TMW - The Suzuki Vitara S, the off roader that thinks its a sports car and more !

The current generation of the Suzuki Vitara is the fourth version of the worldwide hit that's been around since 1988, so nearly three decades, quality has been improved over and above many other cars, technology that is normally only found on more expensive cars has found it's way onto this car and others within the Suzuki family.

The Vitara S model tested here, is one of two S variants, the other being the automatic version, however, within the entire Vitara range, price wise it sits roughly in the middle, and that's about where the car needs to be, it has everything you need from this type of car, with a few toys, decent economy, comfy well appointed seats and more.

Firstly we will start of with the looks, the all new model is less square than the third generation, personally i liked that model, however, this new generation Vitara is a "tour De force", starting with the Boosterjet 1.4 litre engine, this is a really surprising power-plant, for such a heavy car, 1730kg gross weight, the little engine just oozes power, and it just keeps on giving. 

The torque on this car tops out at 220 ft lb, and with a wide banding between 1500 - 4000rpm, you get a large power band and that's great, it means you have good pull away speed and decent motorway cruising, so the best of all worlds, Suzuki have gotten this model spot on.

inside the car is brilliant, you have so much room, no matter whether, Driver, passenger or rear seat inhabitant, the high roof line gives you loads of glass area to see all around you, the drivers seat has a myriad of positions, along with  the steering wheel means you have every opportunity to get comfortable and you do, very, whether a short or long journey, you never leave the car uncomfortable or have any discomfort.

The same in the back, albeit with fixed seating, the rear passengers have very comfortable seating with plenty of head room and leg room, three biggish people in the back might be a little bit of a squeeze, but two will be adequately looked after, and as a family car, this suits 99% of all needs.

The boot space is cavernous and will take all the luggage a normal family would have, and can eat a big weekly shop, with room to spare.

Driving the car is very easy, with the lightest steering to the make driving easy, the gear change too is very easy with a light clutch, but not too soft, the display on the dash keeps you in the right gear at all times with an up and down arrow telling you where you should be, and if you keep the car in the right gear, and with that the manufacturers claimed fuel consumption is

• Urban 44.8mpg
• Extra Urban 56.5mpg
• Combined 52.3mpg

So not bad at all, although i never managed to get to these numbers, i was not that far away from them, but abuse the speed, which at the top end is 124mph and that will be significantly lower, again giving the car beans at a junction you can get from 0-62mph in a tad over 10 seconds, not supercar speeds, but for a 1.4 litre in an off roader and you will see that its not bad at all.

Driving on the road, and you get a different aspect to the car, its brilliant, that's all i can say, the car goes well, and stops equally as well, and driving along it is reasonably quiet too, you can have a conversation without the need to shout at each other, which in other cars you have to do.

The Vitara grips the road really well too, taking corners at a speed in this car is easy and uncomplicated it is like a train on tracks, the car just goes where you point it, the car is really good in all aspects, i have driven far more expensive cars and had a far worse experience, at £22,749 inclusive of the optional paint at £430, its not badly priced either.

but it does not end there, this car has a massive list of standard equipment, some of which are :-

• ALLGrip 4WD System
• ABS with EBD and Brake Assist
• HillHold Control and Hill Descent Control
• A suite of seven airbags
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
• Radar Brake Support
• Immobiliser and Alarm
• Central Looking
• Engine Auto Stop/Start
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Front and Rear parking Sensors
• Rear Parking Camera
• Information Display
• Keyless Entry and Start
• Auto Air Conditioning
• Auto headlights
• Folding and heated Door Mirrors
• Satellite Navigation
• Bluetooth
• Rear Privacy Glass

And more, far far more, in fact there is an entire sheet of spec for this car, which makes this one of the best specified off roaders for the price you can buy, my personal favourite is the Adaptive Cruise Control, where the car will slow down without you doing a thing, when it "See's" another car getting close in front and then pulling away again to your set speed, i love that, i first encountered it on a very expensive Volvo, then again on the Suzuki Baleno we tested here a few months back, and now again, so it goes to show, you do not need a mega expensive car to have this type of technology.

OVERALL

The Vitara is a number of cars rolled into one, it's a family car, its an off roader, where you can choose between Snow/Mud mode, and Sport mode, which will be the general road driving style, it has loads of room everywhere, comes with a huge amount of kit, four wheel drive, decent fuel economy, comfortable cheap to run and so much more.

This should be seriously considered the next time you are ready to change you car, even if you're not after an off roader, this offers all round car characteristics, so much so that you can be forgiven for not realising you are in a 4x4.