WITH car costs spiralling ever upwards the latest cheapie from Hyundai seems like an attractive proposition at first glance.
For a start it costs from just £6,495, incurs an annual road tax of a mere £35, is free to use in London and gets away with a company car tax liability of only ten per cent.
No two ways about it. That is bargain-basement motoring in this day and age.
Consider that the average speed on many journeys is less than ten miles an hour because of congestion and that most cars carry no more than two people at a time and the little Hyundai i10 makes sense, despite its peculiar name.
The company is aiming to double sales from the 5,000 annual figure of its predecessor, which seems entirely feasible.
As far as small cars go the Hyundai i10 looks reasonable enough. In fact in comparison to the Amica it replaces it could have been the creation of Bertone or Pininfarina!
True, it is quite tall but it also has the longest wheelbase in its class, which overcomes the problem of such cars looking ungainly.
The four-door body gives easy access to the front and rear seats and the high seating position is a bonus for the elderly or infirm.
The interior is cheerful but certainly not cheap, with decent quality materials and a solid feel to the operation of the controls.
As a tall driver I would have liked the front seats to be able to be moved further back but this will not be a problem for most users.
Even with the front seats in their rearmost position legroom in the rear is surprisingly generous and the ride is comfortable enough.
Handling is reassuring enough in most situations, the steering is precise, the brakes work well but whilst the manual gearchange is excellent, colleagues suggested that the automatic is relatively slow to respond.
The one-litre four cylinder petrol engine sounds and feels pretty perky and free revving whilst enabling the car to cruise effortlessly at the motorway maximum.
There will be a slightly more powerful 1.2-litre unit later in the year but we are not destined to receive the diesel unit that is available elsewhere in Europe in the forseable future.
There are three levels of trim and equipment. The entry-level Classic comes with air conditioning, electric front windows, a CD sound system, central locking and four air bags.
That is a lot of kit for the cash although I would rather pay a bit extra and have the convenience of remote unlocking.
However, there are also Comfort and Style models, which add such things - plus an electric sunroof, heated seats, electric operation of the rear windows, fancy alloys and even automatic transmission if you fancy paying up to £7,895.
The icing on the cake is economy of more than 50mpg and the tremendous reassurance of a five-year warranty.
Whether by design or coincide the Korean company has introduced a city car that ticks all the right boxes at the very time when an increasing number of Bits are being forced to downsize whether they want to or not.