QUITE what the fascination is in this country - if it is just in this country - with making small cars that don't go fast look as if they do continues to escape me.

The only upshot that I can see is repeated mild embarrassment as sneering youths in proper hot hatches tear away from traffic lights and junctions disdainfully while you're still finding second gear.

Such sheep in wolves' clothing must be popular with someone though, because car makers keep on producing them and I have driven quite a few.

The latest case in point is the SEAT Mii Sport which turned up dressed in a startling paint-job and sporting the Spanish firm's additional Vibora Negra packaging.

Adding anything up to an extra £1,740 to the base price of £10,430 this muscular makeover includes such things as twin black go-faster stripes across the bonnet, roof and tailgate, black side stripes, black alloys, a black rear spoiler, black mirror caps and a black chequered dashboard decal.

The list goes on and the preponderance of black can be explained by the translation of Vibora Negra, which means black viper in English.

All of which might make the Mii look very nice to drivers of a certain age (although forty-something isn't it) but doesn't add a single extra mile per hour of speed.

Strip back the boy-racer fancy dress, though, and you'll find a compelling and enjoyable little car.

The expansive nature of the VW Group these days means that we are used to variations on a theme and the Mii sees SEAT bidding to add a little Spanish fire to the German-engineered platform which also underpins the parent firm's up! as well as the Skoda Citigo.

Aimed at the burgeoning city car market the object of the exercise is a small, manoeuvrable and cheap to run motor that makes life in the urban jungle more bearable.

And on all of those counts the Mii is an unqualified success - even managing to squeeze space for four adults and a very serviceable boot into its diminutive dimensions.

The Sport is the range-topping variant and comes powered by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder power pack that produces 75 horse power.

Acceleration is not rapid but a top speed of 106mph means that you'll not get left behind on the motorway, where cruising is surprisingly refined and settled for a small car.

And you'll be smiling as you go, thinking of all the money you're saving thanks to average fuel consumption of 60 miles per gallon as well as low insurance costs and small tax bills, courtesy of carbon emissions of just 108g/km.

The sports suspension on this range-topper makes for keen and sharp handling, aided by steering which, although light, offers plenty of feeling and helps to make the Mii an engaging and enjoyable car to drive.

The compact and lightweight five-speed manual gearbox provides plenty of versatility as well as sufficient pep just when you need it in traffic while the body is well controlled and the ride composed and comfortable, with lumps and bumps in the road being dealt with very well for such a small car.

Clever design also makes the most of the internal space which leaves many other city cars, and quite a few superminis and small hatchbacks, in its wake.

There is good head and leg room for four adults, with access to the rear seats made easy in five-door form, while the front is equipped with cubby holes and a good-sized glove box and the user-friendly control panel is simply laid out.

The extra depth of the admittedly narrow boot also means that it's good for a fair few shopping bags - unlike many such small cars.

Standard equipment is pretty good with air conditioning, electric front windows, tinted rear windows, heated wing mirrors, six-speaker stereo, fog lamps and daytime running lights all included.

Stability control, ABS and a full suite of airbags all helped the Mii achieve the top five-star Euro-NCAP crash safety rating, very impressive for a small car.

There is also pre-installation prep for the SEAT Portable System, a clip on sat-nav and audio interface with Bluetooth and on-board computer, which, at £275, is one of a number of very reasonably priced options.