Suzuki Vitara

Chunky-looking cars with a mildly rugged style and elevated seating position really seem to hit the spot with a growing band of drivers. Sales of compact crossover SUVs have been on the rise, and are now forecast to more than double across Europe over the next five years. So Suzuki is right on trend with the arrival of its new Vitara, pitched against rivals such as the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Vauxhall Mokka. Cheekily, the new Vitara has a clamshell bonnet with echoes of Range Rover Evoque styling. There the similarity ends, and the Suzuki crossover may have grander pretentions, but it is clearly in a lower league on both price and quality. It is available in both front-wheel-drive and with Allgrip four-wheel-drive. It is the former that will be the big seller: only around a quarter of Vitara sales in the UK are expected to the Allgrip models, but all of the launch cars were equipped with it.

The diesel model, mooted for 25 per cent of UK cars, has a 1.6-litre Fiat engine under the bonnet, with a 118bhp power output. Although the car is quite light, performance is pretty average, with a fairly leisurely 12.4 seconds acceleration time. But it feels quite perky through the gears and is pleasant to drive, with tidy manners and reasonable steering feel. The ride and handling balance is well sorted for a car of this type, quite short-bodied and relatively tall. You do notice a bit of body lean on the tighter bends, but the Vitara tucks in nicely with assured handling, and the ride quality is quite impressive. On some rather poor surfaces on rural back roads the suspension set-up and damping did a decent job of keeping any unpleasantness out of the cabin.

Cabin quality is a bit of a let-down. Everything is very plasticky and all the surfaces are hard, giving the interior a rather cut-price ambiance. There are nice touches though, with the option for the external body colour to be carried across to the dashboard and around the air vents, and a cute little clock that can be specified in any of three designs, including one with arty Japanese numerals. Interior space feels pretty reasonable for the overall body length, and back seat passengers have adequate legroom with a six-footer sitting in front. The boot, at 375 litres, is narrowly one of the largest amongst rival cars, and it comes with a horizontal luggage board that gives a flat-load floor with concealed space underneath.

All versions of the Vitara diesel come with 17-inch alloy wheels, seven airbags, a rear parking camera, cruise control, electric windows all round and rear privacy glass, as well as climate control, LED daytime running lights, satellite navigation and USB and mobile phone connectivity. SZ5 editions also include autonomous emergency braking, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, suede upholstery and automatic wipers and headlights.

The new Vitara’s chunky, slightly funky look and mostly friendly driving manners make it an interesting addition to the compact crossover scene. It seems fairly priced and Suzuki is perking it up with some interesting two-tone colour options. Used car values are independently predicted at over 40 per cent after three years. It should do well.