Suzuki Vitara

This is a nice looking SUV. It is compact and the choice of dual tone colors is nice.

However, the sunroof reduces the headroom for rear passengers quite a bit. Also the sunroof only has a sort of shade to prevent the sunlight from coming through which may not be ideal in our hot weather.

Unfortunately there is no option for those who do not need the sunroof (and save some $$ along the way).

There is also no longer an option for the AllGrip AWD which some folks may want for trips up north; This is a pity as it could be a unique selling point as Suzuki is well known for its AWD.

Notwithstanding the above, the Vitara is still an interesting SUV that stands out from the crowd

Now as you can guess from my name, I'm a Suzuki fan. My first car was a Swift 1.0 T and it was a cheap to run, excellently built, and fun car. Reliable too, never gave any of us owners any problems. And so that faith drove me to upgrade to the Vitara.

Firstly, Champion Motors (CM) is quick in getting your COE, as they need to shift as many units as quickly as possible. However it takes you a long time to get your car. My guess is, delivery is tied to Borneo Motors, so...No real prizes for guessing the priority order.

Secondly, all car loans must be taken from Borneo, at a very uncompetitive and non-negotiable 2.3%;. I visited most of the competitors, and mostly were below 2%. Makes a big difference when you take a 7 year loan.

CM is quite reluctant when offering freebies. My sales rep actually had to fork out cash to get me the rear dash cam when I got my swift. Sadly the same couldn't be done for my Vitara.

Finally on to the car:

Dashcam failed the day after I collected the car. Called the service center and was told I had to do a walk in, but was told walk ins were not entertained for the month of Feb as they had closed down Bukit Batok and Ubi branch to save cost, leaving only Pandan branch open. Drove like a scaredy cat till my first service in March where I could replace it.

Gear 1 has a high pitch whine. I never knew an AT gearbox could sound like a CVT. Service center did some sort of scan and told me nothing was wrong, hence nothing was done. Don't recall this sound on my Swift nor the Vitara test car.

Rattle from the roof on the passenger side was highlighted, they added insulation and it is quieter now, but a new rattling has developed on the drivers side. Back to the workshop!

The new solar film company working with CM is terrible, lots of dust and air bubbles. It was flawless on my Swift 2 yrs ago.

The Vitara was kinda my holy grail, it checks all my boxes and felt like a car I was going to use till scrap. There are definitely QC, and I daresay design issues with this car, which is a terrible shame as it's quite the looker and the 1.4 Boosterjet is nothing short of excellent. In short, unlike the dealers name, I definitely feel like I lost out here.

For an SUV, it is quite economical. For a 3-yr old car, I am constantly getting about 13.5 km/L. With large glass panels all round, the view is superb. Adequate leg room. Other than a glove compartment, there are plenty of small compartments in the interior of the car, not forgetting the large and small boot compartments. Aircon is good.

What I hate is the default engine auto stop/start feature. Each time it restarts after a stop, everyone in the car can feel the whole car vibrating and the engine making loud cranking sounds. I have to switch this feature off whenever I start the car. I am hoping the workshop can switch the default to off mode or better still, deactivate this mode off permanently for me. The one who designed this feature ought to be sent for retraining. I recommend he/she be sent to Mazda as my previous car, a Mazda also had this feature but I hardly know the engine restarted each time.

The new 1.4 Turbo Vitara is an underdog in the small compact SUV. Not many people is interested in this model, especially when the previous 1.6 engine was a letdown in terms of acceleration and power.

A couple of months back I was looking for a small compact SUV;

HR-V, CX3,Subaru XV, Qashqai were my shortlisted models. I was not keen in continental makes due to bad experiences previously which i will not mention here. I am also not comfortable with buying PI models and prefer Authorised dealers.

I almost decided on a HR-V with Kah Motors as the design and features was my favourite out of the choices. My decision changed when i stepped into Champion Motors and test drove the new Vitara.

The drive was impressive: eager acceleration, very little body roll while turning and the car feels like it wants to keep going faster! Handling was good and i felt in control of the car at all times. Wide windows all around with clear visibility. Paddle shifts to give that extra boost when you feel like it.

I eventually booked one and has been driving for a month now. Fuel consumption is about 12.5km/Liter. Just did my 1000km servicing at Toyota and all the experience was good. Hence i decided to write this review to share.

If you share the same shortlists as me, don't pass the new Vitara, go for a test drive and experience it for yourself. It did won me over.

Suzuki's After-Sales service has been a truly terrible experience, despite the car itself being a car I would recommend. After all, a poor after-sales experience can be absolutely detrimental to the whole experience of owning a Suzuki, and that is what I went through.

I have been waiting for a spare part for 7 months already. Nobody has been following up with me despite my car being under their warranty package. Each time I call, I was asked to hang up and call the parts department directly. The officer on that end would have no idea of my query, and would only inform me that the part remains unavailable.

7 months down the road, I continue to be left in limbo.

Drove the 2016 Vitara Standard model for 2.5 years. Here's an honest review...

The car gave me no problems throughout the 2.5 years, which i expect since this is a jap car.

Fuel consumption is alright. I'm heavy footed, car does about 11 km/L, 60 Hwy 40 City.

The car is quite 'sporty'...Able to drive at high speeds. Drove to Genting multiple times with it, at 150km/h on NSHW, sound insulation is good, car is stable, but pickup not very good. Can also take bends well as not much body roll for an SUV imo.

No leather seats...If you accidentally spill your drinks, then good luck to you, very hard to clean. But still quite comfortable.

No armrest.

Seating 3 in the back is a headache. Only ever put 3 people in the back of this car if you really hate them. Very 'squeezy' backseats.

The features in the car are minimal. No infotainment screen, just a radio. In this day and age, everyone uses smartphone so Apple Carplay or Android Auto is needed. Also no reverse camera. Nowadays even the cheaper cars like Avante come with reverse cam...

If you are looking for a basic car and prefer an SUV, this would be a good choice, otherwise, look elsewhere...

Honestly I have never thought of looking at the Vitara when I was looking for new car to replace my Toyota Wish. When Champion Motors dropped the price for a short while, I decided to take a look at it.

Making an appointment for test drive was easy, and the sale rep was very friendly and extremely patient with my many questions.

I have been driving my Vitara for more than a month and i am surprised that I am enjoying it more and more !

The Vitara is an easy car to drive. . The handling is easy, with a very responsive engine. I love it that the manual gear shift buttons are ergonomically designed to be on the steering wheel, making it very easy and quick for me to change to manual control of gears when i need.

I cover great distance daily, and the very efficient fuel economy of 16 km/L on average , even when on urban driving, is what I am extremely pleased with.

My previous ride was a Suzuki SX4. It's not a fanciful car, but reliable and never once broke down.

Naturally, Suzuki is one of the choices when I started looking.

I have always liked the Vitara, but put off by the supposedly high FC. This latest version is inclined towards city driving so I have some expectations in its frugality. It was the panoramic roof what pushed me to get the 4WD version despite the worse FC than 2WD, but it came with the Sports mode which makes driving more enjoyable and I liked that.

Some add-ons from the dealer include front & rear camera and armrest which I got it installed 2 months after I collected the car.

I owned Hyundai car and it is almost 9 years old, it is time to shop for a new one.

Suzuki was not in my initial list, i was waiting for Subaru XV with new facelift model.

I Test-driven it , my first feeling was very comfortable, maybe due to All Wheel Drive. It had Good visibility for driver.

Dropped by and tested the 4WD version.

A couple of months later, purchased the 2WD version

It comes at a good time to replace my COE-due car. Trade-in is the only option and I am glad I m able to lay my hands on the latest version of the Famed Vitara Culture of SUVs.

I was looking to change my old car Hyundai which I had for the past 7 years. Test drove the new Elantra, Tucson, Corolla, Vezel and Vitara. The moment I took the Vitara on the test drive I knew that this is the best out of the lot. Great handling, stylish body and colours as well as the interior fittings. Panoramic sunroof is a great feature. I just bought and took delivery of Vitara Premium 4WD. No complaints and enjoying driving this SUV. Also must mention the salesperson Alan Ong. He was extremely helpful and informative. Great salesmanship and customer care. Looking forward to the collaboration with Suzuki motors for the next 5years.

The new Suzuki Vitara comes across as a quirky and fun-loving car, helped by the two colour paint work. The car is nicely designed, has a rugged look to it.

inside, its rather spacious. Some of the plastic bits look a bit dated, reminds me of Swifts a few years ago, but everything functions well and sensibly. Nothing over-the-top, which is good.

the engine is fairly punchy, capable of smooth overtaking on the road. Didn't dirve it that long, but the fuel economy figures based on the short time with it was very impressive, so it seems suzuki still hasnt lost its mojo there either.

Been driving this latest Vitara for the past week and I should say that I have no regrets getting this little SUV.Handsome on the outside and loads of features on the inside.You will feel the maximum potential of the performance of the car by using the "Sport" Mode.Otherwise,the default "Auto" Mode is sensibly reliable as well.One glance and people can mistaken the car for the Range Rover Evoque!(because of the dual tone and its design)

Branding is from Japan but the car is assembled in Europe.(Hungary)

Car is still in "Running in" Mode but as widely tested,it can travel at least 17.5km/liter,which is relatively good news for Vitara 2016 owners.

Test Drive last week.

I was excited about this 4x4 wheeler which overtake the ex model with a 1.6 engine. The handling was more stable then the Cross Over..

Engine pick up was quite reasonable with the 1.6 engine and run smoothly after it runs off the road. I love the exterior design with 2 modes to choose from. The city and the urban. I love the urban cos it looks so man.

The moonroof was not so impressive as it covers up with mesh then exposes by the moonroof glass. I suspect the heat in the car park under hot sun will rose up.

Boot space is reasonable for me.

Sales girl is not pushy and very patient.

I did not test drive when visited champion motor showroom, sales man told me they don't have enough man power to handle.

Furthermore, he told me he is busy serving a lady buyer whom did not test drive:

He said:" Brother, no problem one, no need test drive la, u see, got people bought did not even test drive."

Because of his attitude, I don't think will return back to the One and only tiny ubi show room again.

Some ratings are low as I was not allowed to test drive