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Is a used Suzuki Vitara a good buy?
The Suzuki Vitara is a family-friendly small SUV that focuses on value for money. Even as a new car it’s well equipped for the money, yet if you’re looking for the best Suzuki Vitara deals then a used model is a great option.
It’s an alternative to small crossovers such as the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur. As it’s cheaper than a number of these rivals, you could also consider the Dacia Duster, which is a strong value model that has some off-road ability.
The Suzuki Vitara has this extra side to it too, as there are 'Allgrip' versions that come with four-wheel drive. While it’s not quite as capable as the Suzuki Jimny off the tarmac, the Suzuki Vitara is a better off-roader than two-wheel-drive cars such as the Juke or Captur, which are very much designed for on-road driving.
Yet even on the road, the Suzuki Vitara is comfortable and good to drive, despite its very reasonable price tag. It’s known to be reliable too, so we’d have no qualms buying a second-hand Suzuki Vitara that’s been looked after. This model has been around for a while, but we’re focusing on the post-2018 versions here.
Aside from being strong value and offering more off-road capability than most cars of this type, the Suzuki Vitara also comes with plenty of standard equipment for the money - whichever version you opt for.
There’s enough room in the Suzuki Vitara for a family and the decent-sized boot is large enough for the weekly shop. It’s not as big as the latest Nissan Juke, for example, with the Suzuki offering 375 litres of boot space compared with 420 litres in the Juke. This isn't a big difference but could be worth noting if you need a really practical model.
Read our full Suzuki Vitara review
Which used Suzuki Vitara should you buy?
The engine range is simple with the Suzuki Vitara, as there’s just a handful of petrol motors. There’s a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine which is economical and powerful enough for most drivers.
There's a 1.6-litre petrol and in more recent models a 1.4-litre ‘BoosterJet’. Suzuki calls the newer version of this a hybrid, but this is a little misleading as it’s only a mild hybrid - meaning it can’t drive on electric power alone and only has a tiny electric motor that adds a small boost to the engine.
What used Suzuki Vitara trim levels are available?
You can get a Vitara with either a manual or automatic gearbox and there are three main trim levels to be aware of: SZ4, SZ-T and SZ5. Let’s take a closer look at each trim level and what comes included as standard.
Suzuki Vitara SZ4
The entry-level Suzuki Vitara is the SZ4 is only available as a manual and with two-wheel drive, as it’s the starting point of the range.
This model comes with an impressive amount of safety equipment as standard. Things like lane departure warning, blind-spot assistance, traffic sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control are often found as expensive optional extras on what seem like more upmarket models, yet they’re all standard on every version of the Vitara.
The SZ4 also comes with LED headlights, another great feature for this low cost, roof rails, 16-inch alloy wheels, climate control, a CD player, USB connection, Bluetooth connectivity and digital radio.
Suzuki Vitara SZ-T
The Suzuki Vitara SZ-T is the model to go for if you like to have a media display screen in your cabin, as this comes with a touchscreen media system which includes sat-nav and a reversing camera as standard.
It also comes with smartphone connectivity, which means you can use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to display apps from your phone on the car's screen. The SZ-T has the same fabric seats as the SZ4, but with white stitching for a different look.
This model is available with four-wheel drive (called Allgrip) and it’s also possible to find models with an automatic gearbox. The SZ-T costs about £23,000 upwards when new.
Suzuki Vitara SZ5
The Suzuki Vitara SZ5 costs from around £25,000 when new, but it comes with a bundle of extra equipment over the SZ-T as standard. It’s also available in automatic and four-wheel drive forms.
Here you get suede upholstery, hill descent control (on four-wheel-drive models only), keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, an analogue clock on the dash and a panoramic sunroof.
This version also comes with a set of polished 17-inch alloy wheels (the SZ-T above also has 17-inch rims, but they’re a different style) and electric folding door mirrors with an indicator light integrated into them.