SINGAPORE — Let’s say you’re young, just starting out in life, and you’re hankering for a new car.

The financials might be a bit daunting, so you might have to scrape together the funds the old-fashioned way: By asking mum and dad for a helping hand. Or handout.

Either way, the only decent thing to do is to keep your expectations modest. That BMW can come later.

The good news is, with falling COE prices, there are now cars out there for around S$90,000, and they’re not even comedy machines from China.

The newest member of this club is Suzuki’s Ciaz, a four-door, five-seat saloon that you can drive home for S$90,900.

PRACTICAL CHARM

It’s devoid of the lean-burn, turbo, twin-clutch tech that fills drivers of German cars with such braggadocio, but it’s far from nasty. There may be a relatively simple 1.4-litre engine and a conventional four-speed auto under the bonnet, but the Ciaz mostly aims to woo buyers with practical features.

To start with, it has a fairly spacious cabin. The Ciaz is a large car for the class; it’s longer and wider than a Honda Jazz and it has a longer wheelbase than the Toyota Vios or Korean rivals like the Hyundai Accent and Kia Forte. Though headroom in the back is tight, it has rear legroom that someone flying on a budget carrier would kill to have. The boot is positively cavernous, too. At 495 litres in size, it’s actually bigger than a Volvo S80’s luggage compartment, though the rear seats can’t be folded to expand the cargo space.

Inside, you can see where the Ciaz has been built down to a cost, with hard plastics for the dashboard and a simple lap-belt for the middle rear passenger. None of the storage bins or cupholders are lined.

But some worthwhile equipment is standard. It has features like an automatic air-conditioner and keyless entry and engine starting, and the exterior has been jazzed up with plenty of bodykitting and a boot spoiler, as part of the car’s “RS” trim.

The aftermarket touchscreen sound system includes features like Bluetooth phone pairing and a reverse camera. It even comes with GPS navigation, though it’s a pretty slow and fiddly system to use.

ROAD MANNNERS

One thing the Suzuki does offer that some rivals can’t is a nice drive. The engine keeps its voice down most of the time and has enough pep to tug the Ciaz along smartly, while the autobox is extremely smooth with its gearchanges.

More to the point, the engine is frugal. After a day of driving in mixed conditions, we achieved 17.8km/L, not far off the official claim of 18.5km/L.

The real treat is the chassis. On the move, the Ciaz doesn’t bounce around like some small cars do, and though the steering lacks feedback just off-centre, the handling brings a smile to the face.

The Suzuki seems to relish being hurled into bends, and it’s nice and predictable when you push hard through corners. The roadholding leaves you in little doubt that the suspension guys at Suzuki know their craft well.

Not everyone wants a car that is fun to chuck down a twisty road, of course, but the Ciaz does show that a cheap car doesn’t have to have sloppy handling. Nor does it have to be cramped and devoid of features.

Naturally, something like the Ciaz may not be anyone’s idea of a dream car. But for someone starting out in life, it offers a decent start to car ownership.

SOME HELPFUL STATS

Engine: 1,373cc in-line four, 92hp, 130Nm

Performance: 180kmh; 0-100km/h in 12.4 seconds; 5.4L/100km; 128g/km CO2

Price: S$90,900 with COE