Nana cars are hardly suited to the mating ambitions of the average teen, right? BEN STRANG tries a few…and is surprised:

The moves are all perfect.

Cool music is playing on the radio. Hand is rested just outside the window. The shiny clean paint job is gleaming in the sun. Nice clothes and a cheesy smile are on.

But girls just laugh, which is not the ideal reaction for a 19-year-old male.

Nana’s reliable shopping trolley of a car, it seems, is not the biggest babe magnet for a teenager. You just have to put the classic pick-up moves away if you’re a younger person driving a small car.

There are in fact plenty of positives to the little round-town runabout, but finding them can be difficult. Don’t expect mind-blowing technology, jaw-dropping power. Just enjoy the handling, cheekiness and practicality.

Looking at price (all under $20,000), size, power (less 1.5 litres), handling, looks, interior design, fuel economy, and something Clarksonesque called the “cool factor”, we tested three small cars Nana might buy.

Daihatsu Sirion

The sound the door makes when slammed closed is like the sound Lego blocks make when clicked together. Plastic.

The previous person to drive the car must have been rather small. The seat is all the way forward, only inches from the steering wheel. My knees are pushed up towards my chest like when an adult tries to ride a toddler’s tricycle. It’s okay once the seat is slid back, and the car has plenty of space for taller drivers.

The engine starts first time, and I am assured by the salesperson it will always start first time on cold winter mornings. Refreshing. The petrol tank is half full. “That’ll get you to Taupo, that,” I’m told. Is that a challenge?

Pulling out of the car park and one thing is immediately apparent – the three cylinder, one litre engine lacks guts. It’s sluggish. It sounds like a remote control car, and gives you about as much excitement as one.

The interior of the Sirion is kept simple

Most teenagers like to feel they are travelling fast (the big appeal with go-karting). The Sirion doesn’t give you that feeling. When accelerating, you’re not forced back into your seat. Not even close. It feels like you’re taking a leisurely drive on a Sunday afternoon. There is no rush (either for the driver or the car), which is probably why grandparents like driving a car like this, which equates to its biggest drawback for the more youthful drivers.

So it’s a slug. You have cyclists wave, asking to pass, when you accelerate from the traffic lights. But does it handle well? Short answer: no. It is a tall car and the body roll around corners is quite bad. On a windy road you may end up with sea sickness. It doesn’t have the greatest grip, either. It slides around corners and will squeal if you push it hard. But don’t be fooled – just because the tyres are screeching doesn’t mean you’re travelling fast.

Now for one of the most important factors teenagers look at when assessing a car: sounds (and we’re not necessarily talking about exhaust). Does the car have a decent radio and good speakers? If I play it loud, will the song sound crackly and hurt my ears? The Sirion has only two factory speakers and an AM/FM radio and in-dash CD player that works well. The sound is decent. People in other cars may look over at you bobbing your head up and down and question whether you are sane or not, but if you’re enjoying your own music, who cares?

The interior of the car is disappointing. Like seeing a sex worker down Vivian St, from a distance it looks modern and attractive. However, look closer and it is plastic and cheap. Although, this could be a good thing for a teenager: as rough as you are with the car, it will probably be able to handle it. Drink holders for that early morning coffee after a big night add to the practicality, and there is plenty of room in the back for two or three friends.

The boot isn't huge, but it's enough for the golf clubs

A handy fact for any student considering the Sirion is fuel consumption. It takes five litres for every 100 kilometres travelled, therefore it will travel around 800km on its 40-litre tank. At this time, that is just under $70 to travel from Wellington to Taupo and back. Not too shabby.

Safety isn’t a big thing for teenagers with a car, but Mum and Dad might sleep better at night knowing the Sirion is rated  four stars out of five for safety by website Rightcar.govt.nz. It could be because of the front and side driver airbags…or perhaps it is down to the car never moving fast enough to cause any real damage. You would need some serious driving ability and a very steep hill to get a speeding ticket in this car.

I have trawled the internet trying to find ways to make this car cooler. There are no fake carbon fibre panels or sexy looking angles to the car. In other countries, it is also known as a Daihatsu Boon and a Toyota Passo, but possibly the coolest version of the Sirion is the Subaru Justy. No offence to Toyota or Daihatsu, but Subaru’s rally pedigree makes the rebranded Justy a cooler version.

Speaking of rally cars, the Sirion was used in the 2006 Rally Japan and managed to win two of the classes. Perhaps I should have mentioned to those girls that I was driving a rally car.

Here’s an idea – perhaps if the car was turbo-charged? Then I would have a truly cool car, wouldn’t I.

Mitsubishi i-Car

This is the younger, distant step-sister of the Mitsubishi Evo rally car. A rear-engine 660cc turbo-charged car with a futuristic look, this could attract younger teenagers. It must be cool, surely, with a name like i-Car (like the iPod).

In 2003, the i-Car lit up the Berlin Motor show. The concept left people in the motoring industry with a vision of the future, but perhaps they were getting a little bit excited. At first glance you have to wonder. It takes some time to appreciate the shape and overall look of the car, but then it grows on you.

Here is something space age for a Nana car. It has keyless entry, press a button and it opens, no keys whatsoever. It works like a car with central locking, but there is no option to simply open the car with a key. When starting the car, you just pop the device into a wee slot and press the button. Vroom.

After a tight squeeze into the driver’s seat things feel very familiar. It isn’t the most spacious car in the world. To be fair, it is a lot bigger inside than you would expect when looking at it from the outside. Because the car has a long wheel base, the designers have been able to maximise the interior space. So, the inside of an i-Car is no place for a quickie with your girlfriend though, unless you fancy yourself a talented contortionist.

The car starts okay, but then I’m disappointed to find it’s an automatic (there are no manual versions at this stage). For such a small engine, the acceleration is a minor revelation. This is no Ferrari, but a light kick in the backside brings a grin to your face. The sound of the blow-off valve is, well, not really there. Sorry boys. And despite that initial get up, it’s a bit of a turtle on the road. Slow and steady around town, and on the motorway it drives comfortably  at 100kph.

The interior is high quality, enjoy Nana

Handling around town it is quite entertaining. It is the first four-door car since the 1960s to have its engine in the rear. This means the wheels are practically on the corners of the car, allowing great cornering. It reminds you of the basket trolleys in supermarkets for Nana to use. It is really fun to drive around town, and it’s a very noticeable car. People might not go to the extent of playing i-Car tag, but driving it you get the feeling of people whipping their necks around like they do with Minis and Beetles. “Hey Mum, an i-Car!”

Space is limited in the car, but it’s similar to the Sirion. Two or three friends could fit easily into the back seat, and they’ll get to know each other better in the process. One small problem is the lack of storage space: there is little room in the boot because of the rear engine. No chance of getting the golf clubs in. The seats fold down to give more boot space, but there goes the space for your mates.

Nothing flash comes on the musical front. There is a standard radio in the i-Car, with front speakers, and the sound is a bit tinny when the volume is cranked up. One piece of advice: don’t toot the horn in Mt Victoria tunnel. Save yourself the embarrassment – it’s like my dog’s Alligator squeaky toy.

The i-Car is economical, using 5.9 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres. It will cost you about $60 to fill the tank, taking you fractionally under 600km before you need a top up.

Hyundai Getz

This is the Korean version of the Nana car, a small 1.4 litre 5-speed manual.

The shape is basic. There are no flash, stylish angles, which leads you to believe they have just set out to make a decent all-round car. The colour is noticeable, a turquoise paintjob, which I think will go well with my eyes. Like the i-Car, the Getz has keyless entry. This car looks like something Nana would dream about.

There is similar space to the other cars, but the fabric on the seats seems to be of less quality. While the others had cloth or something similar, these seats feel almost plastic. It is also less comfortable then the other two. upright and firm. The pedals are also at an uncomfortable height from the floor, feeling as if they are in midair.

It starts fine and of the three cars this is quickest off the mark, but it “sounds” slow, which is disappointing. It has the most power and the biggest engine of the three cars tested, but is the least satisfying to drive. But once the car hits the corners, things start to brighten up: it handles well, is very responsive and gives you that speedy feeling. It feels the best around bends.

The interior is uninspired in the Hyundai

Out on the open road it wins another battle. Despite quite a bit of engine noise, the car drives well at 100kph, and although it has a high roof (giving plenty of head room), this doesn’t translate to a tough drive on Wellington’s windy motorway. The extra power the bigger engine produces helps the Hyundai at higher speeds.

The radio and speaker system in this car are decent, but if you turn the volume up too loud people will laugh. – it starts to crackle and hurts the ears. I stop at a petrol station to buy a drink and end up finding one of the biggest positives: the drink holder is just big enough to hold a 600ml bottle of coke. However, smaller drinks or a thermos flask might tip over.

The inside is nothing flash. The designers really haven’t tried hard to impress. It would be great if the car didn’t look so bland, but there is nothing unique inside the Getz. The space in the back is limited, and three burly young lads would have their knees pressed against the front seats. The boot is a decent size in this car, and a set of golf clubs or a cricket bag would slide in fairly nicely, and if extra space is needed the rear seats do fold down.

The economy of the Getz is the worst of the three cars tested. It uses 6.1 litres per 100 kilometres of driving. The 45-litre tank will take you about 740km and cost about $78, which is still not a big cost to get to Auckland.

Which is best?

On looks, the Mitsubishi i-Car is modern and trendy. At first glance you may think “ugly duckling”, but it grows on you. The interior is also best, with a mixture of modern styling and high quality plastics.

With these three cars you are not looking at the greatest driving experience, but you need to size up what it is you are driving, and the intended purpose.

Despite the speed and cornering of the Hyundai Getz, and even though it has least power, the i-Car comes up trumps again. The 660cc engine gives its all in any driving situation: it negotiates Wellington’s hilly landscape and windy roads well. The touch of peppiness it shows in accelerating is better then you get in the other cars.

The problem with the Hyundai is lack of driving satisfaction, despite it being quicker and better–handling. I did not feel content. Compare that to the i-Car – I smiled like an idiot the whole time I was at the wheel.

For sheer practicality, you cannot look past the Hyundai. The space in the boot is massive and the car will fit you and three mates. Headroom is impressive.

I would be embarrassed if Nana had the Sirion or the Getz. The feeling is different with an i-Car. It’s unique and makes people look at you. And being so modern-looking, it’s bound to age a lot better than the others.

Get one, Nana. Please.