Car Statistics: Nissan - Pixo Series 09 (3 stars)

Styling (3 stars)

Considering that it's based on a Suzuki, Nissan hasn't done a bad job making the Pixo look like one of its own. Its 'face' is a smaller version of the Note and inoffensive enough, but we didn't find it particularly funky or appealing to look at.

Handling (4 stars)

The Pixo is surprisingly agile and can be quite amusing through corners, but always safe. Body roll and weight shifting when cornering is kept in check by a well set-up chassis, but it's very easy to find the limits of the tyres' grip if you're being silly.

Comfort (3 stars)

It's not what you'd call luxurious. The driving position could do with reach adjustment to make it more comfortable and the seats could be more supportive. But it would be possible to spend long trips in the Pixo if you needed to.

Quality (3 stars)

Nissan has a good reputation for this, but of course the Pixo is built in India at a Suzuki plant which may make some buyers wary. We'd point out that it has been designed to withstand rough Indian roads and could see no problem with our test car's fit and finish, even if the materials were pretty uninspiring compared with some rivals.

Performance (3 stars)

The little three cylinder petrol engine has to be worked hard all the time if it's to turn in the sort of pace that keeps you in touch with fast-flow traffic, but it's happy to rev and the 0-62mph time is respectable at 11 seconds.

Roominess (2 stars)

There's not a lot of space in the back and the cabin doesn't have much in the way of cubby holes to tuck away bits and pieces. The boot is tiny too.

Costs (4 stars)

Cheap to run with fuel economy in excess of 60mph possible and extremely low CO2 emissions that put the Pixo in the bottom rate of tax. Shame CO2 couldn't be a little lower to get road tax exemption. It is in the lowest group for insurance though.

Value (4 stars)

One of the cheapest cars in the UK and well equipped with it - although air conditioning and a longer warranty would make it an unbeatable bargain. You can get more satisfying rivals for a thousand pounds-or-so more.

Stereo (3 stars)

An MP3 CD player as standard is pretty good at this price, sounds quality isn't the best though. Sat nav isn't an option.