Small SUV is big value for money

Monday, 11 February 2019

**SUZUKI VITARA TURBO 2WD

Base price:** $33,990.

Powertrain and performance: 1.4-litre turbo-petrol 4-cylinder, 103kW/220Nm, 6-speed automatic, FWD, Combined economy 5.9 litres per 100km.

Vital statistics: 4175mm long, 1610mm high, 2500mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 375 litres, 17-inch alloy wheels with 215/55 tyres.

Suzuki has given the Vitara a fresh new face for 2019. Thankfully all that chrome can be optioned away.

We like: Brilliant engine. Comfortable interior with great seats. Well laid out cabin. Excellent ride.

We don't like: Fiddly touchscreen. Hard plastic door trim.

Both Suzuki Vitaras turned 30 years old last year. Wait, both? Yeah, the current Vitara and the Grand Vitara sort of split off from the same line in a messy way, with the Grand Vitara carrying on with the ladder chassis history of the original, while the vehicle we now call the Vitara shares a monocoque platform with the S-Cross.

But it was only the latter that got a facelift for its birthday that included a new front and a whole load of new safety gear for good measure.

There's some unpleasant plastics where they shouldn't be, but generally the Vitara's interior is modern, comfortable and attractive.

So this isn't really a proper Vitara is it?

Depends what you consider 'proper' to be - is it a rugged ladder chassis part-time 4X4? No. Does it have the associated crude ride and poor on-road handling properties? Thankfully, also no.

Nope, this is a modern, comfortable small crossover SUV, which was a direction Suzuki always had to take the Vitara if the company ever hoped to sell any.

This particular example will enrage hardcore purists even further by not even being AWD, truly surrendering everything the Vitara used to stand for in favour of fashion over function.

Well, guess what? It's way better for it too.

I see it says that the engine is only 1.4-litres. Surely that is a typo?

While the small SUV segment is home to some pretty wild styling, Suzuki have kept things conventional with the Vitara.

Nope - the Vitara Turbo is powered by Suzuki's thoroughly excellent, but stupidly-named 1,373cc BoosterJet turbo engine, and it does a brilliant job of hauling the little crossover around.

While 103kW of power isn't massive, the BoosterJet's secret lies at 1,500rpm, which is where the little turbo engine's full 220Nm of torque kicks in and then proceeds to hang around right up to 4,000rpm, making the engine brilliantly flexible and well-suited to the Vitara.

This is also down to the fact that, even by its segment's diminutive standards, the Vitara is a relative featherweight, with the 2WD Turbo tipping the scales at just 1120kg, putting it around 100 to 150kg lighter than others in its class (And, in a couple of cases, 200kg lighter).

It's got a silly name, but Suzuki's BoosterJet turbo engine is a brilliant little thing.

Around town the Vitara is a superbly comfortable little commuter that is small enough to squeeze into the tightest parking space with ease. It's ride is impressively refined and it actually gets even better out on the open road.

The punchy mid-range of the engine is as suited to open road cruising as it is to around town duties and its handling also tells a tale of its low weight, being nicely responsive and accurate.

The steering is somewhat distant and uninvolving and it does quickly default to understeer when things get aggressive, but it is very predictable and capable. Or, in other words, exactly what you would want from a small, tall car.

No, this wouldn't be our choice of colour (although the black roof could stay), but Suzuki offer a wide range of customisation options.

So, other than the face, what else is new with it?

The Vitara Turbo now gets Suzuki's full suite of safety and driver assists, including lane departure warning, weaving alert, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, a reversing camera and the company's Dual Sensor Brake Support collision avoidance system with emergency autonomous braking.

It is a remarkably comprehensive and effective system, particularly from a small manufacturer, with the adaptive cruise control working particularly well.

The Turbo is also comprehensively jammed full of standard equipment, making it impressively well equipped for the money.

Seriously though: what's up with that colour?

While the Vitara looks great in its two-tone colour option (that adds a black roof and $800 to the price), the unsettlingly bright metallic gold our test car came in was not something we would go for.

It's not helped by the unnecessary amounts of chrome slathered around the nose of the Vitara - while we could live with the grille slats, the accents under the DRLs are a blingy bridge too far.

But Suzuki does offer a surprisingly wide range of customisation options for the Vitara, including colour and matt black alternatives for the grille and DRL accents, as well as a number of other exterior and interior accents, meaning your Vitara can be as restrained or wildly tasteless as you want and is one of the most customisable things in its segment.

Any other cars I should consider?

There is no shortage of competitors in the small SUV segment, with things like the Mazda3, Hyundai Kona, Holden Trax, Honda HR-V, Mitsubishi ASX and Toyota C-HR all fitting in there.

Then there are the Euro options like the excellent Seat Arona, Skoda Karoq and, if you want to spend an excitingly larger amount of money, the Volkswagen T-Roc.

And, of course, the Citroen C3 Aircross has recently landed at roughly the same money as the Vitara and offers almost as many customisation options and those looks. Depending on whether you consider those looks brilliant or awful will make your choice for you there, of course.