With good levels of standard equipment and low list price, the SX4 is decent value for money. It’s no more expensive than the 1.6 GLX hatchback as a new purchase and will be cheaper as a second hand buy as it’s not as sought after. Running costs could be better – annual car tax rates are higher than you’d expect and there’s no diesel engine available.

But on the plus side, servicing at Suzuki dealers is competitively prices, although some parts can be tricky to get hold of. Insurance is group 16 in the new 1-50 rating system introduced in 2009. Under the old ratings, it would have been a group 7.

The SX4 isn’t a particularly polluting model, but it has high emissions when compared to other small petrol cars. The 1.6-litre petrol engine emits 165g/km of CO2 although economy is a little more acceptable at 42mpg.

Suzuki has a good reputation for building reliable cars and the SX4 has been similarly impressive. Some of the interior plastics scratch quite easily but otherwise it seems well put together. We’ve not heard of any major problems.