ADD style to most cars and you add cost too, sometimes paying a small fortune for something that stands out in a crowd.

And we don't seem to mind, a fact the car makers know only too well. It means they can bump up the bottom line and we keep smiling.

Well, here is a car that trades on its look to sell over the more mundane machine it's based on - but doesn't ask for extra for the privilege of a bit more style.

Say hello to the new Hyundai i20 Coupe, closely based on the latest i20 hatchback but lacking a couple of doors and with the body subtly redrawn to give it a svelte look from the side.

The result is a car that won't frighten the horses but might just draw admiring glances as it attempts to park in the daily school run jamboree - looks that will turn to mild astonishment when the price is disclosed.

Because here is a car that seems a genuine bargain. No, make that a steal if you compare it with something like a Ford Fiesta with the same sized engine and a near equal price tag.

Not only is the Coupe the same price as the equivalent Hyundai hatch (which, admittedly gains rear doors over the coupe) but it's so well equipped compared to the Ford you wonder if the latter has lost a page of the brochure.

So before we take the i20 Coupe for a drive, let's examine its standard kit in some detail. For the less than £13,000 price tag you'll find alloy wheels, electrically adjusted and heated door mirrors and front fog lights on the outside.

Move to the interior and you discover air conditioning, cruise control, rear parking sensors, audio controls on the steering wheel and a smartphone docking station atop the dash.

Dig deeper, to discover tyre pressure monitoring, hill start assist and a space saver spare wheel, not a bottle of doubtfully useful pressurised gloop. And don't forget Hyundai's five year, unlimited mileage warranty that includes five years roadside assistance too.

By now you may be wondering if Hyundai has spent so much on the fixtures and fitting it has left no room to make a profit.

Well, there are obvious savings on the look and feel of the interior. It's all a bit drab and black and plasticy, but everything works with enough solid precision to promise a long and trouble-free life.

There's also enough room under the coupe's lowered roofline for a couple of adults in the rear, where they will find identical legroom to the five-door hatch and only a little headroom shaved off it the pursuit of style. The boot's a sensible size too.

Out on the road the little 1.2 litre engine does its best to be perky but doesn't really relish revs; better to let it relax a little and enjoy a ride that makes a very respectable job of flattening out our awful British road surfaces.

Driven with brio the car's trip computer (another standard fitting) showed 46mpg at journey's end. That's a decent return but there is as diesel engine on offer (at a healthy £2,000 premium) that would do better still.

Officially it is rated at 55.4mpg with emissions of 119g/km.