Item: Used Suzuki Vitara 2015-present
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/yeti/estate/used-review/n621">Skoda Yeti</a>&nbsp;is one of our favourites. From it chunky styling through to its broad range of efficient engines and go-anywhere ability, it’s one of the most practical and solid of all the SUVs. It’s spacious, has a big boot, is nice to drive and is affordable to buy and&nbsp;own.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/kia/soul/hatchback/used-review/n777">Kia Soul</a>&nbsp;is an interesting and stylish alternative to the Vitara. It’s remarkably practical, for one, with a very spacious interior, as well as being good to drive, more so in its later form, and reasonably cheap to buy and&nbsp;run. It certainly cuts a dash in this class.

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

<h3>Unintended braking</h3>

Due to an error in the programming of the automatic emergency brake system, the car might brake unnecessarily in&nbsp;certain situations. This affects cars made between 7 January 2015 and 6 May 2015, so contact your local Suzuki dealer if you think your car is affected.&nbsp;

<h3>Rear axle bolts</h3>

There was a problem with the rear axle bolts of Vitaras made between 29 October 2015 and 17 December 2015. The fixing bolts&nbsp;were mixed at the factory with bolts that have no anti-friction coating, making&nbsp;it&nbsp;possible for the axle bolts to work&nbsp;loose on some examples, so&nbsp;contact your dealer for further information.

Yes, it seems it is. The Vitara scored an excellent fourth place&nbsp;in the most recent What Car?&nbsp;Reliability Survey, putting it up among the frontrunners in the small SUV class.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/suzuki">Suzuki</a> as a brand took&nbsp;the top spot&nbsp;out of 31 car&nbsp;manufacturers for cars up to four years old – a sparkling result.

If you'd like to see the full reliability list, head to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2018-what-car-reliability-survey/n17798">What Car? Reliability Survey</a> pages for more information.

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Suzuki is well known as a motorcycle manufacturer, but the car brand has been enjoying decent success in recent years, thanks to a line-up of neat, well-equipped and keenly priced models.

Its expertise focuses on smaller cars, although its high-riding SUV range is also hugely credible, especially the Ignis and Vitara, which are both rated highly by What Car?’s testers and which have enjoyed success at the What Car? Awards as a result.

Well priced, decent to drive and full of useful tech, Suzuki’s cars also generally stand out for delivering good fuel economy. The Ignis, Celerio and Baleno have all stood head and shoulders above the competition during our True MPG testing.

SUZUKI

VITARA

There are cheaper compact SUVs, but the Suzuki Vitara is one of the most spacious and best equipped

Used Suzuki Vitara 2015-present

If you seek out the diesel version, you’ll see it has official&nbsp;average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions&nbsp;figures of 70.6mpg and 106g/km (NEDC) in SZ-T trim, which are the best in the range. Add the Allgrip four-wheel drive and that drops to 67.2mpg and CO2 goes up to 111g/km. Of the two petrol engine options, the quicker 1.4 Boosterjet offers official average economy of 52.3mpg and a 127g/km CO2 output, while the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol without four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox returns 53.3mpg and 123g/km. Add four-wheel drive&nbsp;and the figures are less impressive at&nbsp;49.5mpg and 131g/km.

After the facelift, all models were certified under the current WLTP fuel economy test, with figures that should be&nbsp;more achievable&nbsp;in the real world. The figures for the 1.4 petrol were revised to 48.7mpg for the standard car, while the automatic four-wheel drive dropped to 44.8mpg. If you need cheaper running costs, then the more efficient 1.0-litre petrol is the one to go for, with 53.2mpg.

Any Vitara registered before 1 April 2017 will fall under a different road tax system from examples registered afterwards. To find out all the latest information about road tax costs, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/car-tax-changes-in-2019-%E2%80%93-what-do-i-need-to-know/n1153">read our guide here</a>.

Insurance groupings for the Vitara are keen, ranging from 13 for the petrol 1.6s up to 22 for the 1.6 diesel with four-wheel drive.

Vitara service intervals are annual or after 12,500 miles. You can take out a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/suzuki">Suzuki</a> service plan on any Suzuki model up to six years of age and you can fix the cost of your parts and labour servicing for three years. You could also go for fixed-price servicing for examples over three years old. A fixed-price basic service costs £129, or £259 for the fixed-price Service+.

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There are cheaper compact SUVs, but the Suzuki Vitara is one of the most spacious and best equipped 


Entrance to the Vitara club starts at around £8000, at the time of writing, for which you should be able to pick up a 2015 car with an average to high mileage with a full history from an independent dealer. Up the budget to&nbsp;£9000 for a 2015 car with a lower mileage, or an early 2016 car with a higher one. Spend&nbsp;£12,000 for a&nbsp;2018&nbsp;car with all the right criteria: an average mileage, a full history and the backing of an independent or franchised dealer. A facelifted example from 2019 starts from £14,500.

Check the value of a used Suzuki Vitara with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/car-valuation/">What Car? Valuations</a>

The naturally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol is smooth and quite&nbsp;eager. It isn’t the cleanest engine around, though, and it doesn’t offer as much mid-range pulling power as some rivals’ smaller turbo engines. But&nbsp;it's the best compromise in terms of how much it costs to buy versus performance. With a turbocharger to boost power, the nippy 1.4-litre petrol is actually the best of all the Vitara’s engines. However, because it’s only available in&nbsp;high-spec trims and mostly&nbsp;with four-wheel drive, it’s more expensive to buy and run.

Choose the diesel if you plan on doing lots of miles. However, it's a bit too unrefined in everyday motoring to make it our first choice.

The entry-level SZ4 Vitara comes with pretty&nbsp;much all you'll need, but we'd still suggest stepping up to mid-range&nbsp;SZ-T trim for its easier-to-use infotainment system. Higher-spec SZ-5 examples are&nbsp;fine if you can find one for a similar price, but a bit of extra suede on the seats doesn't turn the Vitara into a luxury car, so it isn't worth the additional expense. Sporty S examples aren't as comfortable as other models, due to their bigger alloy wheels and stiffer suspension.

Our favourite <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/suzuki">Suzuki</a> Vitara: 1.6 SZ-T

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Running costs that won’t break the bank </li> <li>Generous kit</li> <li>Pokey engine and tidy handling</li> <li>Spacious interior</li> <li>Boot big enough to cope with family life</li></ul>

The car-buying public has fallen in love with small SUVs, or crossovers as they’re often called, with thousands turning away from conventional hatchbacks in favour of something that rides that little bit higher.

The original baby SUV is the Nissan Juke, which remains a popular choice, but there are plenty of better rivals to consider instead. We’d recommend you look at either the Ford Puma or Skoda Kamiq, because they offer&nbsp;a great blend of practicality and value that keeps them&nbsp;clear of the opposition. Equally, if you’ve got more money to spend, the Audi Q2 and Volkswagen T-Roc&nbsp;are both fine choices.&nbsp;

Small SUV

The Vitara will have been used mainly in the urban jungle, so check the bodywork for scuffs picked up in tight car parks. The Allgrip four-wheel-drive versions may have had occasional off-road use, too, so check the undersides of the car front and rear. Check the interior for wear and tear and the seats for full operation. It’s also worth having a look at the alloy wheels on the higher-spec models, because these can pick up damage from kerbs.

For a brand with a long history of making rugged 4x4s, it took <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/suzuki">Suzuki</a> quite a long time to jump on the small SUV bandwagon. Previous Suzukis of this size had been good, solid workhorses, but not necessarily adept at providing that pleasing blend of on-road refinement and family-friendly practicality that marks out the best cars in this class; think <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/yeti/estate/used-review/n621">Skoda Yeti</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/kia/soul/hatchback/used-review/n972">Kia Soul</a>, for example.

Enter the Vitara. Upright, square-cornered and with plenty of air inside its wheel arches, it's aimed directly at the more high-rise, genuinely dual-purpose offerings among the new breed of small SUVs.

For the most part, it succeeds, and we think the Vitara is a genuinely competent car. It looks good, there’s the option of four-wheel drive (Allgrip) and the engine options are strong.

Buyers originally had&nbsp;a choice of three engines to propel the Vitara:&nbsp;1.6-litre petrol and diesel units and a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol ‘Boosterjet’ engine, which is the most powerful engine in the range&nbsp;but was initially&nbsp;only available with four-wheel drive. After a 2019 facelift, the 1.6-litre&nbsp;diesel and petrol options were&nbsp;dropped and a turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol was added to the range, while the 1.4 Boosterjet&nbsp;was offered in both two-wheel drive and&nbsp;four-wheel drive forms with either&nbsp;an automatic or manual gearbox.

All the engines are eager and responsive, but the 1.4 and 1.6-litre&nbsp;petrols can be quite thirsty, while the diesel&nbsp;– the most economical of the line-up – can be&nbsp;gruff under acceleration.

The Vitara drives well, too, and is certainly better than some of Suzuki’s earlier efforts. The compromise between ride and handling is well judged – it does both pretty well – and keen drivers will find the car surprisingly rewarding.

Inside, the driving position is good, as is visibility, and there’s a reasonable amount of space both front and back. The boot is a decent size, too. On the whole, the interior feels strong and solid, although the doors and tailgate&nbsp;feel and sound a little tinny&nbsp;and some of the interior plastics are&nbsp;a bit utilitarian. Quality was improved after the facelift, with the top part of the dashboard using some soft-touch plastics and a classier-looking instrument cluster.&nbsp;

The Vitara model range comes in&nbsp;SZ4, SZ-T, SZ5 and sporty S trim levels, but all are well equipped.&nbsp;The entry-level SZ4&nbsp;gets air conditioning, cruise control, a DAB radio, electric windows, front foglights, USB and Bluetooth connectivity and 16in alloy wheels. Consequently, it doesn’t feel like a completely budget choice. We’d recommend seeking out the SZ-T trim, because&nbsp;it gets the integrated sat-nav and media system.

SZ-5 features lots of upmarket upgrades, including suede seat trim, LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof and adaptive cruise control, while the sporty S trim comes with stiffer sports suspension, black alloy wheels and sportier interior detailing.

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Used Suzuki Vitara 2015-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Suzuki Vitara 4x4?