Fiat may claim to have more great small cars to its name than any other manufacturer but, as a nation, it is the French who are the small car superstars. From the Citroën 2CV to the Renault 4 to the Peugeot 205, it is a discipline the French have mastered better than any other nation.

Recently, however, I’ve had cause to wonder about this. The Peugeot 206, Renault Clio and Citroën C3 may all sell in impressive numbers but none is near the class of their forerunners. So it was with no great expectation that I turned up to drive Citroën’s all new Saxo replacement, the C2.

I liked the way it looked but remembered thinking exactly the same thoughts about the C3 before driving it for a five-car comparison test: I concluded the only possible place it could come was fifth.

Even so, the young drivers at whom this car is almost exclusively aimed will find much to enjoy in its squat, stubby appearance and nicely designed if rather poorly finished cabin.

Four engines are available — those looking for petrol power can choose from 1.1, 1.4 or 1.6 litre motors, though the latter two come only with a paddle-shift gearchange. A 1.4 litre diesel is also available which Citroën claims is the most economical production car on sale, but in a market sector where all cars are inherently frugal and diesel cars actually cost more to run as company cars it is unlikely to sell in big numbers.

Prices begin at £7,495 for a basic 1.1L, representing a considerable increase over the £6,800 for the cheapest of the outgoing Saxos, though the C2 is better equipped and, for now at least, comes with the promise of £500 cashback. The sporting 1.6 litre VTR costs £10,995, a full £1,000 more than its newest and most obvious rival, Ford’s terrific Sportka.

In any range of cars you’ll often find the most effective model is the one in the middle, with those on either side mere variations on its theme. And so it proves with the C2. A 1.4 litre Furio costs £8,995 and is the pick of the bunch.

Yet first impressions are pretty mixed. In town, the electric steering is, if anything, too light, the engine responds only sluggishly to the accelerator and the automatic mode of the excruciatingly titled SensoDrive gearbox is neither smooth nor swift. But just as visions of the C3’s equally disappointing dynamics started floating before my eyes, the road opened up and dispatched them in an instant.

Though you’d never mistake it for a fast car — 0-62mph in 14.1sec and a top speed of 105mph is pretty pedestrian even at this price — that does not mean this C2’s not fun. In fact, on the right road it’s a hoot. What it lacks in straight-line grunt is more than made up by improbable cornering speeds. Because you rarely have to slow, it’s quicker cross-country than its performance figures suggest.

Drop down to a 1.1 litre car and while its lighter weight and shorter gearing means its headline statistics (0-62mph in 14.4sec, top speed 98mph) appear scarcely worse, in reality it feels appreciably slower and is noisier by far on the motorway. Rather more disappointing, it neither handled nor rode as well as the Furio either.

Oddly enough, many of the same things can be said of the 1.6 litre VTR at the other end of the range: it, too, is excessively vocal at speed and while fat tyres and stiff suspension mean more grip, it comes with a commensurate degradation in ride quality. At least its performance — 0-62mph in 10.9sec, top speed 121mph — is respectable enough.

Nevertheless, so long as care is taken over which model is chosen, I can see young C2 drivers being delighted with their choice. It looks great on the outside and possesses enough funky touches within to connect with the style-conscious. It also seems rather better screwed together than I have come to expect of cheap Citroëns.

Citroën deserves to make hay with this car for it has created a capable, attractive and appealing supermini. It’s been a long time but France’s next great small car has finally arrived.

VITAL STATISTICS

Model: Citroën C2 1.4i Furio
Engine type: Four-cylinder, 1360cc
Power/Torque: 75bhp at 5400rpm / 87 lb ft at 3500rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual, paddle shift
Suspension: (front) MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar (rear) torsion beam axle, anti-roll bar
Fuel/CO2: 47.9mpg (combined), 141g/km
Acceleration: 0 to 62mph: 14.1sec
Top speed: 105mph
Price: £8,995
Verdict: At last a French supermini that really is as good as it look