Car review (launch report): Suzuki Vitara
When I was growing up, just before getting my driver’s licence, there were two cars in my radar; a Volkswagen Golf VR6 (which I couldn’t afford and my Dad wouldn’t allow) and the Suzuki Vitara. I grew up on the beach and I would picture myself cruising along the coast looking oh so cool in my Vitara. A guy up the road from where I lived had one and I will never forget the day we drove past and it had a “For Sale” sign on it. I think I screamed so loud my mom almost crashed our Kombi. But it was never to be. My Dad didn’t want me driving a Suzuki (he has his weird reasons) and we couldn’t afford the asking price anyway. I was devastated. I never lost that love for the Vitara though and so I was over the moon to be attending the launch of the second generation Suzuki Vitara this week along the gorgeous Garden Route.
This car was first launched 27 years ago. It was one of the first, if not the first, compact SUV, which at the time was a rather unique notion.
Unfortunately, just like when you watch The Neverending Story as an adult and you are left feeling robbed of your beautiful childhood memories and imagination, the same was with the Vitara. As it was revealed I was left feeling disappointed as it no longer resembled my first love. It is now a rather generic and somewhat bland looking compact SUV. However, there is method to Suzuki’s madness. If it wants the Vitara to compete in this ever-growing segment, it needs to match its rivals.
So it may not look like the original, despite Suzuki trying to point out the similarities, but it is in no way an unattractive car. It is a completely new Vitara from the ground up. The front sports Suzuki’s traditional clamshell bonnet design and a two-blade grille links the bonnet to the trapezoidal lower air intake. Clear-lensed headlight clusters, colour-coded bumpers, recessed fog lamps (except on the GL model) and daytime running lights are all integrated in to the front-end design. The designers have added some visual accents such as fender garnishers at the base of the A-pillars and blacked-out B and C-pillars.
The new Vitara also introduces three brand new colours – Atlantis Turquoise pearl metallic, Horizon Orange metallic, and Savannah Ivory metallic. In addition, the roof and grille can be ordered in contrasting hues, depending on model and colour. One is able to personalise the new Vitara with eight exterior colours, four roof colours and three grille finishes (chrome, black an white).
Step inside where you are also able to personalise your Vitara by specifying contrasting or colour-coded accents to elements such as the dashboard insert, as well as the air vent and clock surrounds. There is plenty of space in the cabin and the seats, especially the leather/suede combination, are comfortable. Unfortunately, both my driving partner and I struggled to find a comfortable driving position even with the tilt and reach adjustable steering wheel and height adjustable seats. However, the raised driving height is a plus for most people.
The MP3/WMA-compatible multi-speaker audio system includes a CD player and FM/AM tuner, as well USB connectivity. In addition, integrated Bluetooth connectivity allows hands-free telephony. The boot offers 375 litres of luggage space and because the rear is wide and low, it makes loading things in to the boot much easier.
The Suzuki Vitara is powered by a 1,6-litre petrol engine. No diesel is offered I’m afraid. It produces 86 kW and 151 N.m of torque. This was enough when traversing the dirt roads at reasonably low speeds but once on the open road I found myself down shifting far too often when trying to overtake another car. The five-speed manual transmission could do with that extra 6th gear. When cruising at 120 km/h you are sitting well in to 3 000 rpm. The claimed fuel consumption is 5,8 l/100 km, but we managed around 7,6 l/km.
Like I mentioned, off-roading was no problem, especially in the GLX AllGrip which comes standard with AWD. I had a blast! My passenger was left holding on to the side of his seat as I felt ever-so confident behind the wheel on the gravel. I couldn’t decided whether it was more fun driving with this confidence or seeing the expression on my passenger’s face as we flew (with ease) along the windy dirt roads.
The new Vitara range consists of five models spanning three specification levels and a choice of front or all-wheel drive and either manual or automatic transmissions. We will only see the automatic hit our shores at the end of this month.
I foresee the entry level GL and the mid-rage GL+ selling, but I am just not sure why anyone would want AWD in this segment. In fact Suzuki even released survey results of the compact SUV customer and only 7% buy a compact SUV for its AWD capability. The main reason they buy one is for its design at 45%. I would have thought practicality would have been a big reason, but that was only 8%.
So the new Suzuki Vitara may not contain the nostalgia I may have been searching for, but perhaps it’s time for me to grow up and this is exactly what the Vitara has done. I feel like that girl who sees her friends settle down but still hopes they will attend all the parties with her. The friendship may not be the same but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. But if you want another option, I would check out the Suzuki SX4.