THE little Suzuki Jimny is funky looking - like an overgrown toy truck - but make no mistake, this is no softy.

It is great for a bit of urban fun and it is more than capable at getting through the rough stuff while being very economical for a 4x4.

But on a longer journey, it is very hard to live with. Tough long travel suspension is needed to soak up the lumps and bumps off-road without damage.

And that combined with short wheelbase makes for a very lumpy, choppy, uncomfortable ride. Over distance, this becomes very wearying indeed.

The 1.3-litre engine has more than enough power for local journeys 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 road-holding is reasonable for a four-wheel-drive but, of course, it's just the same as other 4x4s and will not corner anywhere near as quickly as a car.

Some have aircon and all have electric windows, electric heated mirrors and remote locking, but the boot is tiny. Top grade SZ4 model gets alloys, rear privacy glass and a hard spare wheel cover.