Suzuki Vitara
IF you want a Suzuki Vitara with the maker’s ALLGRIP four-wheel-drive system, you’ll have to go for the higher-spec SZ5 model, which costs £22,049. this is more than both its rivals, but the car goes some way to squaring the price gap with a more powerful engine, the strongest claimed efficiency and the most kit – but is this enough?
Styling 3.4/5
AS with the tivoli XLV, the Vitara’s design focuses on sharp lines and striking details compared with the curvier Dacia. It’s a solid-looking SUV, with a bright two-bar grille that connects the headlights.
there’s a silver skid plate insert lower down in the bumper, and while this might be more cosmetic than functional, it gives the Suzuki a rugged look. the bright LED running lights sit either side of the foglights in angular recesses that accentuate the car’s width, even though it’s the narrowest of our trio.
Other design details such as the fake vents at the edges of the bonnet and the muscular lines that flow back along the doors and up over the rear wheels add a dash of sportiness, while our model’s £800 Horizon orange and black paint highlights the flared body. Metallic paint is available for £430, but if you want a contrasting black roof it’ll cost an extra £370.
the orange paintwork extends to the inside, with the gloss plastic strip that runs across the Vitara’s dash painted in the same colour as the exterior. If you want to customise the interior even further, you can spec the rings surrounding the air vents in the same colour, as well as the plastic trim around the gearlever. It all helps give an even more vibrant feel – and the Vitara’s cabin needs it.
Without this extra trim, the Suzuki is a little dull. the materials don’t look or feel any more expensive than its rivals’ here, with hard plastics throughout. Still, everything seems well screwed together – it’s just that the cabin lacks quality at this price.
However, one thing the Suzuki doesn’t lack is equipment. Four-wheel drive comes only on the SZ5, but while this trim level costs £22,049, it includes sat-nav, DAB, Bluetooth, parking sensors, reversing camera, LED lights, adaptive cruise and keyless go.
Driving 4.0/5
WITH 118bhp and 320Nm on offer, the Suzuki’s 1.6-litre turbodiesel is by far the punchiest here, as our performance figures show. Good traction off the line and a positive six-speed manual gearbox that allowed quick changes meant the Vitara sprinted from 0-60mph in 10.1 seconds.
the 1,259kg kerbweight combined with the extra power meant its in-gear times were also far quicker than its rivals’, with the 6.8-second 50-70mph time in fifth a particular highlight. this was because the engine was well into its torque band at this point, and once the 320Nm peak figure arrives from 1,750rpm, the Vitara takes off with plenty of energy.
If you rev the engine hard beyond 3,000rpm, it sounds a bit coarse – but there’s enough performance in the lower reaches of the rev range that, in order to make decent progress, you don’t really have to.
the other benefit of that low kerbweight is the Vitara’s sharp handling. It’s the most precise to drive, by some margin. the steering is faster, there’s more grip and the chassis corners with more composure, rolling less in bends. However, this dynamic ability stems from the Suzuki’s firmer suspension set-up, which means most of the time the dampers don’t deliver enough compliance to rival the Duster for comfort. the faster you go, the better the ride gets, but on bumpy country roads this isn’t always possible. Meanwhile, potholes and speed bumps around town affect the Vitara more, whereas the Duster takes them in its stride.
As with the tivoli, the Vitara has been designed with only very light off-roading in mind. that said, Suzuki’s mud-plugging expertise has been used to deliver a more versatile all-terrain set-up than the Ssangyong, with drivers able to choose from Auto, Snow and Sport modes. You can also lock the centre differential for maximum traction.
Ownership 3.1/5
COMPARED with its competitors, the Suzuki’s safety kit is impressive. SZ5 spec has autonomous braking with collision warning, adaptive cruise control, LED headlights and seven airbags as standard, which means the Vitara gets a five-star Euro NCAP rating.
Suzuki’s performance in our Driver Power survey wasn’t so good, as the brand finished in 19th position, two-thirds of the way down the rankings. Readers rated its dealer network in a more positive light, scoring Suzuki’s official garages in seventh spot. And with fair service prices, trips to the dealership for routine maintenance should be good.
running costs 3.4/5
THIS trio of 4x4s won’t be as economical as their two-wheel-drive-only counterparts, but if you’re a business user wanting the most efficient all-wheel-drive model, it’ll have to be the Suzuki.
Despite its extra power, the Vitara’s 1.6 diesel emits 111g/km of CO2 – 12g/km less than the Duster and 18g/km less than the tivoli XLV. this means a lower BIK rate of 22 per cent, which equates to company car costs of £968 per year for a lower-rate taxpayer.
As a result, Suzuki owners will save a slim £4 per year compared to the Ssangyong, but the Vitara’s higher price counts against it, so the Dacia will actually cost £222 less per year in company car contributions. Both the Vitara and the Duster will cost the same to insure for our sample driver at £503 per year, whereas the tivoli is a further £270.
Our Suzuki returned the strongest efficiency on test, too. It recorded 45.5mpg, while the Duster returned 40.0mpg at the pumps. the Ssangyong could manage only 32.4mpg. this means there’s around £550 between the Suzuki and Ssangyong’s annual fuel costs, according to our figures.
Practicality 3.7/5
It has the smallest boot on test, but with a 375-litre load area the Vitara still offers respectable practicality. Fold the 60/40-split rear seats flat and this rises to 710 litres – although this is only to the window line. However you look at it, there’s adequate room.
Its versatility comes from features such as the adjustable boot floor, which provides an area to store items out of sight. there’s a pair of storage trays in front of the gearlever and two cup-holders behind it, while the driving position and visibility are good. the interior’s not perfect, but despite the car’s smaller dimensions here, rear head and legroom are more than acceptable.