The latter-day variant, mostly forgotten, is known as the Jimny and has been with us since 1998. That's a rather staggering display of longevity in itself, but only an equal to the previous SJ-series, and still a junior compared with the original LJ ('light jeep') design, which soldiered on from 1969 to 1981.

But Suzuki’s offering was too small, too feebly marketed and probably still too quirky for it to reach the tipping point that would be Nissan’s decade-defining automotive achievement.The previous SX4, a five-door, Giugiaro-penned hatchback, predated the original Qashqai, already traded under the correct name and sported that oh-so familiar 4x4 look now seemingly craved by an ever-growing number of buyers.
Second time around, Suzuki now insists it has got the new model right. Dubbed the SX4 S-Cross, this second-generation incarnation shares nothing with its predecessor. It is now a proper C-segment contender, with one of the biggest boots in the class and offered with a choice of two highly economical four-cylinder engines
Better still, Suzuki boasts that it has been engineered by the same team responsible for the Swift – our preferred cut-price supermini. So in the S-Cross’s case, is bigger better?