Refined Ride

At the heart of Suzuki SA’s Vitara offering is a 1.6 litre normally aspirated engine with outputs of 86kW and 151Nm. One could, I suppose, argue that this is a relatively modest power output.  That being said, it is a point that becomes moot when you drive the Vitara.

 

My experience with our GL+ 2WD (Red with Black Roof) test unit on a lengthy road trip to the North West and Limpopo provinces did not reveal an overly sluggish engine. In fact, considering we were four adults with a fair amount of luggage and equipment crammed in the back, I would rate the performance as pretty good.

 

Sticking to the legal speed limits produced fuel consumption that was not far off the manufacture’s advertised 5.8 (litres/100km) and thanks in part to the slick five speed gearbox, there was nary an overtaking manoeuvre that had me wishing for any of the accoutrements, I referred to in the opening paragraphs of this article.

 

I was most definitely impressed was the ride refinement of the unit. The roads in the northern part of the country can be pretty bad at times and I was pleasantly surprised by the way the vehicle handled the difficult surfaces.

 

If I had to venture a guess I think the sensible use of high-profile tyres along with clever suspension design are probably the two key factors in this regard.  Whatever the reason, the result is that I reached our far flung destinations less tired that I thought I would be.

 

No doubt the comfy driving position and impressive all round visibility (something I often find lacking in crossovers) contributed to the relaxed driving experience.

 

Creature Comforts

As one would expect from a Japanese manufacturer the interior is solidly put together. Admittedly if it were not for a touch of colour on the gear knob and areas surrounding the gear lever, the interior would have been a pretty sombre affair.

 

Everything falls to hand fairly easily and the ergonomics of the dashboard and ancillary controls is good, bordering on the intuitive.

 

As expected the little comforts; like tilt and reach adjustable steering, remote central locking, Bluetooth and USB enable sound system and a powerful aircon are all present and accounted for in the Vitara. As we had the GL+ spec unit on test we benefitted from additional items  such as 16 inch alloy wheels, colourful interior and exterior touches, climate control and cruise control, to name but a few.

 

As can be expected safety is well catered for and there are seven airbags, ABS, ESP, and the much coveted five-star EuroNCAP rating.

 

Final Analysis

Did you know that in 2015 Suzuki produced 3 034 081 cars? This equates to some 346 cars an hour. Pretty impressive for what many people consider to be one of the ‘smaller’ car manufacturers -incidentally Suzuki has 44 dealers nationwide.

 

I am sure that amongst all the cars produced by Suzuki there will be a fair number of new Vitaras because they offer good refinement, reasonable pricing (R273 100 at the time of testing), quirk-free driving and an attractive design.

 

There is probably not much more you could ask for (or need) from a crossover.