This Seat is a neat two-door city car

IT’S NO secret in motoring circles that the Volkswagen group were not happy that their Up! didn’t win or even make the shortlist for the Irish Continental Car of the Year awards.

Are we Irish so fussy that the World Car of the Year cannot even make it on to the Irish short list?

There could be a simple answer. The VW group has produced three small cars all based on the same platform, the VW Up! The Skoda Citigo and this week’s test car the Seat Mii.

Obviously the votes were spread around; it’s a bit like putting three candidates from the same party into a small constituency at general election time.

I drove the Up! earlier in the year and it was really cute. You will be able to read about the Citigo on these pages next month, but this week I’m focussing on the strangely named Seat Mii, which is the least expensive of the trio.

Seat certainly grab your attention with their car colours; a few weeks back I drove a green coloured Ibiza and this week the Mii was a bright yellow. It’s a colour that might not be everyone’s

‘cup of tea’ but it will certainly get you attention in your local supermarket car park. If you don’t fancy sunflower yellow, you could opt for something

‘safer’ like black, red or silver, which is still the number one colour for Irish motorists.

This is a neat two-door city car. Externally it looks cute, almost toy-like, but inside there is a surprising amount of space. There is plenty of head and leg room and it can take four adults or maybe two adults plus three children in the back.

I drove the Chic level where the front windows are electric, but if you opt for the basic version the windows are manual. No doors at the back and the rear windows don’t open. You also get a touch of the sunflower yellow in what is already a very bright interior.

The boot is narrow, but very deep which means you can carry a lot of luggage or shopping and at the bottom there is a full-size spare wheel. It really is a city car, but I also found it comfortable on a long drive. There are no fans of two-door cars in our house, but this time there were no complaints as the Mii was such a fun car to look at and to drive.

I think this 1.0 litre car would be attractive to singletons who thinking about buying their first car. It might also be of interest to empty nesters, who might prefer a new car rather than getting NCT tests every two years on an older car. Ideal for city driving, you can park in the tightest spots, and you can turn on the proverbial sixpence.

Prices start at e9,895 for the basic model, while the Chic version I drove will cost you e11,350. There is also a sport version where prices start at e11,550. I read recently that an automatic version is now available in the UK, but I don’t know if the automatic will be available here. An automatic would push up the price and I think this car will be attractive to people with tight budgets, who will enjoy working through the five manual gears.

No complaints from me this time, this car will go forever on a full tank of petrol and I think the Mii is a great addition to what is now becoming an impressive range of Seat cars.