Even though the cabin has a simple design, it’s obvious that a lot of clear thinking was involved in its creation. For a start it has a certain style, thanks to the careful selection of hard but not nasty-textured plastics on the dash, the distinctive instrument display and the tasteful upholstery.
The basic relationship between driver, steering wheel, pedals and gear lever is spot on as well. The wheel adjusts for rake only, but even tall drivers will not be unduly inconvenienced by this.
The seats also feel from like they’ve come from a class up. In the front or back the seats do a fine job of holding you comfortably in place over long distances.
Not that you’ll want to spend much time in the back, and none at all in the centre seat, which is little more than an occasional perch. Headroom is outstanding, and while legroom is better than most other offerings in this class, the Agila is a substantial 260mm shorter even than a Corsa.
The biggest turn-off about this Agila is its price. It’s true that in Club trim it packs a superficially impressive equipment list, with items such as steering wheel-mounted radio controls, and body-coloured door mirrors and exterior handles, but we wonder how many people are going to crave these items as much as those that are not provided as standard, like the ESP (£400) and curtain airbags found on the Splash.
Once you have your Agila, you’ll find it much more affordable. It comes with group 2 insurance, a £35 tax disc and, come October, London congestion charge exemption – all of which is, in fact, no more than you should now expect of any car in this class.
It should also prove frugal to fuel. Official figures suggest a 56.5mpg average, although we could get nowhere near this number during our test. On a 100-mile route of motorway and country roads driven fast but not hard, it returned 44.1mpg, so 50mpg in routine gentle driving should be easily achieved.