Driving and reviewing cars is never a chore, its a blast because sometimes the surprise packets are so impressive it’s worth holding on to. Here at EFTM we have two cars each week in the EFTM Garage and earlier this year for a few weeks in a row one of those was a Suzuki Vitara.
When the alternate options are BMW, Infiniti and others, you’d think the Vitara was the short straw in terms of the pick to drive – and it was – at first.
But after a few days behind the wheel of the top of the line RT-X I couldn’t help be curious – what would the rest of the range be like?
This vehicle was seemingly easy to drive, a daily commute was a breeze with a nice touch-screen multimedia system with full iPod support and built-in maps and a pretty impressive sound to the system too given the $30,000 price tag.
Leather seats with Suede inserts, keyless entry and start, a huge panoramic sunroof – this thing was a joy to drive. It felt much like a hatch on the road, just elevated slightly in terms of your driving position – but there would be no issue with someone small or large getting behind the wheel.
So with that – I shunned all options and choose to drive the RT-S Auto and Manual versions in the week’s that followed.
These are your base model – no keyless entry, no “tweeters” in the speaker system, fabric seats, no parking sensors, no sunroof and Halogen not LED headlights. Apart from that, same great design, same ride and handling – except of course these are two-wheel-drive not 4WD.
At $22,990 it’s hard to imagine why we don’t see more on the road. Of course there are plenty of options to choose from at that price, but I do question if buyers are genuinely shopping around these days.
This thing has seven airbags, 17 inch Alloy Wheels, 5.8l per 100 claimed fuel economy (I was getting a touch more than that at 7.l/100). Oh, and it looks pretty darn good too.
Not too funky with curves and stuff all over, just a good strong subtle design that when matched with the colour choices available should stand out on the road.
If you’re in the market for a smaller SUV, or a vehicle in the low $20,000 price mark – You really should drive the Suzuki Vitara, it’s soft on the road, highly capable and well equipped.
Personally, I’d take the RT-S in Auto. Perfect all round at a great price.
