10. SZ3 5dr Hatchback

Absolutely brilliant at what it's designed to do

I drive a lot of cars for work from 4x4's to motorway barnstormers to little run abouts, so all I need is a run about myself. After having owned a Suzuki SX4 (best car I've owned), and a Suzuki Swift diesel, I do like this brand. I fancied something different. When my Swift diesel had its 6th DPF fault, on a whim (literally on a whim) I drove to my Suzuki dealer one Saturday to buy a petrol Swift. But having been persuaded to take a test drive by the salesman I left having bought a brand new Celereo (although in reality I picked it up a few days later).

So why did I buy it? Well simply, for £7,995 on the road, I got a true 4 door, a comfortable (and very easy) car to drive. Much more boot space than the Swift and well it's just fabulous and quirky (my wife thinks it's like a hedgehog running along a lawn from the back). Zero tax, and very low insurance. I commute 40 miles a day in it, part country lanes and part the M5 to Bristol - I average, yes average 63.7mpg. On a run doing 65 it will average 80mpg if I'm careful. And parking is a doddle with its tight turning circle and narrow profile. How Suzuki have managed to produce a car that is so lovely to drive, so economical and so comfortable, with good leg room in the back, for this money is beyond me.

Okay it's not perfect. The 3 cylinder engine is a bit raucous if revved, but now it has 7k miles on the engine it has freed up lovely, and with a bit of gear shifting is peppy and lively for all but the most demanding of things I throw at it. Though I will say 4 up on a steep hill is second gear without a run up, The interior is well lets say functional, lots of plastic, but I am often outdoors in coats and wellies, so washable plastics and very little to tear is good. However despite its narrowness, it's very roomy inside. Surprisingly so.

To be honest I've driven vastly more expensive cars for work that have been less fun to drive. This little narrow Celereo (or Celeriac as the salesman said everyone calls it) deserves to be a best seller. It will never do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, but that's not what it's designed to do. If you want a comfortable, reasonably well equipped and comfortable everyday car that gets you from A-B without too much fuss or cost, buy a new Celereo instead of that second hand more fashionable car. In many ways it reminds me of a 2CV6, Morris Minor or a Renault 4 of old. A bit quirky but full of character. Well done Suzuki, you have produced a car which does what a car should do in a brilliant package here.

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