Don’t let the clever people at Hyundai fool you for a moment. They say the New Generation i20 Premium 1.4 Manual is a small, family, five-door hatchback, but I’m afraid it just isn’t true.

Well, the five-door hatchback bit is, but the small part is nonsense.

There’s far too much room to call it small unless, of course, the designers are all 18-stone, seven footers. Okay, on the outside it looks neat and tidy enough to measure up to the spec, but inside it’s a different story all together.

The space which has been created is little short of Tardis-like. It has plenty of room in the front with bags of height and doesn’t compromise on rear legroom either - even for a 6ft passenger. There are lots of spaces to stash bits and bobs and seats are so comfortable, you’ll want to sit a little while longer before you get out.

The dashboard is tidy and functional, if at first a little overwhelming with switches, buttons galore and, while innocuous enough in daylight, it transforms completely in the hours of darkness into a bank of lights to put the cockpit of a fighter jet to shame. There are dark blues, light blues, greens, whites and reds, all fully adjustable from bright neon dayglow all the way down to soft ethereal.

It drives really nicely. It’s nippy in town and gives more than you need on motorways and handles really well through narrow, winding country lanes with positive steering and control thanks to an electronic stability, anti-lock braking and vehicle stability management systems.

Top speed is 114mph and while it takes 11.6 seconds to reach 60mph from a standing start, it's more than nippy enough with four people on board to get away from junctions quickly enough and accelerate more than smart enough to overtake. Fuel economy is an impressive 51.4 combined mpg.

Among the gadgets which come as standard (and there is a multitude which has to be seen to be believed) is Bluetooth with voice recognition and a smartphone docking device which slots into the top of the dashboard. Sadly, I was unable to use it because my HTC One phone has the USB jack facing the wrong direction, so the screen of my phone faced inwards.

Added to the extras is front cornering headlights, cruise control, two USB slots and cruise control, and not to mention a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, which includes roadside assistance and five years of annual health checks.

On top of all this is a combined fuel economy of 51.4 mpg and stylish good looks which stands up against any of its opposition.

My only disappointment is that with the array of standard extras, one of them isn't a built-in sat nav.

So apart from that tiny omission, this car is up there with the best in its class and well worth the on road price of £14,270.