The town named after the pasta sauce (okay it was the other way round) had an Indian star at the latest edition of its motor show. Hyundai premiered the car in Europe at the show, showing off the i10 to the Euro audience for the first time. The car, down to the trim levels even, is more or less the same as the Indian car. Obviously, European safety regulations ensure that the European car will have airbags and electronic braking control systems as standard. The rest is the same, down to the engine. Yes, the i10 sold in Europe will, for the moment, get the same 67bhp 1100cc petrol unit. But there's another engine too, and that one's really interesting as well. The diesel in the line up also displaces 1100cc, but gets one of Hyundai's variable geometry turbos. That means 75bhp, which is pretty good for a car this small, no?

Italy is a particularly good place to show off the i10, since almost 60 per cent of car sales in the passionately auto-Oriented country come from cars of the i10's or similar size. Hyundai are saying that major European markets should see the sales double that of the car the i10 replaces, the Arnica - that's the Santro to you and me.

Hyundai are not only offering great pricing on the i10, it also happens to have the longest wheelbase in its European class and offers air-conditioning as standard. Then again, it does come from a hot, tropical country, right? Trim levels are, come to think of it, particularly good, since the base variant will also have electric windows, central locking, electric power steering, tinted windows, l4-inch wheels and an excellent integrated six-speaker CD/MP3 system.

Hyundai is offering a manual and an automatic gearshift in Europe and that 1100cc diesel that we're getting will also be on the engines list. The European warranty is typically Hyundai unlimited mileage and five years of coverage.