THE little Suzuki Jimny looks a great vehicle for a bit of urban fun, and it is certainly more than capable at getting through the rough stuff.
But out on the open road on a longer journey, it is very hard to live with.
They are funky looking - like an overgrown toy Tonka truck - but make no mistake, this is not a softie.
That means tough, long travel suspension to soak up the lumps off-road without damage, and proper low ratio gears like a Land Rover Defender.
The little 1.3-litre engine is more than enough for this, and to give reasonable acceleration up to 50 miles an hour.
But above that it struggles and when cruising at 70 miles an hour on the motorway, economy drops considerably.
The hard suspension combined with short wheelbase makes for a very lumpy, choppy, uncomfortable ride and over distance, this becomes very wearing indeed.
And although the road-holding is reasonable, it will not corner anywhere near as quickly as a car.
Interior
Inside things are fairly utilitarian and there are only four seats, with the rear two right above the rear wheels giving a very lumpy ride.
Some have aircon, many have electric windows and heated mirrors, all have remote locking, but the boot is tiny.
FAST FACTS
Suzuki Jimny
Price: Pay about £4,600 for an ’05 05-reg JLX, or £7,900 for an ’08 08-reg JLX+
Mechanical: 80bhp, 1,328cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving four wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 87mph
0-62mph: 14.1 seconds
Combined mpg: 38.7
Insurance group: 7
CO2 emissions: 174g/km
BIK rating: 20%
Marks: 7/10
Main rival: Daihatsu Terios