Used Suzuki Vitara cars for sale

Used Suzuki Vitara pros and cons

Is a second hand Suzuki Vitara a good car?

The Suzuki Vitara is a small, affordable SUV that is a bit like an old-school footballer who still swears by 4-4-2 — everyone else has moved on to other things, but the Vitara still wants to be a rugged off-roader. 

So unlike alternatives such as the Honda HR-V and the Peugeot 2008, the Vitara looks like more of a proper off-roader, with a big, square bonnet and chunky styling. It’s like a boot from Millets, but with wheels. 

The current Vitara has been with us since 2015, so it’s getting pretty old now, and the chunky grille and chrome trim look a little passé these days. Still, it’s not a bad looking car, although that step in the side glass, at the rear, has never looked quite right. 

Inside, the cabin at first glance looks pretty good, with a big touchscreen, a neat lineup of round air vents on top of the dash (high-spec models get a clock instead of the central vent), and clear, simple instruments. However, when you start to look closer, it’s all rather too cheap in how it feels. The touchscreen is awkward to use, and has very old-fashioned graphics, while the same is true of the tiny trip computer screen between the main, analogue instruments.

On the upside, there’s smartphone mirroring for the display, the front seats are fine, and if the dash is horribly cheap, then at least it’s well-bolted together. The fact that there are plenty of physical buttons for major functions also makes the Vitara easier to use than some alternatives. 

There’s plenty of space for a car of this size too, with lots of room in the back seats — more than you’d find in most of the competition in fact — and a decent boot which holds up to 362 litres of luggage or shopping, which is enough for a week away with four people, or the big Saturday shop. 

Space in the front is good too, although there’s not a lot of storage spaces in the cabin. At least the big side windows give you a decent view out. 

That view out makes the Vitara easy to drive in town, which is backed up by light steering and a sweet-shifting manual gearbox. The recently-introduced hybrid model gets on well in town too, thanks to a standard automatic gearbox, and frugal urban fuel economy. 

Even so, the Vitara isn’t as refined nor as sophisticated in its feel as the likes of the Honda HR-V, the Toyota C-HR, or the Peugeot 2008. The 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine has been around for a long time now, but it’s still a game performer. It’s a bit too thirsty in everyday driving though, even with mild-hybrid tech. 

The newer 1.5-litre hybrid is economical around town, but becomes thirstier — and rather noisy — on a long country road or motorway run. 

When it was first launched, the Vitara was actually pretty good fun to drive, but the ageing design means that alternatives have well and truly caught up and passed it. However, if you get a four-wheel drive version, you’ll find it’s surprisingly capable and rugged when you take it off-road, so the Vitara is a great, affordable choice for those who regularly need to leave the tarmac behind.

What to look for when buying a used Suzuki Vitara

There don’t seem to be many major issues with the Vitara when it comes to reliability, and Suzuki has a habit of building solid, reliable cars, so that’s reassuring. 

Suzuki finished a respectable, if not exceptional, 19th out of 32 brands in the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, but a mere 8.9% of owners reported faults with their cars — that’s an even better reliability rating than mighty Toyota. The Vitara itself was ranked by Driver Power as the 21st best car to own (out of 50 cars rated) and owners gave it an impressive rating for its reliability and quality.