Possibly Vitara's greatest competitor in Romania and a car that we drove as well is the Dacia Duster, a compact SUV that's fairly capable off road, even if it now suffers because of the mostly underpowered engines. You can read more about the new Duster here and I recommend going through both articles to find out which of these two cars is the right one for you.

Suzuki Vitara is a successful model that's been sold in Romania for many years and there's a good reason for that. First of all, the Vitara is one of the first compact SUVs in the world and it's been seeling for decades at this point.

Suzuki Vitara may be compact, but it's spacious enough and comfortable

The exterior dimensions of the new Vitara are very reasonable and make it a more compact model than the Duster, although there are some sacrifices to be made with that, especially in the boot. The Vitara is a little under 4.2 meters in length, so it's closer to cars such as the Yaris Cross than the Dacia Duster, which is over 4.3 meters long, but comes with more space for luggage thanks to that.

The Vitara, however, offers a better build and higher quality materials. The doors and the boot have a full sound when you close them, which is what I've noticed with the Swift, as well, and this gives more confidence in the overall sturdiness of the cars. On the inside, the Vitara is a class above the Swift and clearly above the Duster. There isn't much of a difference compared to the old Vitaras and the materials aren't super premium, but the plastic Suzuki chose for this car feels high end and well put together. There is a soft plastic variation of the dashboard and there's some textile material on the doors that feels soft to the touch; overall, it is a familiar interior, well-spaced and with a nice feel to it, even if it may seem a little old school at first.

The buttons for the air conditioning, the heated seats or the windshield defogger are positioned very well and you'll get used to them quickly. Speaking of the seats, they are very comfortable, textile on the bottom and the back, as well as some leather on the sides, where you have plenty of support for driving on winding roads, which you can absolutely do in this car.

Passengers staying in the back have plenty of space, as well, perhaps not as much as in the Duster, especially if there are tall people in the front. However, the windows in the Vitara are larger and positioned perhaps a bit lower, so you don't feel claustrophobic. The boot is indeed small here and if you need more space, it's best that you buy the mild hybrid version. Because the battery is larger on the strong hybrid version, the boot capacity is only 289 liters, while on the mild hybrid, it grows considerably to 362 liters. The Duster is the roomiest of them all, with 430 liters of space, but that's where that length comes in.

Suzuki needs to further improve the hybrid system on the Vitara

Ever since I looked on the spec sheet of the new Vitara I had a feeling that this SUV is not quite the hybrid you may think at first. Normally, a full hybrid system gets the vehicle going with the electric motor only and drives like that until about 50 kilometers per hour or so, unless you press the accelerator a bit harder. On the Vitara, the situation is a bit different.

Sometimes, it starts off in electric mode only until 40 km/h, but only if you press the acceleration gently, so let's say in a slow-paced morning traffic. The hybrid works together with the gasoline-powered engine to get the car going. When you're already moving and let go of the acceleration completely, that's when the petrol engine stops and leaves only the electric maintain the speed or accelerate slightly, but if you need even a bit more than that, it will turn on again.

This, I think, is because the modest specifications of the electric motor. Its power is limited to 33 horsepower and 60 Nm of torque, while the voltage of the battery is 140 V, which is not exactly enough for driving in electric mode constantly, even at lower speeds, especially if there's also a bit of weight in the car. On the Duster, for example, you have a 49 horse power electric motor, while the battery's voltage is 230 V, clearly more power and enough to move the car on its own until 50 km/h even if you press the pedal more.

The petrol engine on the Vitara is a 1.5 liter unit in 4 cylinder, naturally aspirated, it's power output is 102 HP, plenty for this chassis, but because it's working most of the time, the fuel economy is not as good as it could be. The fuel consumption that I got was 6 liters per 100 kilometers while driving in the city, on the highway and on country roads, pretty decent, but not as good as on the Duster, which can deliver under 6 liters pretty easily.

In the city alone, the difference is even greater, so the Duster was able to get even under 5 l/100 km thanks to the better-optimized hybrid system, while the Vitara got me 6.5 l/100 at best in the same traffic conditions and with the eco mode turned on. It's a considerable difference and even taking off from a red light isn't as fast in Suzuki's SUV and now I'll talk about what I didn't like very much with the Vitara.

The hybrid system is slowed even more by the gearbox

Suzuki chose to install an AGS gearbox on the new Vitara, which stands for automated manual gear box. This is perhaps one of the cheapest automatic gearbox systems you can fit on a car in 2024. It's not very efficient when compared to other gearboxes and doesn't offer very good performance, either, as it shifts and responds slower.

While driving in a traffic jam, the Vitara can feel pretty uncomfortable and janky especially at lower speeds and this is further amplified by the fact that it can't roll in electric mode alone. By contrast, the multimode gearbox on the Duster is more refined under the same conditions, even when the petrol engine starts. While driving the Vitara normally or on the highway, the differences aren't that big anymore. The automated manual gearbox shifts and behaves better and the electric motor is able to fill the shifting moments smoothly, unless you drive very sporty.

I've been pleasantly surprised that when you give it a kickdown, the gearbox reacts pretty fast and downshifts fast enough to give you the desired sprint.

In the future, I think it would be best if Suzuki used a CVT gearbox, such as that found on the Swift, as well as a more powerful electric motor to drive in electric mode for longer. This way, the comfort will increase, while the consumption and the emissions will go down.

If you want better control or performances, you can buy the Vitara with a mild hybrid configuration, which comes with a 6 speed manual gearbox and a 1.4 liter turbocharged engine. You have a bit more power there for longer drives, while for the city, I still think that the 1.5 liter variant is better, because it's a simpler system with a strong hybrid configuration.

Let's get back to the good with the comfort. The Vitara feels good on any type of road, it likes the city, the highway, where it's comfy, stable and not very noisy until 140 km/h, while on winding roads, the car is pretty agile and quick.

Even if it may seem that the Duster is better than the Vitara, the situation changes when you leave the asphalt. As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty clear that the Vitara has been optimized for off road. Previous Dusters were pretty good here, as well, but with the new model, the engine options with 4x4 aren't very powerful for off roading, while the full hybrid system, which has plenty of power, can't be equipped with all-wheel drive.

The Vitara, on the other hand, comes with powerful 4 cylinder engine options and the hybrid version can be equipped with 4x4, as well, while the car comes with a locking differential for the moments you might need to get out of mud, snow or sand, for example. You have a drive mode selector on the center console to choose the best driving mode for the scenario at hand.

The ground clearance on the Vitara is 17.5 centimeters compared to almost 21 centimeters like on the Duster, but the superior engine options and the 4x4 traction system installed by Suzuki make the Vitara the superior choice for off roading adventures.

Suzuki Vitara is a safe car in any scenario

The Vitara shares pretty much the same safety technologies with the Swift that we tested recently. The only difference I was able to tell is that the SUV comes with front parking sensors, that work well and are handy when getting close to an obstacle. The lane keep assist works very well, too, it's not too sensitive or aggressive, the car control systems are all in check, while the speed limiter is letting you know when you're going above the limit without being too intrusive.

What I liked is that, when you back up the vehicle, the sensors will let you know if there's a vehicle or a pedestrian coming from either side. Another thing that helps you not get too tired is the auto brightness when you get in a tunnel, for example, which automatically lowers the brightness level on the dashboard or the tablet.

As much technology as this vehicle packs, it still lacks in one department, that being the buttons which you have to use in order to switch the dashboard information system. There are two long buttons behind the steering wheel that look like sticks which you have to press to switch between average fuel economy or the hybrid system for example.

It's a very old-fashioned system that I didn't expect to find in a new car and if you're the type of driver who constantly switches between the displayed information, you might find it difficult to switch the dashboard, especially while on the go.

Otherwise, the tablet works well and it's the same system as on the Swift, simple, easy to learn and to understand, which I think is more important than a modern design that can incorporate too many functions.

Suzuki Vitara prices and conclusion

The Vitara starts at around 21.500 euros in the mild hybrid version with front wheel drive and reaches up to 31.000 euros for the LUXUS version with strong hybrid configuration and all-wheel drive. The base model offers you, among other things, all the safety features, air conditioning, rear parking sensors and the system for monitoring the driver, which lets you know if you're too tired to keep driving.

Basically, you have all you need to drive safely and with the minimum comfort and if you want heated seats, full glass roof or the all-wheel drive system with all the features that involves, you'll have to dish out around 27.000 euros for the LUXUS version with the manual gearbox. It's a fair price, in my opinion, since we're talking about a solidly-built car that's compact, which you can drive effortlessly around the city and that's also very capable on a long trip or in off road conditions.

The most expensive Duster, on the other hand, also reaches around 27.000 euros, but isn't as well built and packs lower quality materials, even if the gearbox and motor combination is better optimized. At the same time, the hybrid Dacia Duster doesn't come with all-wheel drive.

If we're talking about the cheapest version of the two cars, Suzuki offers more with the Vitara, not just through the better-quality materials, but through the more well-balanced mild hybrid engine combination, which is better for driving on longer trips.