Pandas in their sights: Suzuki targets Fiat's small car with their new Ignis

So where better to drive it than in Rome?

Not only does it have a tall seating arrangement, it also comes with a four-wheel-drive option.

The upright seating gives the Ignis huge interior room. Despite only being 4.7m long, the legroom in the back was impressive. There's reasonable boot space too, capable of swallowing a few cabin-sized bags.

On some versions, the standard rear bench is replaced by separate sliding seats which can accommodate more luggage.

The downside is that this turns the Ignis into a four seater.

Power comes from the 90bhp 1.2 litre Dual Jet engine we've seen before in other Suzukis.

The 4WD version comes with the same engine but fitted with a light hybrid system that weighs just 6kg.

A 5spd gearbox is standard with the option of an automated manual.

I liked the cabin with its mix of functionality and a few funky details, including sturdy metal door handles in place of the usual plastic items.

An accessible 7ins touch screen supports both Apple and Android phones as well as Mirror Link.

A decent satellite navigation system is fitted as standard on some models.

To drive, the Ignis is no sports car. The chassis is quite soft and the predominant characteristic is understeer.

There's precious little communication through the steering wheel, I must say.

But as soon as you accept that you're not going to get razor-sharp turn-in, the Ignis turned out to be a faithful companion on open roads.

Around town, the excellent visibility, high seating position and impressive turning circle all combined to make it a great little car for urban driving.

The ride was comfortable, although on particularly bad bumps it could feel a bit crashy.

My one real gripe was with the light action of the pedals, particularly the brake, which felt spongy.

However, our test cars were pre-production models so this could easily be fixed by the time they reach customers.

At the lunch stop, we had the chance to try the 4WD AllGrip version.

This uses a central viscous coupling to send power to the rear wheels when wheelspin is detected.

Finding a rutted cart track up a hill that would challenge any front-wheel drive vehicle, I attacked it with no subtlety whatsoever. The result was lots of wheelspin from both axles. Yet the Ignis faithfully made it to the top. Bravo.

With 180mm of ground clearance, some decent off-road tyres would transform the car into quite a capable tough-terrain motor (though who would necessarily want one is another question). The system weighs just 50kg and comes with Hill Descent and Grip Control.

Dual cameras mounted on the windscreen support auto braking, lane departure and lane weaving warning systems.

A rear parking camera is fitted to mid-spec versions.

Prices start at €12,995 with delivery and related charges extra.

Standard spec/equipment includes air con, six airbags, DAB radio and Bluetooth.

The next trim level is called SZ-T and its models get sat nav, 16ins alloys, rear parking camera, sliding rear seats, body mouldings and roof rails for €14,495 upwards.

The top-spec SZ5 trim gets automatic air con, LED headlights, LED DRL, dual camera brake support and cruise control.

Prices for that level of trim start from €16,495 for the hybrid versions.

I have to say that the CO2 emissions for non-hybrid cars are an impressively low 104g/km.

The hybrid versions, meanwhile, reduce the figure to 97g/km.

You can expect to see the car in Ireland quite soon as they are promising that first deliveries will start early next year.