diff --git a/system/database/drivers/sqlite3/sqlite3_driver.php b/system/database/drivers/sqlite3/sqlite3_driver.php
index 2af9738..0db366e 100644
--- a/system/database/drivers/sqlite3/sqlite3_driver.php
+++ b/system/database/drivers/sqlite3/sqlite3_driver.php
@@ -120,13 +120,19 @@
 	// --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 	/**
-	 * Version number query string
+	 * Database version number
 	 *
 	 * @return	string
 	 */
-	protected function _version()
+	public function version()
 	{
-		return implode(' (', $this->conn_id->version()).')';
+		if (isset($this->data_cache['version']))
+		{
+			return $this->data_cache['version'];
+		}
+
+		$version = $this->conn_id->version();
+		return $this->data_cache['version'] = $version['versionString'];
 	}
 
 	// --------------------------------------------------------------------