Suzuki Vitara - Reliability and safety
The Suzuki Vitara boasts plenty of safety kit, but owners seem to have a downer on the ownership experience
Suzuki has traditionally boasted a strong reputation for building durable cars, but the brand has slipped one place down from its 2022 position to 22nd out of 32 manufacturers in the 2023 Driver Power satisfaction survey. This puts it ahead of Ford and Volkswagen, but behind Skoda and Toyota.
The bad news keeps coming because the 2015 Euro NCAP crash test score has since expired due to tougher testing having been introduced in the interim. That doesn’t make the Vitara inherently unsafe, but it does mean that there are newer alternatives that might do a better job of protecting you and other road users around you.
All versions of the Suzuki Vitara come with plenty of safety tech, such as seven airbags, stability control and tyre-pressure monitoring, along with lots of advanced safety kit to help prevent you from having a crash in the first place. These include lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and a rear cross-traffic alert system to warn you of vehicles crossing your path when you go to reverse out of a parking space or onto a main road.
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Key standard safety features |
Euro NCAP safety ratings |
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Warranty
The standard Suzuki three-year/60,000-mile warranty applies to the Vitara, and it’s the same cover as Nissan offers on the Juke. Look to Korean makers Hyundai and Kia for much better warranty value, with five and seven years of warranty coverage, respectively.
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The standard Suzuki warranty can be extended in a similar way to the Toyota warranty. Getting your Vitara serviced at a Suzuki main dealer increases the cover by 12 months with every service. That’ll extend the manufacturer’s warranty up to the same 100,000 miles as the Toyota one, but the length of cover only goes up until the car is seven years old.
Servicing
Suzuki engineers have increased the service intervals for the 1.4 Boosterjet and 1.5 Hybrid to 12,500 miles, although the service schedule still requires cars to be seen annually rather than the biannual rate of some of its rivals. At least that does mean you can maintain the manufacturer’s warranty as described in the section above.
What do owners think?
Here’s what owners of the Suzuki Vitara thought of the car in the 2024 Driver Power survey.
| What they like | What they don't like |
| “Suzuki has priced it keenly, there’s good aftersales, the engine is economical, plus it’s nice to drive. Winner!” | “The biggest improvement Suzuki could make is to have a better infotainment set-up and more physical controls.” |
| “The Vitara is a small 4x4 that drives just like a junior hot hatch. It’s the perfect car for Sussex lanes.” | “The quality of some of the interior plastics leaves a lot to be desired. There also aren’t enough cubbyholes.” |
| “My Suzuki is a pleasure to drive because it feels very safe, helped a lot by the superb all-round visibility.” | “The boot capacity should be greater, and it would help if, as in many rivals, the back seat folded completely flat.” |
| “I reckon the Vitara looks and feels significantly more expensive that it is. It seems big, but it isn’t really.” | “The fuel economy isn’t as good as with my previous Vitara 1.6, and the stop/start is jerky when it cuts in.” |
| “The Vitara feels surprisingly light and agile for what isn’t that small a car. The steering is responsive and the ride is also much better than I expected. Overall, it’s very well set up.” | “Some of the safety features are too sensitive and intrusive, and you can’t switch some of them off.” |
| “All-round visibility is excellent, thanks to the high-up seating position, slim pillars, good mirrors and reversing camera. Cabin comfort is really impressive, especially on long journeys.” | |
| There’s plenty of cubbyholes, no shortage of boot space, and the split-level boot floor boosts usability that bit more, while also helping to keep my valuables out of sight. Plus there’s enough legroom in the back for three adults in comfort.” | |
| “It has amazing acceleration for a relatively small engine. There’s lots of muscle without having to rev it too much.” | |
| “Unpretentious yet utterly capable. The Vitara copes effortlessly in bad weather, including ice and snow.” |
Which Is Best
