Citroën C1: Cynics might suggest that a road test of the C1 should come to five words: see earlier review of Toyota Aygo.That may be true, for the two cars - along with the Peugeot 107 not yet on sale - share 92 per cent of their parts and are built on the same production line in a new plant in the Czech Republic.
PSA Peugeot-Citroën brought its logistic and purchasing skills to the deal, along with its diesel technology. Toyota brought its production know-how.
For the motorist, that would seem the best deal around (though you'd have to wonder why Toyota needed advice on purchasing? Don't they have factories in Britain and Turkey already?)
Our test car was the entry-level version and that meant returning to the old days before central locking.
While some readers may still live in a world where doors don't open and lock at the click of a switch, in this day and age its one of the things you take for granted until its gone.
Leaning back to open the rear doors and lifting the handle to lock the driver door is hardly a great physical challenge, but it's immensely annoying when you've been spoilt for years.
Sacrificing central locking at the altar of low prices is a mistake; one that Toyota has also made with its entry-level Aygo.
We've yet to hear either prices or specification details for the Peugeot 107, but we would suggest that it might be one relatively minor addition that could earn it a little more kudos.
So to the car, and in case our regular readers feel we're repeating ourselves - and not giving the requisite value for money - we'll keep it brief.
The interior trim is - as we mentioned before - funky and aimed at the 'yoof' market, so there's a cream plastic central console with nifty switch gear for the ventilation and heating controls (sadly no air-conditioning as standard).
The seats are comfortable, if a little firm, and the steering column adjusts for rake but not reach. The rear windows in our entry-level model didn't wind down, which means the back seats will be hot and sticky on a summer's day.
Though it's clearly not meant as a load lugger, the boot itself is tiny and the high boot lid gets in the way of loading.
Up front, there's a gutsy little three-cylinder engine that is lively enough for city driving and can even cope with motorway speeds.
It puts out 67bhp, which is more than enough for urban motoring and the light body frame helps.
The five-speed gearbox makes the most of the power output even if there's quite an amount of clutch pedal travel before it engages.
Again, like Toyota, Citroën has opted to leave out the HDI 1.4-litre diesel engine from its range in Ireland.
Not only is this eminently sensible on a business level, for diesel just doesn't sell here in this class, but also for the fact that its simply a poorly finished, unrefined oil burner.
For now, Peugeot is still suggesting on its Irish website that the engine will be on offer from them, but perhaps that's because of parental pressure from head office in France - it's a Peugeot engine - rather than a different opinion on its potential in the Irish market.
So, how to choose between the two?
Well, one way will clearly be the dealer with which you are most familiar.
However, there are others. The Citroën has one obvious strength over the Toyota: looks. It's a cheekier, more cheerful design than the Aygo, one that may well suit European tastes better than the Japanese model.
However, while it's truly subjective, when you see the three cars lined up, we'd always opt for the Peugeot, the best-looking of the three.
Given that they are virtually identical in every other way under the skin, that makes the design all the more important and, for us, Peugeot has done it best.
Yet there are two negatives to the C1 that would turn us off the Citroën.
First is the fact that neither French brand is brave enough to join Toyota in offering a three-year warranty. This seems to be driven by a fear that if they introduce it on one model, customers will demand it on others.
It's the sort of thing that doesn't inspire confidence. If your cars are good enough then you should put your money where your marketing is and come up with the three-year deal.
Whatever the marketing spin on the forecourt, buyers should always remember that money talks and the 'you-know-what' walks.
If the company is not prepared to offer the guarantee, that speaks volumes for the brand.
Our other concern is over residuals. While this car should not suffer too badly in comparison to others, Citroën's inexplicable discounting decisions of late, particularly with the C4, could have some impact even on the well-built C1.
To give such discounts so near to the launch did no favours for those who bought the C4 in the early days.
When they go to resell it, they'll be competing against the discounted cars, and the potential buyer won't feel duty bound to offer them more simply because they missed out on the discount.
It's a fact that once the Pandora's box of discounting has been opened, potential buyers will forever be nervous of paying full price for a Citroën for the foreseeable future.
That's a pity, particularly for the C4, which is a very attractive car. While no one is suggesting there'll be discounts on the C1, the seeds of doubt must surely have been sown.
Back to the C1: it's combined fuel consumption figure of 4.6L/100km (61.4mpg) means it's able to squeeze the most out of a tank of fuel.
Match that with a competitive price tag and you start to see the attraction for first-timers or city cruisers.
For the French manufacturer as well, the reliability that will undoubtedly come from the lack of electrical gadgetry and Toyota's build quality should do the brand no harm in terms of reliability and customer satisfaction.
Yet there remains some strong competitors out there. The Fiat Panda offers a remarkably good drive for such a small car and it's well finished inside, with plenty of interior space.
Then there's our personal favourite, the Kia Picanto, which offers both the cheeky looks and a bigger boot (not to mention central door locking on standard models). No one expects the C1 to be a sale sensation, or any of the three for that matter.
All are welcome for shaking up the city car market. Yet if money rather than size is the dictator of your purchase, then you do also have to think about the sort of metal that €12,000 might get you on the used market.
And that's why the market for these small cars will continue to remain, well, small.
