Suzuki Vitara RT-S 2016 - Review

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Suzuki Vitara RT-S 2016 - Review

Review - At the entry point to the range is the Vitara RT-S, which kicks off at just $21,990 for the five-speed manual. But we’ve got the six-speed auto, which is $23,990 plus on-road costs, because it makes up a much larger percentage of sales.

It is front-wheel-drive only, unlike the other models in the range, but it is a fair chunk more affordable than them, too.

Even in the base model Vitara you get a 7.0-inch touchscreen media system with satellite navigation and Apple CarPlay, which is better than plenty of competitor SUVs in this price bracket.

It’s not the greatest screen in terms of the display, and it can be a bit dull in its response times, but it doubles as a display for the standard rear-view camera – another plus!

The cabin is a pretty bland environment – function definitely wins over form here. But it is one of the best in the class for cabin space – considerably better than a Mazda CX-3 in the second row, with adequate space for a six-foot-tall adult behind a fellow six-footer’s driving position. And it has a boot that’s bigger than some hatchbacks in the next size bracket up (375 litres).

Perhaps the biggest annoyance with the Vitara range is that the doors are so light that they are hard to close. You will lose count of the times you have to re-shut the doors: you might even find yourself constantly slamming them to ensure they stay shut.

Under the bonnet is a naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that may not be huge in terms of power and torque – 86kW and 156Nm – but it is pretty peppy considering the Vitara doesn’t weigh much at all: just 1120 kilos.

That weight figure is pretty astounding given the size of the car – it measures 4175 millimetres long, 1775mm wide and 1610mm tall.

The engine doesn’t feel like it’s struggling for grunt around town, although it is pretty noisy and likes to rev. It’s better suited to city duties than the highway: at higher speeds it can be a bit breathless when you’re pushing up hills. In town, though, the six-speed auto does a good job.

It steers fine, tackling roundabouts without any hassle, but the steering can be a little bit twitchy on centre at higher speeds. And the ride isn’t bad, either, dealing with speedhumps and rough surfaces pretty well.

The Vitara RT-S is a pretty convincing little SUV for the price – if all-wheel-drive isn’t important to you, you could do a lot worse. Source by caradvice.com.au

Tag : Car, Review, SUV