New Suzuki Vitara priced from £14,000
Suzuki has priced up its new Vitara compact crossover, on sale in April
The Suzuki Vitara is back, debuting a new look, smaller proportions and a raft of personalisation options. With the Grand Vitara being axed last year, the new Vitara assumes the top SUV positioning in the Suzuki range. The new five-door crossover goes on sale in April with prices ranging from £13,999 to £21,299.
• Read our full first drive review of the Suzuki Vitara here
Suzuki's Renault Captur rival looks set to rejuvenate the Japanese brand in the UK, as the crossover market expands rapidly. It was shown as a concept at Frankfurt in 2013, and this production model carries over plenty of design cues, including a sharp crease along its flanks, wraparound headlights and a Range Rover Evoque-style nose.
The range kicks off at £13,999 for the two-wheel drive, 118bhp 1.6-litre petrol-powered SZ4 which comes with seven airbags, 16-inch alloy wheels, DAB Radio with USB and Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control with speed limiter, auto air conditioning, front and rear electric windows and projector headlamps.
SZ-T starts at £15,499 and adds 17-inch silver painted alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, Smartphone link audio and navigation system, while SZ5 at £17,999 adds LED Projector headlights, 17-inch polished alloy wheels, suede seat fabric, keyless entry with start button, adaptive cruise control, Radar Brake Support and a panaoramic sunroof.
The 1.6 petrol can also be selected with Suzuki’s ALLGRIP four-wheel drive system. Available on just the SZ5, it comes at a £1,800 premium over the two-wheel drive 1.6 SZ5.
Along with the 1.6 petrol, there’s also a 118bhp 1.6-litre diesel available on SZ-T (£16,999) and SZ5 (£19,499) models. And just like the petrol, the four-wheel drive SZ5 ALLGRIP costs £1,800 more than the 2WD 1.6 diesel SZ5.
Suzuki offers a range of 10 bright colour schemes - just one part of a broad range of personalisation options. Buyers can opt for two-tone colour variations on the outside and a range of interior colour schemes. A 'Rugged Package' (costing £500 on SZ-T and SZ5 models) can be specified on the outside, adding front and rear skidplates and body side mouldings. There's also an 'Urban Package' for £500 which adds chrome-plated fog lamp bezels and a rear spoiler.
The 'ALLGRIP' system provides four settings, including an automatic mode, which maintains front-wheel drive until it detects slip and reverts to four-wheel drive. But unlike some rival set-ups, Suzuki claims this four-wheel-drive system isn't detrimental to efficiency.
The 118bhp 1.6-litre diesel, which also delivers 320Nm of torque, only emits 4g/km more CO2 with the ALLGRIP system, at 111g/km with the six-speed manual transmission. Suzuki claims 123g/km emissions for the two-wheel-drive manual version of the 118bhp 1.6-litre petrol Vitara, and 127g/km for the automatic. When equipped with ALLGRIP, the petrol Vitaras emit 11g/km more. Fuel economy figures have yet to be released.
Safety equipment includes an 'RBS' system that can mitigate a low-speed crash by applying the brakes. All models have seven airbags, and the Vitara can even be specified with adaptive cruise control, a panoramic sunroof and a smartphone connection.
The new Vitara, which is smaller than the outgoing Grand Vitara at a little over four metres long, features a 375-litre boot. That's competitive with the Captur, although the Renault's seats can slide forward to make it even bigger.
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