source some alloys from a car accessory dealer.
Air-conditioning can kill performance in cars like this so I'd do without it because I wasn't particularly impressed with it during my time with the car and usually ended up driving with a window cracked open.
Shop around and negotiate as hard as you can and you could probably end up with an Agila on alloys for £7,000, which means a cheap practical car with acceptable looks which drives like a dream.
It's also going to be eminently cheap to run because, in addition to the 50mpg (maybe nearer 60 mpg around town) the Agila also benefits from Group 3E insurance and road tax at £120 a year. If you want a seriously green car (maybe that explains the paint) it doesn't get much better – and it's a hoot to drive as well.
