EASTERN PROMISE (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_suzukivitara_2015

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 79

This post-2015-era Vitara SUV is Suzuki's idea of what a small SUV Crossover should be, fashionable but not entirely fashion-led. In other words, there's a bit of substance mixed in with the style here - and this model's all the better for it. With a choice of petrol or diesel, front or four-wheel drive and styling that's more assured than anything Suzuki has brought us before, it looks in principle as if it might be a decent used buy.

Modelsword count: 15

5dr SUV (Petrol - 1.6 120PS, 1.4 Boosterjet 140PS / 1.6 DDiS diesel - 120PS)

Historyword count: 373

Small SUV-style 'Juke-genre' Crossover models are all the rage just at present. Every mainstream brand, it seems, must have one. Back in 2015, Suzuki offered customers in this sector the surprisingly light, lithe and fashionable Vitara. This Japanese maker has been bringing us small 4x4s since the Seventies - and the Vitara name actually dates all the way back to 1988. A 'Juke-style' small Crossover model though - essentially little more than a supermini in a pair of hiking boots - is a very different thing. It certainly has little in common with the kind of properly capable small SUVs Suzuki is used to making - say for example, the old Grand Vitara this car replaced in 2015. As a result, in creating its take on compact Crossover motoring, the brand had to start from scratch - just like its rivals. Still, clean-sheet thinking has its advantages and the Japanese marque certainly brought us plenty of that in its approach to this segment. Uniquely, one basic platform and a single set of mechanicals was used to bring buyers two Crossover models. On one side of your Suzuki showroom back in 2015 sat this fashionable Vitara, there to compete with supermini-based Crossovers playing to the trendy Nissan Juke and Renault Captur crowd. On the other, buyers were offered the slightly larger and rather more practical SX4 S-Cross model, which Suzuki rather ambitiously hoped would appeal to buyers of slightly larger, family-sized Crossovers like Nissan's Qashqai and Peugeot's 3008. The Vitara proved to be a stronger seller than its stablemate, more the kind of youthful, dynamic-looking product that buyers of compact Crossover models wanted. On paper, it certainly seems to tick all the 'Juke-genre' boxes, with lifestyle looks, trendy cabin technology and supermini-standards of efficiency. It even claimed to be a rewarding steer on twisty tarmac, which really did make it different from small Suzuki SUVs of the past. There are familiar touches though: value pricing, high specifications and a 4WD option - something actually relatively unusual in this segment. The car sold until 2018 when it was facelifted and the range re-centred around Suzuki's petrol Boosterjet technology. It's the pre-facelifted 2015 to 2018-era Vitara models that we look at here as potential used buys.

What You Getword count: 245

This proved to be a Vitara for a different age - but it was still very much a Vitara, even if it did only come with five doors. Visual ties with the 1988 original were maintained by the traditional clamshell bonnet, the front wing vents, the rising feature lines of the flanks and the shape of the headlights. As you would expect though, this was a more modern interpretation of what a car of this kind should be. Lift the rear hatch and there's 375-litres of space on offer, a figure that gets within 55-litres of the capacity you'd get in Suzuki's alternative SX4 S-Cross model, which isn't bad when you consider that that car is 125mm longer. More importantly, we're talking of a capacity that marginally betters what's on offer from most other small Crossovers in this sector from this era. Up-front, you view a clear set of instruments through a three-spoke leather-stitched multi-function steering wheel that's easy to adjust with the seat in creation of the kind of high-ish commanding position that Crossover customers seem to want. The central infotainment touchscreen works quite well too, offered as standard providing you avoid entry-level trim and designed for easy use even if you're wearing gloves. In the back, it's disappointing that Vitara passengers didn't get the sliding rear bench that Suzuki provided in its equivalent SX4 S-Cross model, but even without this, space for legs, elbows and shoulders is all better than the segment norm.

To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227