Saxo auto a lot of fun

You forget, don't you, what cars are like when they've been around a while? Well, people like me can, because we get to roll around in so many over a relatively short piece of time. We kind of overlook the simple good.

And so it was recently for me with the Citroen Saxo, a small car with a big heart. A particularly big heart in the most recent acquaintance, because it had a 1.4-litre engine. And there was a good reason.

But lets back up a step, because I'm thinking that maybe a lot more motoring people are beginning to come around to my way of thinking and realising that there's more to motoring life than stirring a stick and pumping a third pedal. I'm talking about the increasing number of automatic and semi-automatic options which are becoming available on the Irish market in rather ordinary cars.

(Even despite the car salesmen who tell correspondents of mine that 'only old and disabled people drive automatics' ... I could, but won't, show you the emails.)

Seicento, Punto, Micra, Clio, Alto, Fiesta ... and most recently, Yaris, all come with one or other of the above-mentioned gearshifting facilities. The Saxo of which I now scribe is also such.

So it costs some £3,000 more than the most basic of its siblings. But you're getting more than an automatic gearbox for that ... there's that 1.4-litre engine instead of a 1.1, and there's ABS brakes ... and power steering ... and electric front windows ... and a manual sunroof.

And underpinning all that is the sweet chassis and sound bodyshell which the Saxo shares with the Peugeot 106. A suspension which is non-eccentric is quiet and comfy in operation, and I know from driving stick-stirred higher-powered versions of this car that it is more than competent under substantial pressure.

But this is not a car you bother putting under pressure. It's very raison d'etre is that you don't have to worry about the fiddly bits of driving ... you use it to take you where you want to go, whether on the highway or in the city, with a minimum of effort and a significant degree of comfort.

The auto is a simple 3-speed, and no more is needed. The power pumped by the larger than basic engine is adequate to do the need and deal decently with any losses in the gearbox. There are no 'fuzzy logic' gizmos or any smart electronic changes for weather or sporty needs. It just works, and works with a smoothness that an awful lot of luxury car autos would have difficulty in beating.

The rest? Well, the Saxo has good room for four, a decent boot, plastics inside that don't offend, and a radio set high and with reasonably easy working attributes. Stylistically it won't break any moulds, but most buyers won't worry about that.

As for the shift control, it is among the neatest-looking I've seen this side of the Fiat Punto Selecta, and that's talking good. Other controls, like brakes and accelerator, all work well. Indeed, the fact that this is a two-pedal car eliminates one of the downsides I've written about before in terms of Saxo/106 - the lack of space for a pair of size 10s when there's that third pedal.

So, would I buy it?

Hmm ... for a further three big ones I could have a Mercedes A-Class with the same size engine.

No contest. Even if I had the further three big ones, I'd buy my daughter the Saxo. And lend her my Primera auto when I wanted to have a little automatic fun.