DIESELautomatics are oddly still quite rare, so a new crossover with that setup should do well.

The latest offering from Suzuki is a cracker and ticks all the right boxes. They've borrowed Fiat's very good twin clutch six-speed automatic and added it to the diesel version of the four wheel drive S-Cross.

In the not too distant future, the same set up is going to be available in the latest Vitara too.

In the S-Cross, it drives drives beautifully, I think this is a good move on Suzuki's part. I drove one recently and felt that the company had got just about everything right.

As almost always, the diesel auto is a little slower than the manual, but most owners aren't looking for such a car to be as quick as a hot hatch.

However, the engine is a smooth and quiet 1.6, and the gearbox does all the changes so seamlessly and easily that I cannot believe any owner is likely to use the manual setting that's available.

It also has a Sport mode, which means the gearbox holds onto lower gears a little longer and gives enough urge for overtaking safely on two lane roads.

This car's big plus has always been its excellent ride and the automatic is just as good, soaking up the worst of road surfaces in its stride and also taking lumpy town roads very smoothly.

There is some roll as is usual with 4x4s, but road-holding and handling are still safe and sure, even at speed.

The diesel auto is only available in SZ5 models at the top of the range, but at least that brings pretty much all the bells and whistles that most people could want.