Where once you found Vauxhalls and Fords, now Kias and Hyundais are starting to dominate.

Cost-conscious drivers have found that the traditional big-sellers have re-invented themselves as premium brands with price tags to match.

It’s true that Ford and Vauxhall quality has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, but their shift upmarket has left a gap which a number of firms are keen to plug. Skoda is one. Suzuki another. But Kia isn’t to be ignored, either, thanks to an enticing combinations of neat cars and unbeatable headline-grabbing warranties.

Who says cheap can’t be cheerful? Kia certainly think those two qualities go hand in hand and it shows in one of the most improved cars in recent years, the Rio.

It started life a decade or so ago as a rather plain, dated and clunky piece of machinery. Cheap,. certainly, but not a car you could ever desire. Fast forward to now and the Rio is a perfectly acceptable alternative to a Focus or an Astra.

And at less than £10,000 for the entry-level, model it offers an awful lot of car for the money. These cars aren’t perfect. You might quibble at the dash not being quite up to modern standards and you could prefer to lop off a year or two from the warranty in exchange for firmer handling. After all, a seven-year guarantee might sound impressive but chances are you won’t own the car in 2019 anyway. These are silly quibbles, I know. To most Rio drivers, the light steering is perfectly acceptable and a whopping warranty merely adds to the appeal.

Tested here is the Rio 1.1 CRDi EcoDynamics in mid-range ‘2’ trim. Kia, rather sensibly, use 1, 2 and 3 for their trim levels. Now, if only everyone followed suit!

This model is part of Kia’s attempt to get ahead of the game in terms of emissions and fuel economy, and there are plenty of benefits to think about which make a convincing argument for such a tiny engine.

Not only does it offer excellent economy (85mpg claimed on a run) and low insurance (Group 3), but it manages respectable performance on all types of road.

Insurance is a fine selling point. This model is four insurance groups lower than it would be with the 1.4-litre diesel.

There’s a useful bit of equipment, too. The little diesel has 16in alloy wheels and carrying daytime running lights, electric folding door mirrors, various body-coloured and chrome exterior details, air conditioning, electric windows all round, leather trim on the steering wheel and gear knob, a chilled glove box and a bundle of safety kit.

It’s a pleasant car to drive where the dashboard, console and cluster haven’t been over-designed but have been treated with enough daring to make it all feel much classier than it really is.

For a B-segment supermini, legroom is good, and the driver and front passenger will be particularly happy with their lot. The rear passenger area can feel a little enclosed because of the rising shoulder line and small rear windscreen. There’s useful cabin storage space, dotted around in various shapes and sizes to cope with day-to-day demands.

Back to the engine, and as eager as it is and as hard as it tries, the little thing has its limits. To get 74bhp out of this size of diesel is remarkable, but it’s had to be tuned and optimised to within an inch of its life. Kia’s seven-year warranty is testament to the confidence the company has in its smallest oil-burner’s longevity. But this high level of tune means it’s designed to be driven on certain kinds of roads and in a certain way.

The problem comes on faster roads. Its modest output can be overwhelmed by the demands of 60mph A- and B-roads, and in fact whenever a swift getaway or significant uphill acceleration is on the cards this version of the Rio reaches its limits of pace very quickly. It’s not an ideal choice for drivers for whom patience is not a strong suit.

A stop-start system cuts the engine whenever it can, saving more fuel and leaving the cabin lovely and serene.

The long and the short is that this version of the Rio is tailor-made for town drivers with gentle right feet. Somewhere around 50mpg is realistic for a run mixing low-speed cruising with traffic light queues, which is the sort of figure you could only hope for on a long motorway cruise ten years ago.

For that reason it’s a great choice for many people, and since there are other engines on offer that will be better suited to those searching for more grunt, the presence of the 1.1 CRDi isn’t just justified; it’s very welcome.

Rio really has improved a lot over the years.