GENERATIONS of beach goers took to the sand in a Suzuki Vitara or Jimny. They were the go-anywhere, do anything, budget four-wheel drive wagons, stylishly miniaturised for low-cost affordability and parking-space premium.

Just as the world got smaller, the off-road vehicle picture got bigger. For a while, the shell-shocked Suzuki grappled with small wagons in a market clamouring for adult-sized Toyota Prados and Nissan Pathfinders.

So it matured, entering adolescence as a well-built and technically superior 4WD that retained the ability to go along the same weathered tracks as its big-sized rivals.

The problem was that the adventurous Australian spirit deflated at the metropolitan boundary.

Off-road competency eroded in the face of family comfort.

Enter the Vitara. Same name, different philosophy. The latest nameplate uses 2WD or AWD mechanicals but has an accent on being well made, frugal, capable on most road surfaces, and well equipped with the must-have connectivity links.

It’s an old name for a new approach. But is it still a Suzuki and does it fulfill the Walter Mitty explorer in us all?

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