FUNKY INSIDE AND OUT
Suzuki is one company that knows a thing or two about small cheap offroaders and in the new-look Vitara, they are on a winner
SUZUKI’S added extra sizzle to the urbane Vitara wagons with a funky design inside and out – and it also has the goods for splish-splashing and paddock bashing on the Coast.
It’s even up to handling the Daintree and the long, rolling stretches of top tar heading north to humid and historical Cooktown.
Then there’s sloppy roads of mud and clay, punctuated by outcrops of rough rock, on the way south to Cairns down the Bloomfield Road.
Suzuki’s “standard’’ Vitara with 1.6L petrol engine, will tackle Far North Queensland’s charms with some aplomb.
But there’s now extra oomph in two turbocharged models which may convince long-distance travellers that this Vitara is not just a citified SUV.
Suzuki has a long, well-honoured heritage of building small four-wheel drives, back almost 50 years to the legendary LJ50 which could run rings around more expensive machines in the scrub. The Suzuki Jimny’s a modern version of that vehicle.
But the latest Vitara range softened a bit when it hit showrooms last year.
It became an all-wheel drive SUV – without low range and aimed more at the surfing suburbanite than desert explorer.
There’s little to quibble about the package, whether as a two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The Vitara is a smart-looking wagon with the option of adding all manner of colour highlights inside and out.
It provides good accommodation and ergonomics, comes with plenty of standard gizmos, and rides and steers well.
Yet there were questions about the Suzuki 1.6L engine’s 86kW and 156Nm, considered a tad inadequate in some quarters.
So along comes a 1.4L turbocharged petrol, making 103kW and 220Nm plus a 1.6L turbocharged diesel with 88kW and 320Nm.
The Vitara range now starts with a 1.6L, two-wheel drive with manual or auto from $22,490. All turbocharged models come with six-speed auto.
The turbo 1.4L, two-wheel drive is $28,990; the turbo 1.4L, all-wheel drive is $32,990 and the turbo 1.6L diesel with all-wheel drive is $35,990.
These are a fair bunch of compacts, comfortable and competent.
But while the base Vitara will handle, with care and consideration, rainforest track or highway sprint, it’s the turbo twins which make longdistance travels that much more relaxing.
Maybe the diesel GLX Vitara – quiet on the inside, a little rattly on the outside and delivering under 5L per 100km – would be best for those covering a lot of distance every year.
It’s tidy off the mark and climbs sweetly to highway speeds (and sometimes beyond on that lonely Mulligan Highway).
The turbo petrol GLX is that little sharper all round, an encouraging powerplant which may well suit a Suzuki Swift Sport down the track.
In both new models the six-speed auto is a willing accomplice, the driving experience enhanced by paddle shifters for further sport.
Both all-wheel drive Vitaras sit well on the road.
There’s tyre noise on some coarse chip bitumen in the tropics and a touch more immediate turn-in from the steering would be appreciated – especially in light of the new-found urge to this pair.
So don’t be afraid of heading north, far north, in a turbocharged Suzuki Vitara in the dry season these days.
NOTE: Do check weather and track conditions when the bitumen runs out. Often those creeks and rainforest roads are impassable. THUMBS UP Smart SUV
THUMBS DOWN No longer cheap The English do like a spot of fly fishing, so much so Bentley reckons some may head across the meadows, through the forest and down to a rippling brook to cast out.
So now the mighty Bentayga _ which can be a $500,000 wagon in Australia – can be fitted out with a couple of rods and tackle box, thanks to Bentley’s bespoke coach building division.
This Bentayga Fly Fishing by Mulliner is said to be “an exquisite installation which houses all the equipment required for a successful day on the river’’ .
It’s all finished in the finest of materials and able to be taken out for luggage space.
There’s room for four rods stowed away in leather tubes, a pair of landing nets in matching leather bags, a master tackle station, ‘‘refreshment’’ case plus a waterproof trunk for the waders. Plus there’s an electronic dehumidifier unit to make sure the Bentley SUV’s trunk remains fresh and dry.
But no mention of where to store the speckled trout? Or a fridge for the coldies?
• VOLKSWAGEN’S next-gen Tiguan arrives here in September with the entry level Trendline model priced from $31,990 and some $2000 cheaper then the first generation’s base model when it launched in 2008.
The new SUV is a bit bigger than its predecessor and, as usual today, loaded with all manner of safety and comfort features.
There’ll be three petrol engines – through to a lively 162kW version – and two diesel engines. Most of the Tiguans will run with VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system.