Mission Impossible
When NZ4WD Editor Ross Mackay was offered a Suzuki Vitara Turbo – completewithroof-mountedbikerack–fortheweekendheheadednorthto check out Waitangi’s beaut new Mountain Bike Park.
We couldn’t convince Thomas Mapother IV to break away from his filming schedule, so we got the next best thing – Ross Mackay put the Suzuki Vitara Turbo through its paces, even crawling onto the roof to secure his bicycle in true Ethan Hunt fashion.
OK, I’m no Tom Cruise, but I always seem to be on one mission or another.
This particular one involved three of my favourite things; driving, mountain biking and a Suzuki Vitara Turbo. So put it this way, I was going to ‘choose to accept it’ come what may.
Two years ago the original ‘new Vitara’ was named Compact 4WD SUV of the Year by sister magazine NZ4WD. And last year its place at the top of the ‘Small-ish’ SUV totem was taken by the then new Turbo model.
I was part of the ‘focus’ group that made both those decisions and can confirm that the Vitara remains the magazine’s de-facto small-to-medium size all-rounder of choice.
At $38,790 + ORC the twotone AWD Turbo is not only the top of the local Vitara line, it is also one of the best small-to-medium vehicles currently for sale here, SUV or otherwise. Few complaints Not everyone (including some in our voting panel) liked the (noseheavy) look of the new Vitara when it was first introduced here. Dynamically though, there were few complaints, particularly when the Turbo arrived here a year or so ago.
It’s a lively little (just 1.4 litre) power plant and one which – when driving to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission and Suzuki’s fourmode (Auto, Sport, Snow & Lock) Allgrip AWD system – punches so far above its weight you could put a 1.8 litre sticker on it and I’m sure no one would be able to tell the difference.
Combine full-time fourwheel-drive with a wonderfully communicative chassis, accurate and beautifully weighted steering and you have a confident and agile corner carver with reserves of limpet-like grip you have to experience to truly believe.
Key advantage The key advantage an SUV has over a similarly sized conventional car, of course, is interior space. And so it is with the Vitara.
Despite its ‘Small to Medium’ sector status, the ‘little’ Suzuki has a nice airy, spacious feel to the cockpit, and the front seats are both all-day comfortable in the fore-aft plane, and nice and supportive, particularly of the upper part of the torso, when the driver starts pushing the grip level envelope through the twisties.
It is also particularly wellspecced with both up-and-down and in-and-out adjustment for the steering column, accurate and particularly easy to use cruise control (which comes complete with a speed limiting function), full climate air (conditioning) plus the usual list of interior deal makers like Touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity for your phone, Apple Carplay and Android Auto (with six speaker sound in the line-topping Turbo model) , USB outlet and 12v accessory sockets front, rear and in the luggage area.
Love driving the thing In short, I love driving the thing. Though I wouldn’t call that affection completely blind.
Fit and finish, for instance, is not quite up with some of its European marque competitors (meaning it feels specced and assembled to a price point rather than ultimate standard). And I’m still not sure the hotch potch mix of various fabrics, plastics, textures and trim items works in any Vitara’s ultimate favour.
This is splitting hairs though. In terms of dynamic ability, fitness for purpose and bang-for-your-buck Suzuki’s Vitara Turbo is unrivalled!