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... Read More

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.... Read More