Small SUV’s are plentiful in the marketplace, but I’m sure most will agree that the Suzuki
Vitara is one of the more proficient models on sale.
But it’s no secret that it’s engine range has been lacking a bit of variety, with just
one petrol and one diesel, both of which are 118bhp 1.6-litre units.
Suzuki, however, has took this on-board and launched a new flagship Vitara S model which
utilises a new 138bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged Boosterjet petrol engine, capable of producing
138bhp.
The Vitara S also gets some gloss black alloys, silver door mirrors and a slightly tweaked
grille design.
So, we know the Vitara has an adept ride, but has it now got tasty performance to match?
Let’s find out.
Peak pulling power with this new petrol is quoted between 1,500 and 4,000 rpm – realistically
you will start to feel the main grunt of the power when you hit 3,000 rpm.
Now, even though it does require a bit of revving out, it is very happy to do so, with
linear power delivery right through the rev range.
And okay, 138bhp may not sound like much, but this new 1.4-litre certainly has a bit
of fire in its belly.
It reaches 62mph in just 10.2 seconds as well, which makes it almost a second and a half
quicker than the 1.6-litre petrol.
There is also a six-speed manual and six-speed automatic to choose from.
So, it’s more powerful, faster and offers more evenly-spread acceleration when compared
to the 1.6-litre.
But would you believe it… it actually claims to be four per cent more fuel efficient than
the 1.6-litre, with a quoted average mpg figure of 52.3mpg – expect around 40-45 in real
world driving though.
But this is still very much a Vitara, which means it’s based on the same platform as
the SX-4 S-Cross, it’s very light – just over 1,200 kilos in fact – and all-in-all,
it is very good to drive, with accurate steering that lets you have a bit of fun and a rather
comfortable ride to match.
It’s also got four-wheel drive to help when it comes to some rough stuff and a sport mode
that sharpens up the throttle and gives you a bit of extra poke.
Just like the exterior, the interior gets some unique touches as well, with red stitching
and these red – or slightly pink – air-vent surrounds.
You also get some aluminium alloy pedals and oodles of tech, like a reversing camera and
this touchscreen system with DAB radio, Bluetooth and sat-nav.
But, there’s no avoiding that strong whiff of cheap plastics, which are dotted all-around
the cabin – it still looks pretty cool and it’s robust, but some may find these a little
too much.
Still, there’s some nice suede highlights to soften the blow of these plastics.
If you want maximum headroom then avoid the panoramic sunroof, but unfortunately, even
without it, headroom is still quite limited.
Leg room is fair though – and just while we are back here, you may have heard a few
things about the Vitara being a bit ‘flimsy’ in places, well, it’s the likes of these
rear doors that people refer to, which are very light.
Same goes for these rear seats that you can fold down literally with one finger.
These seats do fold nice and flat though, which makes loading long objects easier and,
put them up, and you’ve got 375 litres of boot space to play around with.
So, bottom line, what’s the Vitara S going to cost you?
Well, prices start from £21,000 – that’s £7,000 more than the entry-level Vitara.
Yes that is quite expensive, but the S variant certainly is the pick of the Vitara range
and hopefully we will see its new 1.4-litre turbo make the rounds in other Suzuki models
– it’s a shame it isn’t available in any standard Vitara models yet, too.
But yes, the Vitara S is a great little SUV and is certainly an example of how a good
SUV can be made even better without upsetting its core characteristics like its ride and
handling.
But what do you think of the Vitara S?
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