Suzuki Vitara - ready for Europe (retrospection)

What Bulgaria wrote 20 years ag magazin de piese auto online.

Suzuki Vitara - ready for Europe (retrospection)

With its new design and modern technical solutions, the Vitara wants to regain its former glory. We had the unique opportunity to test the Japanese version of the new model.

Suzuki has decided to take the offensive by radically changing the image of the Grand Vitara, which will be presented in Europe at the end of September. The goal is to make the new model stand up to the Toyota RAV or Nissan X-Trail, and if until now the Japanese SUV had the reputation of a typical "female" car, then the new Vitara will look significantly more masculine.

Indeed, the 4.39m long Suzuki SUV looks more masculine and serious with its modern, attractive and unobtrusive design. The interior is decorated in a similar simple style. The materials of the dashboard look much higher quality and fresher than in the previous model, somewhat reminiscent of Lexus models, but without reaching their mind-blowing pedantry of execution.

Suzuki is increasingly managing to satisfy the high demands of European customers in terms of technology. Fully in line with the claims for a high technological level are the independent suspension on all wheels, which provides decent comfort, the good cross-country ability guaranteed by the permanent all-wheel drive system with a reduction gear and a central locking differential (compensates for differences in the speed of the front and rear axles), as well as the reliable protection of passengers provided by ESP, the brake assist system and two-stage airbags.

On the road, the new Grand Vitara doesn’t perform as nimble and agile as some other SUVs in this class. The car has a pronounced tendency to understeer and sways a little more when driving fast on hard surfaces and bends, but on the other hand, it copes surprisingly well in rough terrain. Something we were pleased to note, although the Grand Vitara (like 99% of all SUVs) is unlikely to find itself in the awkward situation of running wild off the beaten track. The important thing is that the new Japanese is capable of such feats – if its owner wants it…

The 2.0-liter gasoline unit with a power of 145 hp is sufficient for a base engine, but it definitely does not have great reserves - at high revs the engine with four valves per cylinder becomes obtrusively noisy, without being able to provide anything more in terms of power. More convincing is undoubtedly the 2.7-liter V6 engine with 184 hp, which in Europe will apparently be offered at a later stage. Only the three-door Vitara version will also be offered with the small 1.6-liter gasoline unit with a power of 94 hp. From the very beginning, the range of units of the new model will also include the 1.9-liter turbodiesel with direct injection Common-Rail and a power of 115 hp, which is the result of the cooperation in the field of engines between Fiat and General Motors. It is certain that the diesel will not only meet the requirements of the Euro 4 standard, but will also be factory-equipped with a particulate filter.

Prices have not yet been finalized, but our prediction is that the two-liter gasoline model will cost around 23,000 euros – sounds like a serious attack on the RAV4 and company and not a bad argument for attracting many fans of SUV models, right?

Car parts AutoPower
Car parts AutoPower

With its new design and modern technical solutions, the Vitara wants to regain its former glory

Suzuki has decided to take the offensive by radically changing the image of the Grand Vitara, which will be presented in Europe at the end of September