Suzuki has released pricing and specification details on the all-new Vitara crossover range, which goes on sale in Britain in April.
The Suzuki Vitara will start pricing at £13,999 and will rival similar-sized crossovers like the Nissan Juke, Peugeot 2008 and Vauxhall Mokka. The cheapest diesel-run Vitara is priced at £16,999.
From launch, the five-door Vitara will be offered with two 118bhp 1.6-litre engines – one diesel and one petrol - and three trim levels. The crossover uses a five-speed manual transmission as standard, but an optional six-speed automatic gearbox will be made available from this summer.
While most specifications in the Vitara range use front-wheel drive, the top petrol and diesel-run models use a four-wheel drive set-up called ALLGRIP. The Suzuki ALLGRIP powertrain has four adjustable settings, including an automatic mode which runs the car with front-wheel drive until it detects a significant loss of grip.
Suzuki points out that while four-wheel drive powertrains are typically seen as detrimental to efficiency, this is not the case with ALLGRIP. The cleanest models in the Vitara line-up are those that use the diesel engine and front-wheel drive - emitting just 106g/km in CO2 and returning 70.6mpg combined. With the ALLGRIP system, however, the diesel-run Vitara’s emissions increase only slightly to 111g/km. It also records a combined fuel economy of 67.2mpg.
With the petrol engine and front-wheel drive, the Vitara emits 123g/km, increasing to 127g/km when using the automatic gearbox, and just under 140g/km when using ALLGRIP.
The trim levels for the new Suzuki Vitara include SZ4, SZ-T and SZ5. Standard kit for SZ4 models include DAB radio, cruise control, auto air conditioning and 16-inch alloy wheels. The SZ-T trim adds sat-nav and rear privacy glass, with the range-topping SZ5 trim featuring keyless entry with start button, adaptive cruise control and a panoramic sunroof.
