Vauxhall Adam: Details

The all-new Vauxhall Adam supermini will feature a host of hi-tech features when it goes on sale early next year.

The Adam will be the first Vauxhall to feature GM’s IntelliLink infotainment system. Controlled through a seven-inch hi-res touchscreen, it will be powered by an Android smartphone or an iPhone, linking everything from your contacts to music playlists directly with the car.

IntelliLink will also be able to play back video or slideshows stored on the smartphone, but only when the car is stationary.

There will also be an Adam app store, where buyers will be able to download a navigation app or an app to play up to 10,000 podcasts that are stored online, plus live streaming of internet radio stations.

The best news with IntelliLink is its price. The touchscreen will be around 300 Euro (£240), with the navigation app costing only 50 Euro (£40). And because the navigation will be loaded into your smartphone, you’ll be able continue using it to finish your journey on foot.

We managed to get inside the Adam at a Paris Motor Show preview event and the IntelliLink touchscreen worked well, with good colour definition on the screen and good sensitivity to touch, too.

Elsewhere, quality and style inside the Adam was superb, with a total of 30,000 different external colour, accessory, trim and treatment options – which include an illuminated starlight interior roof panel (not unlike that in a Rolls Royce Phantom), or one with a bright blue sky mural on it.

One downside is rear space – getting into the back is easy enough, with front seats that slide forward easily, but anyone of above-average adult size will find their knees pressing into the back of the front seats. Rear headroom is also tight.

In spite of the huge number of combinations available – meaning most owners might never see an Adam identical to theirs – the car’s designer Mark Adams told us that there will be some taste restraints: "Not every colour and trim combination will be available in every version. We’ll have Glam (luxury), Slam (Sporty) and Jam (trendy) specs, from which you can then add a huge number of personalisation options.

"But we won’t let customers go completely mad when they order the car from the factory, although you can change things like the interior panels at a later date at the dealer."

Vauxhall hasn't yet announced UK prices for the Adam, but the cheapest model is likely to undercut the entry-level MINI by around £500.