Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.4 SZ4 Auto 3dr Car Review - March 2012

The Grand Vitara's 2.4 litre four cylinder engine produces 164bhp at 6000rpm and 166lb-ft of torque at 3800rpm. 0-62 mph takes a pedestrian 11.5 seconds and a top speed of 106mph is quite low for a car with a 2400cc engine.

The Grand Vitara works well off road and copes with demanding terrain better than many of its rivals. However, on the road it is absolutely hopeless. The ride is unbelieavbly harsh and the cabin is very noisy. The whole car rolls about through bends and off-camber corners completely baffle it.

The Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.4 SZ4 Auto 3dr is a good looking car, however it suffers from the traditional problem which affects Japanese cars - the interior is well made but from cheap plastics.

Standard kit includes a CD player, climate control, electric front windows, electrically folding door mirrors and remote central locking as standard. It also comes with alloy wheels, an immobiliser and front fog lights.

Metallic paint is a £415 option.

There is plenty of room in the front seats but the rear seats are very cramped. There is a useful amount of boot space at 184 litres however the side-hinged door can make things tricky if you’re in a tight spot. The rear seats roll forward and stack behind the front seats to increase load capacity to a healthy 516 litres should the need arise.

The Grand Vitara comes with six airbags as well as ABS, stability control and ISOFIX child-seat mountings.

Suzukis have a good reputation for reliability and the car comes with a three year 60,000 mile warranty.

At £18,385 the Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.4 SZ4 Auto 3dr is cheap but promises to be expensive to run, returning only 30.1mpg. CO2 emissions are also very high at 219g/km, putting the Vitara into VED band K.

Although you do get quite a lot of car for your money, the Vitara would have to be a lot cheaper than it is to justify its presence in what is a very competitive market.