Suzuki Grand VitaraSuzuki’s Vitara has been around for so long now – not far off a quarter of a century – that, from the original little Vitara onto the current generation of sizeable of Grand Vitaras, it is not too fanciful to suggest that it is becoming almost as iconic as the great off-road flag-bearers of Jeep and Land Rover.Of course, as ever, the use that owners in the UK put their 4wd cars to is almost exclusively on tarmac, so it eventually dawned on manufacturers some fifteen or twenty years ago to get such vehicles to perform just like other road cars: family saloons and hatchbacks that didn’t roll or pitch and yaw like a boat if you had to go round a corner or shove hard on the brakes. Now all such cars can manage all road conditions with the sort of aplomb that was once the private territory of the upper end of the motor market. In this respect, Suzuki’s Grand Vitara is up with the best. Areas for improvement are not however limited to the way the car performs and handles; how it feels from behind the wheel is significantly important. The current Grand Vitara has managed to put behind it some of its lesser qualities, which can be summed up, in retrospect, as a certain ‘looseness’. There may have been a feeling that, well , if this car costs ten thousand pounds less than a German-badged equivalent, well that’s OK...because it performs well anyway, and does the job safely and reliably. This lack of a real feeling of quality went down to various aspects of the previous model, including minor controls, knobs, switches, and so on.Now, though, it’s climbed a rung or two.Not only that, but, in the case of the 1.9 diesel SZ5, the Suzuki can continue to hold its own as a prime contender for anyone getting into this particular area of the car market for the first time, or (dare we suggest?) wanting to stay here but needing to keep more of an eye on the bank balance. Our test car was the 1.9 DDiS SZ5. This is a five-door model at the top end of the range, and is priced at £23,250. In Suzuki hierarchy, the SZ5 gives you that much more than the SZ4, so you get 18-inch alloys as standard, HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps, an electrically-operated sunroof, and leather seats all round with heating for those in the front. Our test car had metallic paint, which is an optional extra at £415. This is a lot of new car for your money.Suzuki’s claims are that the key characteristics of the 1.9 diesel car are its fuel economy and pulling power through its maximum torque across a wide rev-range. Torque peaks at 2000 rpm. In theory, according to the official fuel consumption figures, you get 41.5 mpg in the combined cycle; CO2 emissions at 179 grams per kilometre are down from 185. (Well done, but, sadly, this makes no difference to the £200 annual road fund contribution that you have to pay – another two grams less would save £20.)But it has to be said that with this engine the car is extremely easy to drive. Given the standard achieved with steering, handling and braking, you are able to sit there and, once you’re under way, you can cruise about in great comfort with hardly a need to use the gear stick. Yes, peak torque is at 2000 revs, so if you need to hurry past the chap in front, then maybe drop a gear and go for it. Otherwise, the engine offers so much flexibility that it’s happy to pull away from a thousand revs. Not only that, but there is little of that old-fashioned, unseemly diesel clatter; during engine development for the Euro 5 emissions target, work also done on the flywheel, engine mountings and bushings has resulted in a car that feels quiet and refined to the extent that whether or not it is diesel-powered would never cross a passenger’s mind.For the driver, the car feels totally competent. Personal preference would be for a slightly less firm ride, and the gear-change is perhaps an area for improvement to make it feel less ‘notchy’. Real life fuel consumption over around 600 miles driving in all types of traffic conditions, as displayed on the trip computer, was 37 mpg.Size: 3.87m x 1.87mEngines: Petrol: 1.6 & 2.4 litres – 106 & 169PSDiesel: 1.9 litres – 129PSGearbox: 5-speed 4WDBest consumption: Diesel – 41.5mpgPrice at Sept ’11: from £15,995Full details of the Grand Vitara are available on the manufacturer’s website: www.suzuki.co.ukTom Scanlan – Sept 2011
Suzuki Grand Vitara
Suzuki’s Vitara has been around for so long now – not
far off a quarter of a century – that, from the original
little Vitara onto the current generation of sizeable of
Grand Vitaras, it is not too fanciful to suggest that it is
becoming almost as iconic as the great off-road flag-
bearers of Jeep and Land Rover.
Of course, as ever, the use that owners in the UK put
their 4wd cars to is almost exclusively on tarmac, so it
eventually dawned on manufacturers some fifteen or
twenty years ago to
get such vehicles to
perform just like other
road cars: family
saloons and
hatchbacks that didn’t
roll or pitch and yaw
like a boat if you had
to go round a corner
or shove hard on the
brakes. Now all such
cars can manage all
road conditions with
the sort of aplomb
that was once the
private territory of the
upper end of the
motor market. In this
respect, Suzuki’s
Grand Vitara is up
with the best.
Areas for improvement are not however limited to the
way the car performs and handles; how it feels from
behind the wheel is significantly important. The
current Grand Vitara has managed to put behind it
some of its lesser qualities, which can be summed up,
in retrospect, as a certain ‘looseness’. There may
have been a feeling that, well , if this car costs ten
thousand pounds less than a German-badged
equivalent, well that’s OK...because it performs well
anyway, and does the job safely and reliably. This lack
of a real feeling of quality went down to various
aspects of the previous model, including minor
controls, knobs, switches, and so on.
Now, though, it’s climbed a rung or two.
Not only that, but, in the case of the 1.9 diesel SZ5,
the Suzuki can continue to hold its own as a prime
contender for anyone getting into this particular area
of the car market for the first time, or (dare we
suggest?) wanting to stay here but needing to keep
more of an eye on the bank balance.
Our test car was the 1.9 DDiS SZ5. This is a five-
door model at the top end of the range, and is priced
at £23,250. In Suzuki hierarchy, the SZ5 gives you
that much more than the SZ4, so you get 18-inch
alloys as standard, HID (High Intensity Discharge)
headlamps, an electrically-operated sunroof, and
leather seats all round with heating for those in the
front. Our test car had metallic paint, which is an
optional extra at £415. This is a lot of new car for your
money.
Suzuki’s claims are that the key characteristics of the
1.9 diesel car are its fuel economy and pulling power
through its maximum torque across a wide rev-range.
Torque peaks at 2000 rpm. In theory, according to the
official fuel consumption figures, you get 41.5 mpg in
the combined cycle; CO2 emissions at 179 grams per
kilometre are down from 185. (Well done, but, sadly,
this makes no difference to the £200 annual road fund
contribution that you have to pay – another two grams
less would save £20.)
But it has to be said that with this engine the car is
extremely easy to drive. Given the standard achieved
with steering, handling and braking, you are able to sit
there and, once you’re under way, you can cruise about
in great comfort with
hardly a need to use
the gear stick. Yes,
peak torque is at 2000
revs, so if you need to
hurry past the chap in
front, then maybe
drop a gear and go for
it. Otherwise, the
engine offers so much
flexibility that it’s
happy to pull away
from a thousand revs.
Not only that, but
there is little of that
old-fashioned,
unseemly diesel
clatter; during engine
development for the
Euro 5 emissions
target, work also done
on the flywheel, engine mountings and bushings has
resulted in a car that feels quiet and refined to the
extent that whether or not it is diesel-powered would
never cross a passenger’s mind.
For the driver, the car feels totally competent. Personal
preference would be for a slightly less firm ride, and the
gear-change is perhaps an area for improvement to
make it feel less ‘notchy’. Real life fuel consumption
over around 600 miles driving in all types of traffic
conditions, as displayed on the trip computer, was 37
mpg.
Size:
3.87m x 1.87m
Engines:
Petrol: 1.6 & 2.4 litres – 106 & 169PS
Diesel: 1.9 litres – 129PS
Gearbox:
5-speed 4WD
Best consumption:
Diesel – 41.5mpg
Price at Sept ’11:
from £15,995
Full details of the Grand Vitara are available on the
manufacturer’s website: www.suzuki.co.uk
Tom Scanlan – Sept 2011
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