SUZUKI isn’t exactly back in the SUV market again. It never left. But it has tread water.

Despite how capable the Grand Vitara is with balancing on-road family lifestyle needs with handling rigorous off-road situations, it is largely overlooked by prospective SUV buyers.

The Grand Vitara is one of only three mid-size SUVs with a low-range transfer case attached to its four-wheel drivetrain (the others are the Great Wall X200 and Ssangyong Rexton). The problem is that SUV buyers can’t see that as an attribute.

Enter the Vitara, a repeat of the name in a softer SUV wagon with a more affordable price tag and a decent array of standard equipment. And no low-range gearbox or capable off-road engineering.

The Vitara is smaller, more car-like and cheaper to own and run than the Grand Vitara. Aside from the name, it has a similar grille to the bigger 4WD. And that’s as close as they get.

But compare the new Vitara to its rivals and it perfectly fits the style of the compact SUV sector and could just be Suzuki’s saviour.

Now comes the hard part. Suzuki has to come from behind and sell the Vitara to a market saturated with some experienced competitors.



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