C'est la Vitara

What we like:

Solid bang for buck feel

great design that will age well into the decade

What we dislike:

Slightly cramped rear quarters

So then if the car looks pretty solid, packs enough practicality for all your needs, the only thing that remains is to find out if it drives.

Powered by a 1.6l naturally aspirated engine that makes 118 bhp and 156 Nm, the Vitara surprisingly doesn’t feel slow or underpowered like you might think. Sure it’s no Swift Sport, but it’s not bad for everyday use considering it’ll return fuel figures of about 13 km/l if you don’t try and race everybody around you.

The gearbox is a regular six speeder that will do just fine left to its own devices although if you wanted to get the most out of the engine you can always take manual control via the aforementioned paddles.

Here we only get the all-wheel drive version which is a good thing because it comes with the Suzuki ALLGRIP system that allows you to go into everybody’s favourite Sport mode which actively engages all four wheels to deliver maximum grip whilst reducing traction and stability control intervention. All this means that the Vitara is actually quite entertaining to drive because it has quite a nice amount of grip in and out of corners but get a bit frisky and you’ll get the chance to practice counter-steering.

Suspension set up plays a part in this too, because the Vitara was tuned to be fun which means a slightly firmer ride without being too uncomfortable for daily use. Unfortunately with the high centre of gravity the car does roll around a bit but is not a huge deal breaker at all.

So if it checks all the boxes I laid out above and Ann Kok endorses it, I’m sure it’ll do just fine with the customers at the showrooms.

Perhaps this could be that SUV that is a fit for you too.

Credits: Story and Photos by Alvan Sio