These things are a matter of opinion, of course, but I would be prepared to defend stoutly my contention that Suzuki has produced some distinctly odd cars over the years - the sort of thing at which the Lads will stare wryly for a few moments before muttering that they're glad it was me who became a motoring journalist and not any of them.A couple of deep breaths and a robust sense of humour are often required before climbing aboard the company's latest offering. But not in this case. The Suzuki Ignis, tested here in five-door form with automatic transmission, is a splendid effort.At heart it's a town car, and a very effective one. It's short, and the views are good, so you can negotiate busy streets without any great concern that an unseen corner will clang into an obstacle you were hoping to miss. The steering is appropriately light, while the perky 1.3-litre engine means there is no sense of having to work hard to get up to 30mph, which often makes driving similar cars something of a chore even in town.What is more surprising is that the Ignis is pretty useful on the open road too. A typical day's driving for me involves a total of over an hour buzzing through the countryside, and despite initial doubts this turned out not to be a problem at all. With 82bhp available and not a lot of weight to lug around, overtaking is a piece of cake in most circumstances.It helps that the automatic transmission is quite willing to change down when the need arises. In fact the test car had a habit of doing that even when the need did not arise, which meant that on occasions I screamed past slower traffic at far more revs than I would have chosen if I'd been looking after the gear selection myself. I suspect I may have got some odd looks for that, but I didn't have the nerve to check.First thing in the morning the Ignis refused to select top for several minutes, and the changes were often a bit unsubtle. Clearly this is not a state-of-the-art gearbox, but let's just put those particular flaws down to the need for a little adjustment. Overall - and this from someone who considers automatics to be the work of Beelzebub - I'd say that this would be the transmission of choice for most owners, especially if most of their driving was in urban areas.Some town cars have no interior room at all, and some have plenty of headroom but force taller drivers to sit with the steering wheel in their ribcages. The Ignis was, in the front at least, remarkably roomy - another plus point in the matter of countryside motoring - though there's far less space in the back. And less again in the boot, which looks very clever with its twin-floor arrangement but doesn't actually allow you to carry very much. You wouldn't get a week's shopping in there without having to use the back seat as extra storage space.All the same, the Ignis came as one of the big surprises of the year. Whatever strange devices may appear under the company's banner elsewhere in the price lists, this is unquestionably a serious Suzuki.Second opinion: By a long way the best-looking multi-purpose small Suzuki yet. It's nippy around town, and lively on country roads too. Fine 1.3 engine. Very roomy passenger cabin for a car under 12 feet long, and well placed in the cupholder stakes with a lot of extra stowage spaces too, but I'd like a more up-market fascia material. Suzuki still has its old problem about noise suppression. I wouldn't go for the automatic: too few gears, performance down and fuel consumption noticeably up compared with the five-speed manual. CO2 emission levels higher too. Ross Finlay. Engine 1328cc, 4 cylinders Power 82bhp Fuel 38.0mpg Top speed 96mph