I WAS a fan of the quirky-looking Ignis when it was first launched in 2017 so I was pretty sure I'd take to the more rugged ‘ultra compact' SUV version that has followed in its footsteps.

I wasn't wrong. Thankfully, it retained everything that was good about its predecessor while adding those new, more muscular looks, and a new hybrid powertrain.

As well as those love-them-or-hate-them headlights, the facelifted Ignis features a SUV-style five-spoke front grille, along with front and rear bumpers featuring trapezoid shape silver under garnishes, amplifying its overall SUV character and style.

Despite its city car size - just 3,700mm long and 1,690mm wide - it still remains roomy and comfortable with ample space for four adults, and plenty of head and legroom. It's a mystery how it does it. Even at 6ft 2in, I had no problem finding a comfortable driving position as there's a decent amount of adjustability behind the wheel.

It's also well specced with an emergency braking system, lane departure warning and weaving alert, auto aircon, LED Headlights, rear privacy glass, DAB Radio and Bluetooth, a seven-inch touchscreen, rear view camera, 16-inch alloy wheels and smartphone link display with Apple Carplay, satnav, cruise control and door mirror mounted indicators.

The SZ5 ALLGRIP I was driving, which comes with a rear differential, has 204 litres of luggage space..However, its two individual rear seats can slide 165mm to provide either greater luggage capacity or more rear passenger leg room. Luggage capacity increases to 514 litres with both rear seats folded and can be as high as 1,100 litres if fully loaded to the roof line.

The cabin also features storage space - as well as the two-section glove box design, there are bottle holders in the centre and rear consoles as well as in the front and rear doors.

The new hybrid powertrain incorporates an Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) which acts as both a generator and starter motor. It assists the engine during vehicle take off and acceleration and also generates electricity through regenerative braking.

The system also uses a compact high performance lithium-ion battery placed under the front passenger seat to store energy and incorporates an idle stop function operated via the ISG. The system only uses its conventional engine starter motor when first started from cold, under all other conditions it uses the ISG unit to allow smooth and quiet engine restarts.

A reasonably-slick five-speed manual transmission is fitted as standard and the gear ratios are optimised to help provide a good combination of performance and fuel economy. Officially it returns an average of 52.4mpg so I was well pleased with the 54.3mpg I got.

Suzuki's engineers have also improved its ride and refinement adding new insulation materials to cut vibration and noise on the move, plus extra body reinforcements in the tailgate, roof, floor and suspension mounts. It's still a little noisy at motorway speeds but no more than any other car of its size and price.

The Ignis is a little fidgety over rougher road surfaces but it's a real peach around town, nippy, efficient and easy to park. It's pretty good on those out of town twistys too. There's plenty of grip, only a tiny bit of body lean and though it isn't particularly quick there's a real zestiness about it.

And, of course, Suzuki's ALLGRIP four-wheel drive system is a well proven and simple fully automatic and permanent four-wheel drive layout which transfers additional torque to the rear wheels when required via a viscous coupling. It is ideal for those living in rural areas who may need to deal with slippery tracks or rough winter weather without having to bother with a larger, much more expensive SUV.

Enhancements to the system include Hill Descent Control and Grip Control. Grip Control activates on slippery surfaces at speeds of less than 18mph. Once switched on by the driver, it focuses torque on the driven wheels that have grip and will quickly apply braking to the wheel that is slipping.

Other safety features include ESP (Electronic Stability Program), along with front, side and curtain airbags.

£19,349

82bhp, 1,197cc, four-cylinder petrol-electric engine driving all four wheels via a five-speed manual transmission

103mph

12.8 seconds

52.4mpg

15

121g/km

29%

3yrs/60,000 miles

4