They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. I guess there are plenty of examples of impersonators to back up this age old quote in modern society. The Beatles have been mercilessly plagiarised by scores of bands - most notably Oasis, McDonalds are constantly faced with hundreds of new fast food outlets each year and in the car world, the new Suzuki Swift is a cheeky take on the Mini. In fact Japan imitates the styling of European cars, blends it with their ingenious engineering and can produce such monumental cars as the Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline or new GTR.

The thing is though that in my experience, imitation isn't the most sincere form of flattery, it's just really annoying. My old neighbour and part-time friend was a prime example. If I bought myself a piece of cutting-edge fashion (that invariably looked awful) we'd look like twins as he'd buy the same clothing the next week. Having saved up my hard-earned cash from a god-awful summer job I treated myself to an all singing all dancing guitar amplifier. I knew what I was getting was the best having lost a day of my life to researching all about it on the internet. Imagine my joy when on the day it arrived, the delivery guy said "I've just dropped the same thing off next door too, odd co-incidence". If only it was.

It got so bad that I'd say I wanted a CD or DVD and let him buy it, discover he didn't like it due to being genetically different to me in every way but gender and then have him sell it to me for half price. Thanks to the money I saved buying things this way I was able to move out from my parent's house and into my own, a safe distance away from Mr Copycat.

Imagine how BMW felt then when the modern Mini took over the cheeky supermini market within days of its launch. Pretty smug and wealthy is how I picture it. It wasn't a big surprise really, when you consider firstly the massive following the original had garnered and that the small hatchback market was as interesting and appealing as sticking your head in the oven. The funky design was modern and striking but retained the key features of the original, such as the round headlights, square roof, and racing stripes. Combined with BMW's build quality, a smidgen more practicality and competitive pricing the old fans flocked to the showrooms and were joined by everyone from trendy bachelors, business women, mums and everyone in between. In short, for the second time in history, Mini turned the small hatchback market on its head.

Popularity as we know breeds imitators. Unfortunately for BMW and their Mini, the latest Suzuki Swift offers nearly all the pros of the Mini, very few cons and a sack-load of money left over if you buy one. If I got angered at my neighbour, I can only imagine how the suits at BMW reacted to Suzuki's unveiling of this.

The Suzuki is styled with cute headlights at the front, square roof and racing stripes - sound familiar? Despite its funky exterior, the Swift drives in a very mature manner with the car living up to its name thanks to petrol or diesel engine options that are very responsive. Driving around town, the Suzuki can nip into parking spaces larger hatchbacks only dream of. It's light to manoeuvre and puts a smile on your face. On the open road things get better still. Minimal body roll, a quiet cabin even when hurtling along the motorway and responsive steering leave you praying for more bends in the road.

The interior is finished to a high standard and belies the fact you're in a supermini rather than a larger saloon. There's plenty of headroom thanks to a high roof and the seats provide plenty of back support, although lack of adjustment options on the steering wheel reach do leave you sitting as upright as if you're a meercat. Rear boot space is limited compared to larger rivals but is still usable.

And now for the best bit: the Suzuki Swift starts at £8,299 a full £3,000 less than the entry level Mini. Make no mistake, for this price you're not getting a Mini wannabe, but a bona fide supermini that'll put a smile on your face whatever the weather and wherever you're driving.

So will I be getting one? Most probably. I've mentioned it to my ex neighbour so I'll pick it up for half the price in a month or two.