Just now, Lady Elanore said:

I also tend to drive like I stole it  

 

 That’s not news Amanda 😀

 

Well the digital display says, after a bit more than 1000kms, 21.6kms/litre average.

Pity the speedo is so abysmal in sunlight......it’s sooo bad I’m now desperately looking for an aftermarket digital gubbins.

How subtle art takes precedence over fundamental information beats me.     A ‘G’ meter and other useless gimmickry is in abundance but not a functional speedo !?! 😡

 

Well for hypermilers  - 

Currently the lifetime (2500 kms) avengers consumption - 21.9 kms per litre   or 62 mpg imp!

Basically one pedal driving (minimal use of the left pedal).

Fill > fill over the last 588 kms, using the exact same pump,  26.78 litres......... windless  - speed(?) 50mph (gps) - no ‘draughting’ either but good sealed roads and minimal country traffic.......a little bit of country town traffic.

I’m amazed at exactly how efficient it is for such a boxy high rider.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/suzuki/vitara/106876/suzuki-vitara-vs-seat-arona

 

About time that Motoring Journalists and articles about 'Small Crossover SUV's' mention that there is from Ford not just the EcoSport but it can come with a 1.5 diesel and AWD.

 

This 'Small Crossover SUV' thing is odd where models are only offered with FWD manual or auto and are basically just tall hatchbacks.

Not a Sports Utility or Surban Utility vehicle just a car.

 

There are changes for 2020. No idea if a Petrol Hybrid is coming yet but i suspect there is.

 

 

Edited 26 May, 20197 yr by Skoffski

I guess it might depend, for some, on just how much ground clearance they need, how much use the RWD gets and whether the extra servicing costs make it all worth while.

I had a drive in one of these for 1/2 day yesterday in R line spec-really liked its performance and usability.

 

 

 

Higher roofs and seats that have you sitting higher on does not mean that there is higher 'ground clearance' between the road and the lowest parts of the car that ground / grind as you go up a farm track with a hump in the middle.

 

Never to be forgotten,  the Suzuki heritage, ability to evolve and build reliable vehicles, small capacity N/A and turbo petrol engines built for decades and likely why VW bought into Suzuki to get the knowledge & R&D, & Suzuki dealerships that know the products.

They do not just keep on generation after generation building in faults.  So Vorsprung Durch Technik but in Japanese or Hungarian.

Style over function is just style over function.

 

 

 

 

Edited 26 May, 20197 yr by Skoffski

Fun

 

 

 

With a little bit of help -

https://www.carshowroom.com.au/news/suzuki-to-gain-uk-built-hybrid-estate-based-on-toyota-corolla/

 

Another S-Cross test -

 

https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-reviews/suzuki-s-cross-turbo-prestige-75144

As my Vitara enters it's 5 year of servitude   i have been looking at the 0% PCP deals they are offering. Discounts are decent but not strong at the moment and it might not be worth me changing. however I looked at the 1.7 4x4 Qashqai Tekna and can easily secure an equivalent £6k discount if I use a PCP and that's without trying, or using brokers. Playing with a configuration shows I can get one for pretty much the same price as the Vitara (only a couple of £s a month in it!) Loaded with kit and a bigger car (huge 66 litre tanks is nice) it would be a great motorway companion. Against it is the extra 400kg weight. I love the honesty of the Vitara and Suzuki in general (I have owned 3 Suzukis, 4 if you count the Sedici as one) but wonder if the lardy lazyboy Qashqai would not represent better value for money 😞 I feel shame coming upon me  

 

Looks like the 4x4 system is reasonably good. Certainly find more grip on the roller test than the Dacia 

 

 

 

Edited 16 July, 20196 yr by Lady Elanore

Old people will go for the Nissan for it’s lack of excitement.

The Vitara feels alive in an old fashioned way and certainly is more fuel efficient.

 

4th highest first registered in the UK in 2018.

^^^^^^ and ideal for an ageing population with Toyota also popular.

Older and disabled driving Vitara. (low Advance Payment with Mobility.

Fleet users, Families, Oldies, & Disabled also go for the Qashqai  in the UK.   Nobody really seeing the sportiness in the Vitaras,,, Just something until they give up driving /life.

I am in the older camp these days 😞  

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I still have an M4  perhaps I'm not dead yet 

2 minutes ago, Lady Elanore said:

I am in the older camp these days 😞  

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I still have an M4  perhaps I'm not dead yet 

Being of the more senior variety doesn’t mean you aren’t naughty sometimes, it seems Amanda.

I'm well naughty....it just takes longer to recover afterwards. 

I'm still weighing up whether to swap out of my Vitara and into something else, possibly the AWD  Qashcow or the AWD Kona, but I saw this vid and fell in love with the Vitara again  It isn't a proper off roader, not by a long shot, but its light weight and clever traction control doesn't half give it some 'go' when the going gets slippy. 

 

This vid is not in English, but it doesn't matter and if you want to watch it form the start you can see which mode the driver uses to attack the hill

 

 

 

I would have more confidence in Suzuki off-road than any other direct competitor.  I would keep in mind it’s light weight when contemplating crossing water however.

So after 4.5 years with the Vitara it's going to a new home. It's been totally faithful and as reliable as any car I've previously owned. The good points are the economy (brilliant), 'Allgrip' on tricky surfaces (shows a lot of alleged 4x4s how it's done), size (it's not too big) and the ride/comfort balance. Overall there is very little not to like. If I had to be picky I'd say the steering is a bit weird as Suzuki hadn't really got to grips with electric power steering on the early Vitaras and the sound system is a bit weak (improved a little on the latest version). Also the materials feel very brittle although they are in fact bomb proof, but this too has been improved on the current version. Oh and another bad point is they have dropped all the diesel models  

 

But perhaps the most stella thing about it is it's SIV (the price the 'trade' sees the car as being truly worth) is 47.5% of the price I paid for it 4 1/2 years ago. Which is pretty good depreciation. I'll miss my little SUV, it's been a fun friendly place to spend time 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited 15 November, 20196 yr by Lady Elanore

http://vivavitara.com

 

Suzuki Vitara Hybrid.

Edited 26 November, 20196 yr by Roottootemoot