Suzuki's improved Vitara features both mild hybrid and full hybrid tech. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

This Suzuki Vitara may be one of the older designs in the compact SUV segment but Suzuki has constantly tried to improve it, most recently with the update we look at here. There's a fully electrified engine range, with the choice of either mild hybrid or Full Hybrid petrol powertrains. Unusually in this class, there's still the option of a proper lockable 4WD system if you want it. Time to take a second look at this car.

Background

Electrification is these days so important to automotive makers that developing it takes precedence over creating new designs. For proof of that, take a look at the Suzuki Vitara. The current fourth generation 'LY'-series design has been around since 2014 and was facelifted in 2019. In late 2024, Suzuki introduced the further update we're going to look at here. With this, Vitaras get a slightly smarter look and some extra equipment, but otherwise, things are much as before, with a choice of either mild hybrid or Full Hybrid drivetrains. The idea behind this update is to remind customers that this Suzuki is still very much a credible and affordable contender in the compact SUV segment. And it's one of the few contenders in that class still available with 4WD as an option. So should you put it back on your wish list if you're shopping in this sector? Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

The Vitara has a slightly more athletic feel than Suzuki's other compact SUV in this segment, the S-Cross, and that hasn't been appreciably diluted by the marginal extra weight of the additional electrified tech. Let's start with the 1.4-litre mild hybrid model, which comes only with a manual gearbox and the choice of front wheel drive or ALLGRIP 4WD. You may be familiar with the way that mild hybrid engines work but just in case not, here's a quick re-cap. Basically, energy that would otherwise be lost when braking or cruising off-throttle is harvested via a kinetic energy recovery system and sent to a small lithium-ion battery that here has been placed beneath the front passenger seat. This is used to drive a belt-driven 'ISG' unit (an 'Integrated Starter/Generator') and power the engine's stop/start system. Suzuki's old 12-volt mild hybrid package didn't do a lot more than that but this improved 48-volt set-up can also deliver a couple of other important benefits. The first is something quite unusual amongst current mild hybrids - the ability for this Suzuki to idle and even coast on full-electric power, though only below 10mph. What about the alternative 1.5-litre Full Hybrid model? Well here, a normally aspirated petrol unit with 114bhp is combined with a 33bhp belt-driven electric motor generator powered by a tiny 0.84kWh battery. All the power is fed through a 6-speed automated manual gearbox, which you can expect to feel somewhat slow and clunky until you learn to lift off between ratio changes. There's an 'Eco' mode to improve frugality, but you might not want to engage it too often because it restricts throttle response and even in its normal drive setting, this car is no ball of fire. Rest to 62mph occupies 12.7s on the way to a top speed of 108mph. This powertrain can be specified with a proper lockable ALLGRIP 4WD system on the top-spec 'Ultra' variant.

Design and Build

Suzuki has taken the opportunity as part of this update to make a few small visual tweaks. There's a re-designed front grille and bumper, a rear upper spoiler incorporating rear window side spoilers and newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels. This remains a crossover positioned size-wise somewhere between the small and mid-sized SUV segments, 4,175mm in length and slightly taller than its visually less striking S-Cross showroom stablemate. This remains quite an assured piece of design work with its clamshell bonnet, blacked-out floating glasshouse, heavily sculpted flanks and a very neat tail-lamp finish. Inside, the cabin is beginning to date a bit, with quite a few hard plastic surfaces, though it all seems to have been pretty well screwed together by the Hungarian factory. The centre-dash infotainment screen is now 9-inches in size and now boasts a wireless link for its 'Apple CarPlay'/'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring systems. There's reasonably comfortable room for a couple of adults in the rear, though the twin sunroofs of the top 'Ultra' model do rob a few centimetres of headroom. Out back, there's a reasonably-sized 375-litre boot. If you need more room, pushing forward the 60:40-split rear bench frees up 710-litre of space - and the floor can be completely flat if you position the adjustable boor floor in its upper position.

Market and Model

Pricing is quite a bit higher than it used to be for the Vitara, sitting in the £27,000-£32,000 bracket. That's partly because going forward, Suzuki doesn't plan to offer smaller, more affordable engines than this 1.4 Boosterjet mild hybrid unit in our market. Partly it's also because the car these days features a higher standard of spec (Adaptive Cruise Control on all models for instance). And partly it's reflective of the cost of the extra forms of hybrid technology. You'll need a premium of around £1,750 if you want to move from the manual gearbox 1.4-litre mild hybrid model to the 1.5-litre Full Hybrid version, which features a 6-speed automated manual gearbox. Either way, there are two main trim levels, 'Motion' and 'Ultra'. Even base 'Motion' trim gives you LED projector headlights, auto air conditioning, auto headlamps and wipers, 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear electric windows, roof rails, heated door mirrors, keyless entry, a 9-inch infotainment screen, High Beam Assist, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and rear parking sensors, plus Suzuki Connect connected services that includes three years free subscription. Along with navigation, skid plates, rear privacy glass and white-stitched upholstery. The top 'Ultra' trim level you have to have if you want the option of ALLGRIP 4WD gives you a double-sliding panoramic sunroof, 17-inch polished alloy wheels, front parking sensors, power-folding mirrors, an overhead storage console and suede upholstery. As for safety, well that's now been improved. There's now Lane Keep Assist, Intelligent Speed Control, Driver Monitoring System andan eCall system linked to the seven airbags. A further important and standard safety feature for both grades is an upgraded Dual Sensor Brake Support system using a millimetre-wave radar (previously lidar) combined with a monocular camera. This system has enhanced collision mitigation with improved night time and intersection visibility and with its improved functionality can detect pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and vehicles in front.

Cost of Ownership

The WLTP figures show a front-driven version of the mild hybrid model managing 53.2mpg on the combined cycle and 119g/km of CO2 emissions. It's 52.3mpg and 128g/km for the ALLGRIP 4WD version. So, what kind of efficiency difference does the alternative Full Hybrid tech make to the Vitara? Well, the official combined cycle WLTP figure of the front-driven Full Hybrid version is 56.4mpg, with 113g/km of CO2, which is comparable in this segment to what you'd get from, say, a Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid or the full-Hybrid self charging version of Renault's Captur E-TECH. It's 50.4mpg and 127g/km for the ALLGRIP 4WD Full Hybrid Vitara. As with all Suzukis, all Vitaras are covered by a three year/60,000 mile warranty, plus a year of AA Suzuki Assistance, providing 24 hour UK and European roadside assistance, recovery and associated services. There's also a 12 year perforation warranty. Insurance groups are between 16E and 22A.

Summary

There's still plenty to like about the Vitara. The light kerb weight delivers agile handling. There's more space inside than you get with competitors like Nissan's Juke. And there are high standards of specification to sugar the showroom proposition. If you regularly drive on potentially treacherous roads, it'll also matter than this Suzuki is one of the few SUVs in the class that can be ordered with 4WD. But it's harder to like all of this quite as much at the significantly higher prices that Suzuki needs to charge to cover the cost of the mild hybrid and Full Hybrid tech. Particularly given the fact that the electrification benefits, though welcome, are still not quite as extensive as you might hope. Still, this is now much more a Vitara for the modern world. And a car that in this form is now just a little more than just a fashion statement.