Suzuki has long been an automotive enigma. For a company that has been rolling out beautifully crafted superbikes for many years their curious offerings on the car market have bemused many a reviewer not to mention the car buying public.

Other brands such as Kia and Hyundai had upped the ante with their greatly improved cars and so it became apparent to Suzuki that they would have to do likewise or face the prospect of getting left behind in the automotive race.

It was only a few years ago that the old Suzuki Swift could be found on British roads, usually being driven at about 20mph on the motorway, they were only really popular with cash strapped pensioners who used them pretty much as motorised shopping trolleys.

Then we come to the Suzuki Vitara which became the ultimate accessory for the 90's hairdresser and was generally found in white, in fact I think you could only get them in white. Often seen with ridiculously over-sized wheels and a distinctly unfunny spare wheel cover on the back which depicted two animals mating, oh dear.

Things weren't much better with Suzuki's foray into light commercial vehicles with the Suzuki carry (also known as the Bedford or Vauxhall Rascal). What it could actually carry I'm unsure of, but it looked as if it would struggle with much more than the driver on board.

All this was to change dramatically however when in 2005 Suzuki hit the ground running with the launch of the all-new Swift. The Swift had a big press launch in the UK and appeared in TV commercials featuring none other than Cristiano Ronaldo which saw him demonstrating some of his ball skills to some adoring young fans before disappearing in his little Swift.

The Swift is essentially a poor man's Mini but still manages to deliver nippy performance especially the Sport version and is well built and of course costs a lot less than its counterparts. The Swift comes with a number of petrol engines plus a diesel engine sourced from Fiat which delivers good fuel economy.

The Suzuki Splash was developed with GM who also manufacture the car as the Vauxhall Agila. The Splash replaced the Wagon R which was an ill advised name for the British market but as with the Swift the Splash is another good example of a small city car which people are now turning to in their droves. I don't know if this is luck or a very shrewd move by Suzuki to capture this growing market.

Suzuki still offers a 4x4 range which consists of the Jimny which is a cheeky little off-road vehicle which has been around since the 1970's. The Jimny has been improved and restyled slightly but is still really an imitation Jeep. It comes with rigid front and rear axles and switchable four wheel drive as well as a dual ratio transfer gearbox.

Curiously the Jimny is only available with a petrol engine in the UK which does not offer amazing fuel economy. They are renowned for their reliability and despite its small size the Jimny performs respectably well off-road and is unrivalled in the small 4x4 market.

The Grand Vitara has been brought up to date and now looks like a far more sensible vehicle than the Vitara of old with the five door version being the most desirable. Finally we have the SX4 which is a small urban SUV with the option of four wheel drive should you need it around town. Another car closely developed with Fiat but although it is built in Europe the steady hand of Japanese build quality still remains firmly placed on its little shoulder.

So there you have it, Suzuki has brought itself to the fore as a supplier of small practical cars that are well placed to succeed in an ever- changing market.