Proton Savvy

The Proton Savvy Street. It could be anything couldn't it; a training shoe or a mountain bike, but it's actually a car. And at just £5,995 you could actually spend more on a mountain bike than Proton charges for its dinky five-door 1.2-litre machine. Not that a pushbike would be much good on the motorway, or able to carry more than one. It's one of the newer cars here, with a rather unconventional look, the window-line kinking up at the rear. It rides and handles well too; as it should with Proton having the ability of Lotus to tap into - the Malaysian firm owning the legendary British sports car maker.

Like all cars featured here, equipment is on the 'essential' level, which means the Savvy is short on luxuries, and that bigger engine means economy isn't as good as the others either - 49.6mpg on the combined cycle not as good as the high 50s they deliver. We'd have a Picanto...

Tuesday April 15