THE Suzuki Jimny is the ideal answer for anyone who wants a 4x4 that is small enough to be easy to drive and economical, but tough enough to take real rough country.
Suzuki know all there is to know about 4x4s - it has been building them for over 40 years and small cheap off-roaders are getting few and far between, which is a shame for those who have come to like them.
The Jimny performs very well off road, with a proper set of low ratio gears just like the big boys and plenty of ground clearance.
But if you don't need that capability, it can be rather wearing on-road because it's very slow at anything above 40 miles an hour.
And it also has a very bouncy ride on most of our increasingly rough roads, which means long journeys are not to be recommended.
Prices are down to £2,000 though and reliability is usually very good.
Interior
It only has four seats, with 50/50 split fold for the rear two and with seats in place, there is hardly any luggage room.
In fact there is no spare space anywhere in this little mud plugger. With the front seat back for a six footer, there is virtually no legroom behind.
FAST FACTS
Suzuki Jimny
Price: Pay £3,000 for '03 reg
Mechanical: 80bhp, 1,328cc, 4cyl petrol driving four wheels via 5spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 87mph
0-62mph: 17 secs
Combined mpg: 34
Insurance group: 7
Marks: 6/10
Main rival: Daihatsu Terios, Fiat Panda