VAUXHALL'S new Agila aims to help consolidate the surge in small car sales in 2008.

It shares the same platform and body styling as the Suzuki Splash, and Vauxhall has put the emphasis very much on affordability, and says entry-level petrol and diesel engines have carbon dioxide (C02) emissions low enough to attract a £35-a-year road tax disc fee.

That's backed by prices starting from £7,595, which should see dealers doing good business with the new city car, although the smart money might go on the Suzuki, whose prices are even keener.

Vauxhall's Agila will come in three trim levels, all with impressive levels of equipment, and the firm says the interior's versatile layout will be a big attraction to owners of all ages. The Agila is small enough to easily nip into tight parking spaces, and it gets five doors, and five full-size seats, as standard. Luggage space can rival cars in the bigger supermini class, and the tall roofline gives the cabin a spacious feel.

Drivers will enjoy the higher seating position, which also makes it easy to get in and out of, and good all-round visibility.

The rear seat backs can be folded down to create a flat load floor on all but the entry-level model, and the new Agila has a 1,050-litre luggage capacity, easily among the best in the city-car sector.

The Agila's powertrains consist of three new engines, and an automatic gearbox is available for the first time. Petrol units are of 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre sizes, supplemented by Vauxhall's award-winning, highly frugal 1.3CDTi diesel.

Volkswagen, meanwhile, is continuing to parade its Up! family of specialised city vehicles at various motor shows worldwide. Family members are the Up!, a two-door city runabout that can seat four, the Space Up!, a four-door people carrier that has incredible interior flexibility, and the Space Up! Blue, a four-door, hybrid-powered version that has zero emissions from its drive combination of electric engine and fuel cells.

Development of production versions of the Up! family is well underway, and Volkswagen says all version should be on British roads by the end of the decade.

Walter de Silva, chief designer of Volkswagen Group, says he is proud of the Up! vehicles' neat and friendly lines, and they "embody the emergence of a new era" for the German car giant.

"Cars of this sort are fun. No explanation is needed - they speak for themselves," de Silva adds. All versions are rear-engined, be they petrol, diesel, or electric, so there is added stowage space under the bonnet. And this space can be extended through a removable panel in the passenger footwell to allow for awkward loads Inside, the Up! has highly advanced touch-screen panels, through which both climate and entertainment functions can be accessed.

The screen in front of the driver relays information on the vehicle's operating systems, as well as instantaneous readings of the levels of CO2 being emitted by the vehicle.