Viva is reborn for 21st century

If you are a motorist on the wrong side of 40 it’s highly likely that you either owned or drove one of the original Vauxhall Vivas which were made from 1963 to 1979, I know I did.

Mine was a particularly decrepit early model HC that was definitely on its last legs when I got it in 1983.

And now, almost 30 years later, Vauxhall have revived the name for their five-door budget model which sits underneath the Adam and Corsa in terms of price, size and specification. Prices start at £7,995.

It’s a good looking little car. The high waistline livened up with a Z-shaped crease that breaks up what could otherwise be an ugly expanse of met- al. On the downside the small windows at the back do make the rear seats feel a bit claustrophobic.

Other styling cues are straight out of the Vauxhall manual and there’s no mistaking where it comes from, long before you see the badge.

Vauxhall see their market as coming from both ends of the age-spectrum with older female drivers particularly targeted in addition to parents keen to buy their youngsters a safe economical car when they first pass their test.

It is offered as a fivedoor only with five seats - at a squeeze - the rear three split and fold to create an almost, but not quite, level loadspace.

Two trim levels are offered but just the one engine, a pep- py little 75bhp three-cylinder one-litre affair that first made its debut in Adam and New Corsa.

It’s a spirited little thing and quite fun to drive although judicious use of the gears needs to be made when climbing anything other than a small incline.

Fuel consumption is given as 62.8mpg and we averaged in the mid-fifties on a mixed run around the leafy lanes of Hertfordshire in pretty dismal weather.

The base model SE has a pretty decent specification list with some bits of kit you wouldn’t expect in a budget car .

It comes with, for example, cruise control, lane departure warning and six airbags but no air conditioning.

That’s a £495 option unless you upgrade to SL for £9,495 when you’ll also add on USB and Bluetooth connectivity, alloys, six speakers,a bit of leather trim and tinted rear windows.

The handling has been tuned to suit the appalling UK roads and coped very well and it really is a nice little car to drive; I see no reason why it won’t appeal to an increasingly budget-conscious British motoring public .