Suzuki Vitara 2021 review: Turbo

While adding some modern features, the Vitara hasn't moved too far from its previous exterior profile. Maintaining that compact SUV look with a nicely rounded back, mid-sized bonnet, 17-inch alloy wheels, fancy looking LED headlights, and hard black plastic trim.

Inside there are some lovely retro touches as a nod to its history - including an actual clock face in the centre of the dash (although you need an engineering degree, which I don't have, to change the time, as I wanted to at the end of daylight savings). 

Sitting between the two centre air vents is a analog clock face.

Analogue rev counter and speedo - which I actually like, with an overall interior that looks more 'fun' than 'luxury.' The seats are a nice soft suede-like fabric called Alcantara, with accents of this on the doors as well. 

The Vitara's interior is a bit retro.

Across the dash is an attractive metal trim, although when the sun catches it on the wrong angle the glare is distracting.

There isn't a load of room in the front for additional storage aside from the usual glove box, two standard cupholders, a couple of small shallow dishes for things like keys, and the place for your phone is also quite small. There are also bottle holders and small pockets in the doors. 

There's a bottle holder in each door.

The comfy seats and high roof make the front more than spacious enough. The back seats are roomy for kids and adults, with leg and head room to suit most bodies. 

Boot space is rated at 375 litres.

The keyless entry and start function makes getting in and starting the engine simple. 

There are manual seat adjustments, and the drivers seat is positioned really high. I kept trying to make it go lower, but the lowest position is quite tall. 

The 7.0-inch digital screen is pretty basic in terms of on-board functionality, but the radio is okay to tune, and there is a simple sat nav system. 

The 7.0-inch digital screen is pretty basic.

Better to go with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connected (via a cord), to get the functionality from your phone, like Google maps, and audio streaming apps, up on the media screen.

The 7.0-inch touchscreen features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

I had two kids car seats in the back and I couldn't get a third child sitting in the middle. Somehow there are attachments for three car seats, but they would need to be very narrow to squeeze in. 

I use the top tether style of attachments, I think small SUVs are the easiest style of car to install them in, and the Vitara is no different. 

You are a good height off the road to clip the kids in, and those children big enough to get themselves in and out have no problems. Getting into the boot to clip in the metal attachment is also relatively simple.

Back seat passengers miss out on air vents and other creature comforts.

The back seat is very basic in terms of features. There are no USB chargers, no air vents, no flip-down centre armrest with cupholders... no anything, really!

There are bottle holders in the doors, but these are no good for kids in car seats, they can't really reach them.

With plenty of safety features the Vitara scores the maximum five stars in the ANCAP safety ratings, last tested in 2015.

Dual frontal, side (chest), side head-protecting (curtain) airbags and a driver's knee airbag are standard.

For kids car seats there are two ISOFIX points in the back seat and three top tether points. As I mentioned above, it would be a squeeze to get three seat across the back, they would need to be very narrow.

Priced at $32,490, plus on-road costs and extras, this makes it highly competitive in the small SUV category. This comes with a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty and capped price serving for five years (or 100,000 km).

Suzuki lists service costs in its website out to five years, the average annual cost being $295. 

The official fuel consumption figure is an ambitious 5.9L/100km. For my drive including a regular city commute (so, lots of traffic) and a couple of freeway runs, I landed at 7.8L/100km.