The main point of a big, keenly priced car like this is space; you get the room of a Mondeo-sized car for the price of a low-end Focus if you go for the cheapest Epica. In fact, you get a little more room than the bigger Ford provides in the rear, the Chevrolet serving slightly more legroom.
But there’s slightly less headroom, and it’s a shame that feet can’t be tucked further beneath the front seats. Up front, the Ford has the slight edge, but the overall result is a pretty spacious car, and exceptionally so for the price.
The boot is reasonably generous, if diminished by suspension intrusion and a lack of height. Oddments space is middling; the glovebox is small and there are no rear doorbins, but there are four cupholders, a centre console cubby and a lidded container in the upper dash.
The cabin design is a mix of the contemporary – there are plenty of (faux) brushed aluminium inserts, steering wheel-mounted controls, an iPod socket – and the dated, the main dashboard upper structure’s architecture and texture reminiscent of a mid-1980s Vauxhall Cavalier.
The base price of the Epica is a very tempting £13,595, the price of an average hatchback from the class below. But it’s not sparsely equipped; even the entry LS petrol model comes with six airbags, air conditioning, cruise control, four electric windows, a CD stereo with MP3 socket, remote audio controls and power mirrors.
Cars from budget-oriented brands do not typically retain their values very well, and the Epica is predicted to be no exception; expect this car to be worth no more than £6000 three years down the line. Partly this isn’t helped by its CO2 rating; remember, the manual is a below-average 169g/km, while the auto is poor at 210g/km.