The last time I drove a Suzuki Vitara it left me feeling a little flat. The example in question was the 1.5 Full Hybrid SZ5 AGS, that’s the one with Suzuki’s 1,462cc petrol engine coupled to a CVT transmission: the full hybrid version. All new Suzukis now have some form of hybrid assistance.
After driving that particular model from Cheshire, and across into North Wales, I wrote, “Even some of Suzuki’s own personnel seemed unsure about such things; almost apologetic in fact. While perfectly acceptable around town and in slower traffic, where the electric assistance helps fill any gaps in the torque curve and soothes any upshifting imperfections, once out in the open the automated manual’s shortcomings become more apparent. There’s a hesitancy, plus a tendency to hold on to the lower ratios. Add a less than sonorous engine soundtrack, and things soon begin to feel somewhat strained. Granted, the Vitara in any guise is no sports car, however the Full Hybrid Allgrip’s 0-62mph time of 13.5 seconds is pedestrian to say the least”.
After sampling a similarly-specced Vitara over the same route and on the same day, a northern-based colleague of mine penned, “There is much to like, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend the new car”, before summing-up succinctly with “Sorry Suzuki, not your best effort”.
I’m under no illusion that speccing any car, regardless of manufacturer, can be a minefield, so, keen not to tar every Vitara – a vehicle I’ve always rather liked in fact – with the same brush, I recently asked Suzuki’s award winning (And rightly so!) press office if they’d be kind enough to lend me another one for a few days. They promptly delivered their 1.4 BoosterJet Hybrid. And I’m happy to report I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I discovered.
Not only does the 1.4 Boosterjet engine feel more eager, punchier, more torquey, it cuts a whole four seconds off the 1.5’s 0-62 mph time. As I mentioned before, a Vitara is not a sports car; unless Suzuki’s engineers do something really radical with one in their spare time it never will be. Nevertheless, when you find yourself on a slip road, or needing to overtake someone on their Sunday morning saunter to the garden centre, the extra oomph the 1.4 provides makes a whole world of difference. As does the gearbox. I’m not a fan of CVT transmissions whereas the Japanese on the other hand seem to love them. My humble opinion is, unless you absolutely really have to have the automatic, get the manual instead. The 6-speed ’box may feel slightly knuckely on first acquaintance, but it’s still far, far nicer the than the constantly vocal rubber-band alternative. The mild-hybrid manual 1.4 also returns better mpg than the full-hybrid automatic 1.5 CVT: 53.2 mpg WLTP combined, as opposed to 48.4. It all adds up.
Elsewhere in the 1.4 Boosterjet, fortunately, it’s Vitara business as usual. That means a comfy, if slightly rolly ride, a well-judged and easily adjustable driving position, space for five and their luggage, high 40s real-world (rather than laboratory conditions) mpg, and Suzuki’s enviable reputation for reliability. Did I mention the fact that Suzuki were recently voted Best Manufacturer in the Car Dealer Power Survey?
And there’s all the tech you actually need too: LED lights, Lane Departure Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Apple CarPlay, Stop-Start. Parking Camera, Adaptive Cruise Control, ISOFIX… it’s all there. So too a 5 Star Euro NCAP rating. I’ll concede, some of the interior plastics are a tad hard and scratchy, and in places the Vitara’s interior design is beginning to show its age – there’s no fancy digital dashboard, and the sat-nav is best described as a tad last season, maybe even the season before that. And why Suzuki did you remove the big analogue clock that used to sit dead centre atop the dashboard? I genuinely miss that.
But, technological and horological niggles aside, there’s an honesty to the Vitara that seems lacking in some other similarly-sized SUVs. Pick the Allgrip version, select four-wheel drive, and believe me, the Vitara will go almost anywhere you point it. You can’t say that about a Nissan Juke or a VW T-Cross. In fact of the Vitara’s now twenty-something rivals, only Toyota’s more suburban feeling Yaris Cross offers an all-wheel drive option. I know which one I’d rather have.
And there perhaps lies the Vitara’s trump card. It’ll play the economical school-run SUV roll all-day long should you want it to, so too the comfy motorway cruiser. Yet come the time you need a proper 4×4, it is very-much fully equipped and capable. A sodden grassy festival car-park or a snowy morning’s commute need never strike fear in you again. The truth is, fitment of Boosterjet engine aside, there’s nothing really new about the Vitara, still, it retains a certain charm. My advice: Pick your engines wisely. Do so, and you’ll find there’s still a lot to like about Suzuki’s tough little perennial SUV.
Suzuki Vitara 1.4 BoosterJet HYBRID SZ5 ALLGRIP
Engine: 1,373 cc (K14D) 4-Cyl petrol hybrid
Power: 129 bhp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 173 lbft @ 2,000 – 3,000 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed, manual, with selectable and lockable ALLGrip four-wheel drive
Electric Motor: Type WA06B System Synchronous motor
Maximum output: (kW / rpm) 10 / 3,000
Maximum torque: (Nm / rpm) 53 / 500
Performance: 0-62mph 9.5 sec
Max Speed: 118 mph
MPG: 53.2 Combined (WLTP)
CO2: 120 g/km
Price: from £24,449.
@bird_liam
Many Thanks to Jessica, Ade, Alun, Paul, and Perry, at Suzuki UK’s press office
Recent Post
