Vauxhall Agila (2000 - 2007) 1.2i 16V Design Edition 5d Owner Review

I bought this as my first car and I've had it for 4 years. I needed a spacious enough car to transport a drum kit and a car that was cheap to buy/run/insure and this car has been perfect for that. If you fold the rear seats flat then there is enough room for a lot of stuff thanks to its height, but there is minimal boot space with the rear seats up. The car is not nice to drive - there is massive body roll round corners and the car tends to understeer and wear through front tyres quickly (around 15000 miles from a set of fronts), the clutch can stick, the gear change is awkward, the driving position is extremely upright, the gearbox is clunky especially selecting reverse, the steering is quite heavy and the suspension does not soak up undulations or speed bumps at all well. But, the car has been totally reliable. I have driven the car nearly 40,000 miles and aside from service costs which have been minimal (about £150 with MOT each year), I've had to buy two new sets of front tyres, replace a front wheel bearing and a front wheel from running over a pothole, but mechanically the car is solid. So if you're looking for a car that's super practical, super cheap and super reliable and you're willing to put up with a less than average driving experience, this car is perfect!