Suzuki Vitara 2015 Review

Name: Suzuki Vitara 2015 Review
Brand: Suzuki

The small SUV war is hotting up with another new entrant thrusting Suzuki back into the spotlight

Suzuki Vitara RT-S and RT-X

Local Launch
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

It's often disparagingly observed that modern SUVs are no more than high-riding fashion statements. Certainly Suzuki is hopeful that the eye-catching looks of its new Vitara will be a deciding factor in the minds of prospective buyers also considering the Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V. The Suzuki is well priced and well packaged, but against its key rivals performance is called into question. Success for the Vitara will hinge very much on marketing and salesmanship.

Suzuki's Vitara revives an old name and introduces a certain angular style to set it apart from the very curvy Honda HR-V and the very 'Kodo' Mazda CX-3.

It's that boxy look that will also distinguish the Suzuki SUV from its stablemate the S-Cross, which shares its platform with the Vitara, but is focused more on mini people mover-style roominess and packaging.

That's not to say that the Vitara is not well packaged itself. Suzuki claims the Vitara offers significantly more luggage capacity than the CX-3 – over 100 litres more in a shorter footprint. It certainly is a usefully large boot, featuring a false floor for concealing smaller items or keeping grotty stuff away from perishables. The spare wheel is a space-saver, however, which some might find off-putting, and finger pulls to flip forward the rear seats would be nice to have.

The lower-specced RT-S – without a sunroof to encroach on rear-seat headroom – will accommodate average-sized adults in a respectable degree of comfort. Even the high-grade Vitara RT-X offers adequate spaciousness for adults in the rear, it's just that the headroom there is marginal for those measuring 180cm (six foot) or taller.

At any rate, the Vitara is roomy enough for a small but growing family, with even the tallest of kids unlikely to outgrow the Suzuki until they're well into their teens. The one shortcoming for rear-seat occupants is the lack of face-level vents.

Accommodation in the front also delivers the goods. The driving position is up to scratch, although I could wish for a smidge more reach adjustment in the steering column. While the seats were comfortable – and nicely trimmed in leather and suede for the RT-X grade – they were lacking support, which became obvious as soon as the Vitara was punted into corners a little harder than most drivers are ever likely to do.

The infotainment screen in the centre fascia takes little time for the driver or front-seat passenger to understand. It's broken up into four quadrants, each of which can be drilled-down for further information or to change settings, but it's very easy to back out and the screen on its home page displays all the information you're likely to need at any given time, other than trip computer data, which appears in a display located between the major dials in the instrument binnacle. In other words, Suzuki's work on the touch screen, which also displays the view from the reversing camera when parking, has yielded a good outcome; the system is easy to use and informative.

All the driver's controls were located where they should be and were easy to use, even down to the indicator stalk and combined auto headlight switch on the right of the steering column. The Vitara in manual RT-S form offers very slick shifting, thanks to the lever and its light, positive shift action. Clutch take-up was the right height too. The Vitara manual is one of the better examples of a quality clutch and gear shift combo.

That's just as well, since the rapid shift action makes up for the lack of a sixth gear and the somewhat leisurely performance of the 1.6-litre four-cylinder. Developing 84kW and 156Nm, the naturally-aspirated powerplant is in the ballpark of 2.0-litre engines a decade back, but it still struggles with moving the Vitara, even given the SUV's slimmed down weight.

Also, as charming in its own way as the engine is (there's a sporty induction note from the mid range), its power delivery is in a relatively narrow band of revs from about 3500-5000pm. Once the revs have reached 5000rpm in a higher gear, you might as well change up – especially on hills, as a climb up Arthurs Seat demonstrated during the drive program. The engine will rev out at least another 1000 revs beyond that, but power is tapering off by then.

While the capable automatic transmission sampled in the Vitara RT-X has an extra cog, the flagship model is also carrying the extra weight of an all-wheel drive system. However you cut it, the Vitara is no rocketship. Both its principal competitors are torquier and more powerful. But the Vitara is quite economical, in its defence. On the outbound leg of the drive program the Vitara RT-X posted a figure of 7.0L/100km, according to the trip computer, and the RT-S manual on the way back was only marginally thirstier, at 7.3L/100km.

Many (if not most) buyers will probably accept the performance deficit of the Vitara in exchange for the money saved at the pump. And the Vitara will keep up with traffic and even forge ahead with enough determination on the part of the driver.

The Vitara doesn't need startling performance around town, and it's unlikely to go far off-road, but the power and torque shortfall may pose a problem when overtaking.

While effortless performance is lacking in the Vitara, it is easy to drive. There's enough torque down low for short shifting around town, and brakes, clutch and steering are light enough without failing to provide feedback.

In corners the Vitara impressed with its steering response and strong adhesion. There was no torque steer evident – although the Vitara is prone to wander at the straight-ahead – and while the rear-end could be induced to swing out on dirt, it did take some effort to unsettle the Vitara. It was basically surefooted on both dirt and (dry) bitumen. Even in tight hairpins, the stability control system didn't have to intervene much to keep the Vitara tracking correctly with the power firmly applied.

As a bonus, the Vitara rides well too, and NVH is very well suppressed. The engine does get a bit noisy higher in the rev range, but it's never unrefined. Even at around 1000rpm in fifth gear, there's barely any labouring from the engine. At idle the engine is neither heard nor felt. Some tyre noise is present at higher speeds, and the manual RT-S with an optional roof rack generated some wind noise on the freeway, but the cabin is well insulated from noise.

Unfortunately some fixtures within the cabin do rub together and squeak, or, as in the case of the false floor in the luggage compartment, clatter and bang on occasion. Build quality was decent for a small SUV priced from below $22,000. The interior was put together well, with no sign of glaring panel gaps; the doors closed quietly but securely and there were no mismatched colours. Some of the plastics were hard and durable rather than nice to the touch, but they were textured and solid rather than plain and flimsy.

Suzuki expects the front-wheel drive Vitara RT-S to account for 75 per cent of sales, and 90 per cent of all Vitaras sold to be equipped with automatic transmission. That says something about the target buyer for the new car. Given Vitara's point of difference and its value for money, we think it's an odds-on chance of selling as many as 500 units a month, as Suzuki Australia hopes.

2015 Suzuki Vitara RT-S and RT-X pricing and specifications:

Price: from $21,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder
Output: 84kW/156Nm
Transmission: Five-speed manual or six-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.8L/100km manual, 6.0L/100km auto, 6.3L/100km AWD auto (ADR Combined),
CO2: 136g/km manual, 139g/km auto, 147g/km AWD auto (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: TBA

What we liked:

>> Tidy handling
>> Ride comfort and low NVH
>> Charming but efficient engine

Not so much:

>> Stunted performance
>> Space-saver spare
>> No face-level vents in the rear

Also consider:

>> Honda HR-V (from $24,990 plus ORCs)
>> Mazda CX-3 (from $21,990 plus ORCs)
>> Mitsubishi ASX (from $24,990 plus ORCs)

Suzuki Vitara 2015 Review

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