The Suzuki Vitara is a car for all seasons

It was a month ago that we announced a 1.6 GL+ AllGrip Suzuki Vitara was joining our long-term fleet, and the plan was to use it as a family vehicle for running around the suburbs, and sort of going off the beaten track.

And by going off the beaten track, I don’t mean tackling Toyota Land Cruiser stuff, I mean getting me to the various mountain bike race venues that I have needed to be at lately. They have been out in the bush like they should be, but what was not planned was that every time I went out it poured with rain, and it was comforting to know I had Suzuki’s latest-generation AllGrip four-wheel drive system under me because mud mixed with inclines and declines are no fun in your fancy sedan.

Specifically adapted for its application in the Vitara, AllGrip uses a feedback function to allocate torque to the rear wheels when the front wheels start losing traction. A new feed forward function enhances the system’s effectiveness even further by using information such as the road surface condition, accelerator pedal position and steering angle to predict a loss of traction, and to send torque to the rear axle even before front wheelspin actually occurs.

The AllGrip system’s default driving mode is Auto, which during typical day-to-day driving stays in front-wheel drive, but will switch to all-wheel drive when a loss of front-wheel traction is detected. There is also a Sport mode that introduces all-wheel drive relative to throttle input for sportier driving and better corner grip. I haven’t used it much as I don’t see the Vitara as that type of car.

There is also a Snow mode, which I haven’t had to use, but it is there for when traction is severely compromised, and you want all-wheel drive on by default. And, finally, there is a Lock mode, which invokes a limited slip diff to brake the spinning wheel, thereby transferring the available torque to those wheels that retain traction. I haven’t got into enough trouble yet to use this mode either.

The luggage compartment is easily accessible, thanks to a tailgate that opens all the way down to bumper level. At 1 120mm wide and 730mm high, the loading aperture easily copes with bulky objects, which is plenty of space for my riding gear. The Vitara actually offers 375 litres of luggage space with the rear seatback raised, rising to 710 litres with the seatbacks folded down, which is enough for a quick weekend away for a normal family, but there’s no way it will swallow all the luggage my wife and two teenage daughters will throw at it.

When they go on holiday I swear all they leave behind at home are the walls. Everything else must come along and they have a reason for every last piece of pointless luggage that follows us around the country at the end of the year. And any man who has a house full of women knows it’s easier to buy a truck with a trailer than spend his holiday trying to argue with the said women in his life. That said, the Vitara is actually quite well-appointed inside.

You get a MP3/ WMA-compatible multi-speaker audio system that includes a CD player and FM/AM tuner, There is Bluetooth phone connectivity, as well as USB connectivity. Cruise control along with height adjustable front, driver and passenger, seats keep you and your passengers comfortable on the road. And you can relax knowing that your Vitara comes equipped with a comprehensive array of active and passive safety features.

Active systems include electronic stability programme (ESP), and ABS anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and electronic brake assist (EBA). The passive safety features include seven airbags (dual front, side and curtain airbags and a knee airbag for the driver) and a brake pedal release system. The front seating positions are equipped with seat belts featuring pre-tensioners and load limiters.

As a result, the new Vitara achieved a five-star rating in the authoritative 2015 EuroNCAP safety ratings. So, from my side, the Suzuki Vitara has delivered all it promised, and for the holidays our Motorsport editor André de Kock will use it around Johannesburg and will give you his impression in the first issue of The Citizen Motoring in January.

Our Suzuki Vitara 1.6 GL+ AllGrip comes in at R331 900, and the rest of the range of Suzuki vehicles are backed by a comprehensive three-year/100 000km warranty and a four-year/60 000km service plan, but if you buy a new Suzuki before the end of December 2017, the warranty will be extended to five years and 200 000km.