Used Vauxhall Agila Buying Guide
The second-generation Vauxhall Agila, sold in the UK from 2008 to 2015, is one of the used market’s quiet bargains. Built alongside the Suzuki Splash — the two are near-identical under the skin — it takes a tall, upright approach to the city car brief, trading style for genuinely easy access, a lofty driving position and more headroom than its tiny footprint suggests. It was popular with older drivers and urban households, which means many survivors have led gentle, low-mileage lives. It is not a car for image-conscious buyers, but as honest, cheap transport it still stacks up.
Engines and trims
Engine choice is simple: a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol or a 1.2-litre four-cylinder, both Suzuki-derived units with chain-driven camshafts and a strong reputation for durability. The 1.0 is fine for purely urban use but feels strained on faster roads, so the 1.2 is the better all-rounder — it is noticeably more relaxed at motorway speeds and barely costs more to run. A four-speed automatic was offered with the 1.2; it is an old-fashioned torque-converter unit that blunts performance and economy somewhat but tends to be reliable, and it suits drivers who simply want ease of use. A 1.3 CDTi diesel appeared early in the car’s life but is rare and hard to justify at city-car mileages.
UK trims ran from Expression, a genuinely basic entry point, through S and Club to Design at the top. Club is the sensible sweet spot, usually bringing air conditioning and electric front windows, while Design adds alloy wheels and smarter cabin details. Later cars gained small equipment and safety improvements, so a post-2011 example is worth favouring where budgets allow.
What to check before buying
Because both engines use timing chains rather than belts, there is no scheduled belt change to budget for — but listen for chain rattle on start-up, which usually betrays missed oil changes. Mechanically the Agila has few inherent weaknesses; most problems stem from how these cars were used. A life of short urban trips accelerates clutch and brake wear, so feel for a high biting point or slipping under load, and check the discs for lipping and corrosion.
Walk around the car looking for parking dents, kerbed wheels and scraped bumpers, and on earlier examples check for rust around the tailgate, sills and rear arches — most are tidy, but the oldest cars are now well into their second decade. Inside, confirm the air conditioning blows cold, as regassing or condenser faults are a common find on cheap examples. On automatics, make sure changes are smooth and the gearbox holds gears sensibly on a test drive. A thin service file is not unusual at this price point, but MOT history should corroborate mileage.
Running costs
Few cars are cheaper to keep. Both engines sit in low insurance groups, making the Agila a plausible first car as well as a retirement runabout, and real-world economy in the region of 45-55mpg is realistic from either unit driven gently. Parts are shared with the Suzuki Splash and are plentiful and inexpensive, servicing is simple enough for any independent garage, and skinny tyres cost little to replace. Road tax on most versions is modest thanks to reasonable CO2 figures for the era.
Verdict
The Agila does nothing glamorous, but it nails the basics: easy to see out of, easy to park, cheap to fix and surprisingly roomy for its size. Find a well-kept 1.2 Club with sensible MOT history and it should prove one of the most painless budget ownership propositions around — just don’t expect it to entertain on a B-road.
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