Design 1.2i 16v 5dr Auto

A tasty little Tonka

I like the fact that this car looks a bit like a Tonka (toy) car. It's a box on wheels with some rounded bits.

I chose it for 2 reasons. First, my wife began to have difficulty bending to get down into our Vauxhall Astra Mk4 so I looked for a car with easier access. The Agila's pretty much perfect in that respect. Apart from having high seats, it's also quite tall, so you don't have to lower your head much to get in. Second, an old injury meant that I needed to change from a manual to an automatic gearbox. Being a tight wad, I wanted the same fuel economy as I had with the Astra, so I had to downsize.

I bought it secondhand from a dealer when it was two years old. Mileage was 8.5K and it's now 34.5K.

This car won't burn rubber, but I like driving, so I enjoy coping with a low powered engine. That said, it's not underpowered - it felt like a 1.4 in comparison with the 1.6 engined Astra. The torque convertor auto gearbox is supremely smooth in operation and, unlike me, always selects the right gear. Despite being quite tall, the car handles well and is great fun to throw around corners

Fuel economy has ranged from 30 to 53mpg, measured brim to brim. Overall average is just under 40, almost identical to the Astra. It's used for lots of short urban trips when it rarely gets into top gear and occasional long journeys.

It's roomy inside and has comfortable seats. You can lower each of the 60:40 split rear seats with one hand. That gets you a flat cargo space large enough to take a mountain bike if you remove its front wheel. If you fully recline the front passenger seat you can also fit in six foot lengths of timber with the rear hatch closed.

It has needed unexpected replacements. New front brake discs and pads at 23K miles was sooner than I expected, but I seem to use the brakes a lot downhill due to the lack of engine braking. The last service picked up a broken front spring, split boot on a drop link stabliser bar and play in the suspension top mount. I suspect one of the appalling potholes in the winter of 2014 caused the broken spring, which then led to the other two problems.


Things I don't like

1. Some types of road surface create too much noise inside to hear the radio in comfort.
2. You can easily miss vehicles approaching on your inside because the door mirrors don't cover a wide enough angle (cured with a self-adhesive, split-screen glass from eBay).
3. It's easy to park, but difficult to park squarely in a space or parallel to a kerb. The sides are curved so it's hard to use them as a reference point when looking in the door mirrors to reverse.
4. Lack of roof rails means that you need expensive, non-standard roof bars to carry anything on top.
5. Compared to the Astra, the electronic power assisted steering feels slightly "dead".

Apart from those 5 points, I like the car a lot. Oh and I almost forgot - I once saw 2 old ladies admiring it. Make of that what you will!

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