THERE isn’t much to say about the Suzuki Vitara that hasn’t already been said except that it’s new, having undergone a bit of face lift, and the model range has changed. Okay, maybe there’s lots to say about the 2019 Suzuki Vitara ALLGRIP AWD.
The Series II ALLGRIP is the all-wheel drive range topping variant of the new Vitara, and is powered by the punchy yet economical 1.4-litre turbo 4-cylinder engine that it has carried over from the first generation of the new Vitara.
It’s a smart little power plant generating 103kW of power and 220Nm of torque, making it more than capable of carrying you away for the weekend in comfort. It’s got plenty of power for the highways, country roads, and even off road.
It’s also very economical. Suzuki claims 6.2-litres/100km and we managed 6.8-litres/100km. Pretty damn good. Around town it’s very civilised, and it handles the traffic with ease. Ride height is good and thanks to its compact size, it’s easy to park.
It comes with a very smooth 6-speed auto box that is responsive and well-mated to the turbo engine. There was minimal turbo lag as we put the Vitara ALLGRIP through its paces, which was a nice surprise.
Manual selection is handled by flappy paddles. Honestly though, does a small SUV that is essentially a city car need flappy paddles on the steering wheel. We get the convenience factor, but really?
That aside, this little SUV is great for weekend getaways to the local wineries or the coast, or even a trip to the snow. It has a snow mode setting that will allow you to lock the centre diff and provide more traction in slippery conditions.
For those who are consider safety ratings as part of their purchasing choice and use this as a measure of safety for you and your family, the new Suzuki Vitara has you covered, with a 5-star ANCAP safety rating.
We did find the forward collision alert to over react on occasion though. You might even call it a necessary annoyance, but we’ve found other cars that get less worked up when there’s a risk of forward collision.
Other safety features include autonomous emergency braking, rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, weaving alert, hill descent control and blind spot monitoring.
The interior is pretty nice as well, with Alcantara inserts in the comfortable seating. The steering wheel feels nice to use and the instruments are all easy to read. Everything seems to be well placed and in easy reach as well.
The driving position is also comfortable and visibility is very good. You do sit a little higher, so that helps and it is very easy to get in and out of the popular Suzuki SUV. The rear passengers are not left out either.
There is room in the rear seats for a relatively tall bloke or a lady with long legs, or vice versa even, to sit comfortably. Luggage space is good too, with a generous 375-litres, which grows to 1,150-litres with the seats folded down.
It’s great for a weekend getaway with the family, or just you and your significant other, plus some camping gear, or even for all those cases of wine you bought on the Hunter Valley trip. It has a 1,200kg braked towing capacity.
Its competition comes from the Mazda CX-3 Maxx Sport 2.0-litre petrol AWD model and the Nissan Qashqui, although the latter only comes in 2WD, and is more expensive. You could probably throw the Honda HR-V into the mix as well.
The 2019 Suzuki Vitara ALLGRIP AWD comes with a 5-year warranty, and five years of capped priced servicing. It hits the road at $33,990 plus on-roads, and is available in a vast range of colours.
These include Cool White, Silky Silver, Cosmic Black Pearl Metallic, and Bright Red with a Cosmic Black roof, Atlantis Turquoise Pearl Metallic with a Cosmic Black roof, Savannah Ivory with a Cosmic Black roof, Galactic Grey Metallic with a Cosmic Black roof, and Solar Yellow with a Cosmic Black roof.
Our test vehicle was provided by Suzuki Australia. To find out more about the 2019 Suzuki Vitara ALLGRIP AWD, contact your local Suzuki dealer.
I’m shopping for a new car, I’m back from a car show so I went through the car specs I was looking into. Then I got stunned when I discovered that Vitara has 375 liters boot and VW Golf has 380 liters. But I can swear that when I inspected both cars Vitara seemed to have a bigger boot then Golf. So I started to google for some relevant comparison and found your webpage. I think this review is going to help in making my decision. Thanks