Car reviews

Introduction

The Atoz may not be a looker with its tall and thin body, but as a cheap little city runaround you’ll be hard pressed to find anything as cheap. The interior is bland being constructed with cheap plastics, but it is surprisingly spacious being able to seat four people in relative comfort on short journeys across town. Its tiny 1.0-litre engine was only ever made for city driving so don’t be tempted to take it onto the motorway as you’ll soon regret it. If you need to cover longer distances finding an alternative mode of transport is recommended.

Exterior & Interior

It’s an odd looking car being narrow and tall. The interior is not much better consisting of dull cheap plastics. Saying that though it is surprisingly spacious due to the high roof and upright seating positions that give all of the occupants plenty of head and legroom. The seats are comfortable, but not very supportive although this probably won’t be an issue as you are unlikely to be using the car as a long distance cruiser. The boot is a good size for a supermini and is able to accommodate a couple of luggage bags or a weeks shopping, but not much else.

There were only two trims available and we’d go for the higher level Plus trim as the basic is just that with you only receiving a cassette player and power steering. The Plus adds air-con, alloys, electric front windows, airbags and central locking for not much more cash than the basic model.

Drive

Take the Atoz out of town and you’ll regret it as the engine needs to be pushed hard to just try and keep up with traffic (overtaking is a best avoided) and at these speeds the engine produces a whining sound that is so high that you’ll end up with the stereo on full volume to try and drown out the sound. There is also lots of body roll, the ride is very uncomfortable and there is lots of wind, road and engine noise filtering through to the cabin. In town it’s much better though being able to weave in and out of the traffic and tight spaces with ease. It’s also incredibly easy to park with clear visibility all round and power steering that should get the tiny car into almost any space.

Faults & Repairs

Hyundai’s have proven to be one of the most, if not the most, reliable car company over the years. Unfortunately, the Atoz doesn’t quite match up to other models with it experiencing blown head gaskets, failing water pumps, faulty ignition coils and transmissions that leak oil.

The good news though is that service costs are extremely cheap as are the majority of repairs and Hyundai also has one of the fastest repair fixes of any company. Our advice would be to only go for one that has a full service history as it will show it was a well loved and looked after vehicle whilst providing you with piece of mind that things are unlikely to start falling off it as you drive it away.