Suzuki Vitara Full review

The Suzuki Vitara has been transformed from a utilitarian family-friendly SUV into more of a crossover with Range Rover Evoque-inspired styling and more advanced equipment. There's also more dynamic driving ability on offer, but it's not quite up with the class best.

If you can sacrifice a little ride comfort, and value driving dynamics more, the Vitara is a fine crossover that's car-like to drive, with a sharp chassis and steering, but its lack of boot space counts against it. The diesel's mix of strong efficiency and performance is impressive.

Still, with a responsive and agile chassis for the class, and great efficiency from both the petrol and diesel options, this latest crossover-style Vitara is a much more alluring proposition than its off-road biased predecessors.

• Best crossovers

Combining value, style, safety and versatility in a good-looking package, only the low-rent feel of the dash and poorer depreciation than some rivals that really let the side down – especially if you’re spending over £20k on a higher-end model.

Our Choice:
Suzuki Vitara 1.6 SZ5 ALLGRIP
The original Suzuki Vitara was a compact jeep-style SUV model that was a huge hit when it went on sale. Despite it being genuinely good off road, many bought one as a cool fashion accessory.

There was a more practical five-door version of the first Vitara, and the second-generation followed this route, as it became a more family friendly off-roader with a utilitarian edge. This continued with the third generation, but the Mk4 model launched in 2015 followed Suzuki's own SX4 S-Cross and turned into a crossover.
Best crossovers and small SUVs

There’s a choice of a 1.6-litre petrol, 1.6-litre diesel or 1.4 turbo petrol engines, all of which feel sportier than you'd expect. There are manual and automatic gearbox choices, too. Most models in the Vitara range are front-wheel drive, with 4WD reserved for higher spec versions.

Suzuki Vitara - front tracking
There are four trim levels, starting with the SZ4, which has alloy wheels, Bluetooth, cruise control and air-con. The SZ-T adds sat-nav and a reversing camera, while the SZ5 brings parking sensors and a panoramic sunroof.

The sporty Vitara S range-topper is the only model to feature the 1.4-litre turbocharged engine. It's smaller than the 1.6, but is more powerful and fuel efficient. The S features adaptive cruise control, LED headlights and 17-inch alloys, as well as a unique grille treatment.

There are a variety of paint and contrasting roof options, and you can personalise the interior with a variety of trim colours. Safety equipment includes an auto braking function, adaptive cruise control and seven airbags.

Engines, performance and drive

4.2
Nimble handling makes the Vitara more fun than it has ever been - especially if you pick the new 1.4
The high-riding Suzuki Vitara backs up sprightly performance with agile and engaging handling.

Suzuki says its aim with the Vitara was to make it drive like the Swift supermini, and it’s not as far off as you might think. The extra weight and higher centre of gravity means it doesn’t change direction quite as quickly and it rolls a little more, but it still clings to the road eagerly when you up the pace.

Suzuki Vitara - front static
The steering is relatively light yet offers plenty of feel, and the Suzuki turns into corners with surprising eagerness. Grip is strong and body movement well contained despite the car’s tall stance, too.

The raised driving position and light steering make it well-suited to driving around town, but if you want a Suzuki Vitara with the maker’s ALLGRIP four-wheel-drive system, you’ll have to go for a higher-spec SZ5 model or above. If you want to do some light off-roading, the system is more than happy to oblige.

Four transmission settings - Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock – change where the power is sent. Auto is a two-wheel drive fuel-saving mode for when you’re cruising on the motorway, while permanent four-wheel drive modes Snow and Lock can help extricate you from sticky spots. Sport sends power to the rear tyres when needed, according to throttle inputs.

Engines

The 118bhp 1.6-litre diesel model sounds a bit agricultural on anything more than half throttle, but a broad spread of torque means you always have power on tap, while the similarly 118bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine sounds sporty and loves to be revved.

Curiously, the diesel model has a slightly softer suspension set-up than the petrol so it’s the one to go for if comfort is top of your list of priorities, but both models ride well and deliver decent refinement at motorway speeds.