Suzuki Jimny

Price from £15,499

Top speed 90mph

MPG up to 41.5

Engine 1.5 litre petrol

CO2 154g/km

Craig Brown, the satirist known for his parodies in Private Eye, once said: “As a rough rule of thumb, the smaller the pond, the more belligerent the fish.” The Suzuki Jimny – or Jimmy as almost everyone miscalls it – is a small fish swimming in the large and unpredictable waters of the motoring market, but my goodness it is belligerent. Launched back in 1970, the original “Wee Jimmy” was designed to be a cheap, easy-to-use, go-anywhere 4×4 that would take some of the ponderous self-regard out of off-roading. The result was a dinky rapscallion that has remained almost unchanged in all those years. It’s one part cheeky, one part chunky and one part cheerful. Just look at it… I bet you’re smiling already.

Over the decades it has refused to modify itself. Rather unbelievably, in an era where most manufacturers are tweaking and refreshing their models every other year, the third-generation Jimny has been left totally unchanged since 1998. The fact that Suzuki has now decided to produce a fourth generation is, therefore, very big news for lovers of very small cars. But don’t panic. There is nothing here to scare the horses. The latest Jimny is still the same rugged rascal.

Putting the fun into functional: the inside of Suzuki Jimny

Spending a week with the car is an eye opener: most people were all thumbs-up, big smiles and, “Nice car, mate!”; but others were just plain irritated by it. One woman stopped me in the supermarket and said, unprovoked: “Your car is an actual joke?”

I drove three friends to an event one evening and all I got were snitty comments. They complained about its size, its colour (lime green), its poor comfort, its pathetic boot. By the time I’d dropped them home, the car had won them over. I’m not sure how, but it made me suspect the pint-sized Jimny has a secret superpower: it can make friends with anyone.

In the 20 years since Suzuki took a good look at its pocket rocket, three significant shifts have occurred in the motoring world: we’ve gone mad for SUVs; we’ve accepted miniaturisation has a role to play in our crowded cities; and all things retro have become cool. A miniature retro SUV could not be more timely.

If you’ve ever travelled in an old Jeep or early Land Rover Defender you’ll feel quite at home in the Jimny. It’s functional fun. It’s been built for a hard life. The car is powered by a four-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine – there is no diesel option. It is supremely capable off-road and has levels of grip and self-control that some of our more unhinged politicians could learn from. However, it’s not fast and on the motorway the road noise is dreadful. It also isn’t particularly safe, nor is it very efficient. The steering is heavy and the handling clumsy. All of which leaves me grappling with a perplexing dilemma: there is no logical reason to buy a Jimny so why would I, and thousands of others, snap one up in a heartbeat? I told you this car had a superpower.

Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter@MartinLove166