The Suzuki Alto micro car: ‘cheap to buy, even cheaper to run’

Price: £16,995 - £17,995

Pros: Cheap to buy, low running costs, easy to drive

Cons: Very small boot, cramped interior, poor quality plastics

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2.6/5, Carbuyer "The Suzuki Alto is a city car like the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, Ford Ka and Skoda Citigo. It was developed alongside the almost-identical Nissan Pixo, but it's a bit more expensive, so you’d expect it to be better quality. It does get some things right – it's comfortable, it drives fairly well and it's cheap to run.

But sadly there's a lot wrong with it, too. There's only one engine, which isn’t particularly quick. There's very little adjustment possible to the front seat, which makes finding a good driving position difficult. The boot is tiny, too. And the Alto was only given three stars in the Euro NCAP crash safety tests – a big problem given that many of its rivals were awarded the full five stars."

3/5 WhatCar? "The boot is tiny and difficult to access. You have to buy the most-expensive version to get driver's seat height adjustment and the cabin plastics are poor."

3/5 Parkers "The Alto is a small car that's designed to cut costs to the bone. It's cheap to buy and even cheaper to run. Those on a tight budget will appreciate its exceptional fuel economy, low insurance costs (it's in group one) and cheap road tax. The Alto also feels robustly built, while the interior boasts a reasonable level of equipment. What it does lack, however, is the 'fun factor' that you get with so many other small cars."

3/5 Auto Express "Inside, the instruments are functional and easy to use. The upmarket SZ4 we drove had a neat dash-mounted rev counter, but even in this model the wraparound grey trim looks dull and the plastics feel cheap."