City Slicker : The city car is no longer expected to spend its entire life as an urban runabout

Proton thinks the Savvy is good enough to re-ignite its sales in the UK and is throwing a lot of marketing spend behind the little car.

It believes the offer of five-doors in a market where three is the norm, a 1.2 litre engine plus some unusual standard equipment choices will be enough to win over new buyers.

But the Savvy is contesting a congested sector of the market and one that also boasts some innovative and popular choices.

City cars have come a long way since the original Fiat Cinequecento reinvigorated the sector more than a decade ago.

Buyers of little cars have big expectations these days and a city car is no longer expected to spend its entire life as an urban runabout. The best small cars in 2006 can tackle lengthy journeys as well as short trips across town.

Fiat still has an iron grip on the sector. Its Panda has rightly won universal acclaim for its excellent packaging, engaging manners and value for money.

Ford is another big player. Although the Ka is now entering its twilight years, the cheeky looks have aged gracefully and the chassis is still a good drive.

Only the old wheezy engines in the base models give the game away that Ka is no longer a fresh design.

The Savvy is entirely conventional - front-wheel drive, five-speed gearbox and power-assisted steering.

It's actually quite large for a city car. There's room on board for the driver and three adult passengers and the boot is big enough to be useful for more than a trip to the shops for a paper and a packet of fags.

The best that can be said of the styling is that it's an unusual blend of bits from other manufacturers.

From the front those swooping headlights have a faint air of BMW about them, while the kink in the window line is a straight rip-off of an Alfa Romeo, as is the boot lid. The trouble with it is that these are all much bigger cars.

From the front a Savvy looks quite decent - some would say it even had presence - but in profile and behind the design doesn't hang together in a cohesive way.

It resembles a bit of a jig-saw puzzle of bits 'n' pieces from other manufacturers' catalogues.

Nor do the massive and cheap-looking Proton badges stuck on the nose and tail do it any favours.

Proton may be claiming all the credit for the Savvy but the car also owes a lot to European know-how.

The engine is a 1.2 four-cylinder petrol job bought in from Renault.

The French also supply the gearbox.

Proton's sister company, Lotus, had a hand in making sure the Savvy could ride over British roads without shaking itself to bits.

Since Proton bought Lotus, personnel from the famous sports-car maker have been closely involved in all new model development, with a team permanently based at the design and development center in Malaysia.

In a similar move Proton UK is now based in Hethel, Norfolk, at Group Lotus' headquarters.

In true city-car tradition, the Savvy has been designed to make the best available use of its small footprint.

The wheels are pushed out at either end of the body to maximize interior legroom. Five doors and four seats make the car convenient for carrying passengers and shopping.

I had no problems fitting a child seat in the back.

Split seats fold all the way forward if you need to augment the reasonably large (by city-car standards) boot.

Proton has resisted the temptation to make the Savvy a very tall, narrow car. It resembles a conventional supermini, instead.

There's evidence of cost-cutting, though.

When you shut the doors and they produce a tinny clang instead of a meaty thunk and some of the bodywork panel gaps were a bit hit and miss.

The front suspension is based on the McPherson strut design - it's cheap to make and reasonably comfortable - and the rear uses a torsion beam axle and springs. This is also a low-cost choice. On the plus side, it's compact and doesn't eat into the available boot space. The downside is no independent suspension control at the back.

The 1,149cc engine has four cylinders and 16valves. Its maximum power of 75 bhp is good for this class. Once it's going the Savvy rarely feels as though it is struggling. Sadly the raucous nature of this engine prevents it getting top marks.

It also prevents the driver from using all the available power because you'll have changed up long before the rev counter needle gets to 5,500 rpm.

It's gruff at the best of times and too uncouth for long trips on the motorway.

With the standard fivespeed manual transmission the Savvy dispatches the 0-62mph benchmark in less than 14 seconds.

The car can also be had with a Renault automatic (the same as used in the Clio) and with that the acceleration takes another hit, 62mph coming up in 15.4 seconds.

The five-speed gearbox has been criticised for being too stiff and rather imprecise but the test car had no such problem. The shift was notchy but reliably changed gear.

The Savvy is surprisingly comfortable in town.

My biggest bug-bear, however, was the driver's seat. No matter how hard I twiddled the adjusters (seat base and back rest) I couldn't find a position that was comfortable for more than a few minutes.

The problem seemed to be a complete lack of lumbar support, leaving my back aching after half an hour.

Other passengers didn't comment on this though, even if they did think the padding was a bit thin, so it may have been my problem.

Whatever, I'd recommend a decent test drive if you're thinking of buying.

Mind you access to the rear is a doddle thanks to the five-door bodyshell.

Even small cars these days have power steering.

The Savvy system is hydraulic - better than an electric set up which sacrifices feel for a minor improvement in fuel economy. There can be no real complaints about the set up: it's nice and light at parking speeds, doesn't load up on full lock and points the Savvy where you want it at higher speeds.

The ride is quite soft, which means potholes, cat's eyes and expansion joints rarely trouble the passenger cabin. This results in a large degree of body lean on roundabouts and tight corners.

Progress over poor road surfaces is fine at lower speeds.

As the Savvy is a city car you'd not expect to find electronic aids, such as stability control, and the Proton won't disappoint you.

Hop aboard the Savvy and it's like you've gone back in time. The plastics and the overall cabin ambience is a reminder of how Japanese cars used to be back in the 1980s.

It's also a reminder of just how far they have come in 20 years.

The plastics are hard and unyielding to the touch. The stalks could probably be carbon dated to interesting effect and their mould lines are perfectly placed to irritate your fingertips.

At least the dashboard is well laid out and the yellow clocks are a colourful addition to an otherwise dreary colour scheme.

Despite the generally insubstantial feel the Savvy has twin front airbags and anti-lockin brakes with brake force distribution which helps out in an emergency stop.

Reverse parking sensors are also fitted to help avoid those low speed parking scrapes, a feature not available on rivals.

An alarm is also standard and the central locking operates from a remote control.

Every Proton benefits from a 3-year/60,000 mile warranty.