No Fig Leaf: Vauxhall ADAM Strips Off

The pictures we'd seen previously suggested a mini Corsa but the real thing shows something much more eye-catching than current Vauxhall beauties like the VXR8 and Astra GTC. Best of all, if you're not a fan of sold colours, then there are plenty of other two-tone colour schemes and customisation options to choose from. In fact, the car is so customisable that Vauxhall says there are a million different configurations on offer...

One juicy piece of kit that you can get with your ADAM is a 7-inch screen controlled by your mobile. This means that you can get sat-nav apps for your phone that can be constantly updated and displayed on your ADAM instead of paying a fortune for a manufacturer fitted sat-nav system that's already too old after a six months. Very clever.

Three versions of the ADAM are available to choose from. Forget the predictable SRi, SXi, Exlusiv and Envoy trim level names associated with Vauxhall; the ADAM is meant to be a cool cat. You can have a Jam, Glam or Slam version instead.

Jam is the basic 'fashionable and colourful' car and comes with a smaller infotainment-like screen as standard as well as a CD player, radio, Bluetooth connectivity, ESP, hill-start assistance and city steering like in a Fiat 500 and Chrysler Ypsilon. Glam is the 'elegant and sophisticated' model, the posh one, which features much nicer materials all round. Then there's our favourite, the Slam. This one is the 'racy and sporty' version which will predictably come with rad touches like 17-inch alloys and a racing steering wheel. And we wouldn't be surprised to see an insane Adam VXR in years to come for the ultimate General Motors "slam dunk".

Three ecoFLEX four-cylinder engines will be available from launch: a 1.2-litre petrol with 70hp and two 1.4-litre units with 84hp and 100hp - all with 5-speed gearboxes and stop/start tech. A year later, Vauxhall will unveil a direct injection three-cylinder SGE (small generation engine) which is turbocharged - just like the 1.0-litre in the Ford Focus - and teamed with a 6-speed 'box. Even though no one has even touched it yet, it should be fun to drive as it features a re-engineered Corsa chassis underneath with MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the back.

As well as that 7-inch screen - which is predicted to set you back £300 or so - you can get the ADAM with 'big boy' options like a heated steering wheel, the ability for the car to park itself and even 'starlight' headlining like in a Rolls-Royce Phantom or a Hummer H2 limo. However, it does look a bit naff in the photo below. You can even get the headlining finished in Sky Blue or with a chequered flag design.

With a sticker price starting from £11,000, the Adam is cheaper than the Citroen DS3, Mini and Audi A1 but more expensive than Fiat's 500. Can you 'Adam and Eve it?'