After being shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the most powerful version of the Vitara yet is ready for consumption in Britain. The Vitara S "flagship" crossover replaces the old 1.6-liter with a new 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine that produces 140 PS or 138bhp.
Before we look at the performance, let's mention that the S trim slots above the SZ5 and comes with a lot of standard kits. Of course, there's a price to pay, and that's… the price. With the first units hitting dealerships in January 2016, the Vitara S will cost £20,899 for the manual and £22,249 for the automatic model.
For this money, you're getting more power that's available from lower down in the rev range and 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) of torque. This Boosterjet unit is the first in a line of new engines planned by Suzuki and packs about 50% more torque than the 1.6L.
Performance is affected, but not in a dramatic way. The time taken to get from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) has been shortened from 12 seconds to 10.2 seconds, while the top speed is now 124mph (200 km/h).
Unlike the basic Vitara that packs a 5-speed manual, the Vitara S uses a 6-speed unit and offers all-wheel-drive as standard. The 6-speed automatic option has an expanded lockup range to promote good acceleration, high fuel economy, and low levels of NVH.
As we've mentioned above, the Vitara S comes with everything except the kitchen sink. Standard kit includes 17-inch gloss black alloy wheels, satin silver door mirrors, LED lights with red projectors covers, black side accents, a rear spoiler and black seats with red stitching.
We like it in this Bright Red standard color, but you can also have more discreet white, gray or black tones. This is also the first Suzuki model to offer a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay.
Overall, we like the idea of a small turbo crossover with AWD, since the French carmakers don't offer such a thing. The new grille is distinctive, but a standard VW Tiguan (2x4) has a lot more space for $22,975. The same can be said about the £20,995 Ford Kuga Zetec.
For this money, you're getting more power that's available from lower down in the rev range and 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) of torque. This Boosterjet unit is the first in a line of new engines planned by Suzuki and packs about 50% more torque than the 1.6L.
Performance is affected, but not in a dramatic way. The time taken to get from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) has been shortened from 12 seconds to 10.2 seconds, while the top speed is now 124mph (200 km/h).
Unlike the basic Vitara that packs a 5-speed manual, the Vitara S uses a 6-speed unit and offers all-wheel-drive as standard. The 6-speed automatic option has an expanded lockup range to promote good acceleration, high fuel economy, and low levels of NVH.
As we've mentioned above, the Vitara S comes with everything except the kitchen sink. Standard kit includes 17-inch gloss black alloy wheels, satin silver door mirrors, LED lights with red projectors covers, black side accents, a rear spoiler and black seats with red stitching.
We like it in this Bright Red standard color, but you can also have more discreet white, gray or black tones. This is also the first Suzuki model to offer a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay.
Overall, we like the idea of a small turbo crossover with AWD, since the French carmakers don't offer such a thing. The new grille is distinctive, but a standard VW Tiguan (2x4) has a lot more space for $22,975. The same can be said about the £20,995 Ford Kuga Zetec.