The tortoise and the hare
The fourth generation Suzuki Vitara was initially offered with all-wheel drive, but now, for less money, you can get it in two-wheel drive but with a turbocharger. Trails or highways… which is better?
Back in 2016 we headed to the mountains around Knysna on the local launch of the all-wheel-drive Vitara Allgrip. Three years later, Suzuki released the turbocharged Vitara and we shared our first impressions of the vehicle in October 2019.
We were impressed by the Vitara Allgrip’s ability on dirt roads but we never claimed it offered a spirited drive. The Vitara Turbo, however, was certainly more fun to drive,
although dirt-road driving at the local launch was limited.
Suzuki took the opportunity to revamp the interior with the Vitara Turbo’s arrival. The touchscreen has the same menu software that made its debut in the Suzuki Jimny in 2019. The air-con buttons have been modernised and an attractive analogue clock now sits between the two middle air vents.
We hopped behind the wheel of a Suzuki
Vitara during the last week of lockdown level 4 in May – essential-services permit in our back pocket – to figure out what’s more important: to be able to drive faster on a highway, or to be able to drive on sandy roads?
With the Vitara Allgrip and Vitara Turbo, we have the embodiment of Aesop’s fable The Tortoise and the Hare. The capable Allgrip tortoise challenging the turbocharged hare.
Two engines
The Suzuki Vitara Turbo uses a 1 373cc fourcylinder turbocharged petrol engine with the same Boosterjet technology that’s also currently featured in the Suzuki Swift Sport – the so-called K14C engine.
By contrast, the slightly older Vitara Allgrip uses a 1 586 cc straight four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine – the M16A engine – used in the Suzuki SX4 since 2006.
The 1,6 ℓ engine has never had stonking power output levels, but it’s as reliable as a John Deere tractor and consumed our lowquality petrol without complaint. The newer 1,4 ℓ turbocharged engine is considerably more alert, but it’s plagued by typical turbo lag when you accelerate from standstill. It’s almost as if it’s been woken from a nap under a tree and now has to first take a couple of steps before getting to full speed.
The closest worthy competitor in South Africa, especially in terms of price, is Renault with its Duster range. The Duster is offered in front-wheel and all-wheel drive and has a similar engine capacity to the Vitara. Other competitors are the Kia Sportage and Volkswagen Tiguan, although they’re obviously more expensive and luxurious.
We would have liked to have compared the Vitara to the Mini Cooper Countryman
we never claimed it offered a spirited drive
and the Subaru XV, too, but they’re both only available in all-wheel drive.
On the blacktop
The Suzuki Vitara feels small when you get in behind the wheel – far smaller than the popular old Grand Vitara. The narrow seats squeeze your buttocks as if you are sitting in a kiddies chair, the ceiling is low, and it appears as though the steering wheel lies right in your lap. This is, however, the curse of tall people (you probably won’t notice these issues if you’re shorter than 1,6 m). The steering wheel is height adjustable, but not reach adjustable.
The Suzuki Vitara Turbo certainly has the upper hand over the Vitara Allgrip in terms of speed, as its turbocharger has the engine singing compared to the older 1,6 ℓ engine of its dirt-road sibling. The Vitara Turbo, however, is no sports car – at 9,5 sec to reach 100 km/h it won’t blow your hair back. Granted, it’s nearly a second faster than the Volkswagen T-Cross’s 10,2 s and the Hyundai Venue’s 11,5 s. Both of these competitors trump the Vitara Allgrip’s snail’s pace of 12 seconds though.
Yes, Hare’s 1.4 turbo engine definitely shows more enthusiasm compared to Tortoise’s more modest 1.6, but then again, the Vitara Allgrip can travel on gravel.
On the gravel road
What a pity that Suzuki decided way back when to drop low-range gearing and the diff lock. Their decision is somewhat understandable as few Vitara owners actually used these devices.
The Vitara Allgrip nowadays uses drive modes, namely Snow, Automatic, Lock and Sport – which was good enough to get us up a muddy Prince Alfred Pass in 2016. We’re confident that it will also be able to mount the Sani Pass, provided the border police accept the Vitara Allgrip as a true 4x4 vehicle.
In terms of off-road capability, the Vitara Allgrip and Turbo both measure 185 mm off the ground. This ground clearance, however, contrasts poorly with the Ford Ecosport’s 206 mm and even the Hyundai Venue’s 195 mm. The Ford and Hyundai don’t offer allwheel drive, though, and therefore don’t cut it despite their superior ground clearance.
Because the Vitara Turbo is driven only by its front wheels, it’s not happy on sandy roads. We drove enthusiastically on a sandy bit next to the sea – don’t worry, it was legal! – and could feel the Vitara Turbo struggle to keep going. Experience tells us the Vitara Allgrip would have fared better here.
The Vitara Turbo’s 215/55 R17 low profile tyres are also bumpy on a dirt road, while the Vitara Allgrip’s thicker 215/60 R16 ones deliver a more pliant ride.
Conclusion
The Suzuki Vitara’s direct competitors Ford Ecosport, Mazda CX-3, Honda CR-V and Nissan Qashqai are all available in other countries as all-wheel drive vehicles, but over here, they’re only driven in the front wheels. Of the three, we think the CX-3 is the best when it comes to road-holding ability and spirited driving.
As already mentioned, the Mini Countryman and Subaru XV are also competitors, but the XV we get in South Africa is quite lazy when compared to the Suzuki. You can definitely consider the Mini Countryman though. The Volkswagen T-Cross and Hyundai Venue are also turbocharged just like the Vitara Turbo, but you can’t get them in all-wheel drive anywhere. So Suzuki’s offer is somewhat unique in South Africa.
The Vitara has a generous luggage space (450 ℓ) – large enough to fit, oh, let’s say 90 pineapples and 30 bags of sugar (plus another 10 sachets of yeast in the cubby hole). It’s slightly larger than that of the Duster (414 ℓ), but obviously smaller than the Kia Sportage’s 466 ℓ and the cavernous 520 ℓ of the Volkswagen Tiguan.
If you’re not considering any of the competitors and have your heart set on the Suzuki Vitara, you will then need to decide whether you want to go faster with a Vitara Turbo, or want to be able to deal with sandy and muddy roads in the Vitara Allgrip.
Yes, Hare is undoubtedly the faster, but we’re Team Tortoise all the way!