Suzuki Vitara 2021: city-sized SUV starts from $26,990 driveaway

The Suzuki Vitara is one of the first small SUVs on the market and over 30 years later it represents an attractive option for value-driven buyers.

The current generation 2021 Suzuki Vitara has now been in the Australian market for seven years but the small SUV continues to be offered with a series of attractive drivetrains and a keen $26,990 driveaway price.

The facelifted version of the Vitara was launched alongside the Suzuki Jimny in 2019 and continues to be offered in three grades with the choice of front or all-wheel-drive.

Suzuki Vitara 2021 rear — The Suzuki Vitara starts at $26,990 driveaway with a 1.6L engine

Kicking off the range is the base model known simply as the Vitara powered by a 1.6L naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine making 86kW of power and 156Nm of torque. While that isn’t a lot, it only needs to move a very light 1,120kg kerb weight making it faster than you might expect.

Buyers can match this engine to either a five-speed manual or a six-speed torque converter automatic for a $1,000 premium.

Inside buyers get a leather steering wheel as standard with a fabric-trimmed interior that includes height adjustability for the driver, with electronic adjustability for the mirrors.

Suzuki Vitara 2021 hill descent — The Vitara can be optioned with AWD equipped with hill descent and serval driving models

Adding some tech into the mix is a 7-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a smaller 4.2-inch display sitting between the two analogue dials in the instrument cluster.

Stepping up to the Vitara Turbo adds not only a more powerful 1.4L turbocharged engine making 103kW/220Nm but also a slew of safety features – some of which are fitted as standard on rivals such as the Kia Stonic and Mazda CX-3.

These include front automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

Suzuki also swaps out the halogen headlights for some crisp-looking LED lights and the fabric seat material for a combination of leather and suede material.

Suzuki Vitara 2021 roof — The Vitara Turbo Allgrip model also comes with a panoramic sunroof

The Vitara Turbo is only offered with an automatic transmission with prices starting from $32,990 driveaway and $37,990 for the all-wheel-drive or ‘Allgrip’ variant.

Opting for the Vitara Allgrip grade also adds a panoramic sunroof and while it won’t have the off-road chops of the Jimny, hill-descent control and a series of selectable terrain functions should make it handy enough in most situations.

As with all Suzukis models, the Vitara comes with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and five years or 100,000km of capped price servicing.