Suzuki

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It's the great debate: Is a sedan or an SUV better suited to a family's needs?

My partner wanted a comfortable and quiet daily driver. I wanted a Suzuki Jimny. We compromised and got a Jimny.

Well I purchased this Suzuki Alto GLX as a demo with 14 kms on the speedometer in April 2014 for $10,700 driveway, I believe the rrp was $12,490. In 72,000kms from new this car is frugal on fuel averaging 4.9 litres per 100kms on regional country drives and 5.8 city usage. The engine is the best part of this car that 1 litre 3 cylinder engine is a sweet motor although the idle shake can be a little annoying at times. It comfortably cruises around for daily duties and just gets on with the job. It has an adequate air-conditioning that has good volume airflow, heating is very hot. Standard stereo system is average but can connect aux to play music Spotify ect. Gearbox is light and clutch easily managed without too much pressure or effort. Space is tight but rear seats can be folded to accommodate larger items or boxes. The rear parcel shelf doesn't attach to the rear hatch so when you open it the parcel shelf is basically in the way, very annoying and I personally removed mine to avoid annoyance. Seating is adequate but can be a little uncomfortable after a long drive but breaks help with that. Overall the ownership of this little car has been great and although it's light car class it's better than some would think. I have driven this car long distance and it can comfortably sit on 110 km/hr for hours on end. Insurance is low for this type of car and running costs is affordable for budget conscious buyers. Would I purchase another Alto if I had too? Big yes absolutely. I do think that cars then should have electric mirrors standard which this car definitely doesn't have, but it is only a small lean across to change settings, is it annoying? Sure is. The other stage thing is the power front windows in front and manual wind down windows in the rear? The other thing is that the drivers power window switch only can operate drivers side so again if you want to adjust the front passenger power window you will need to lean over again. Overall this car would be a great second vehicle or someone on a budget.

Great young styling, fun to drive and super economical. The Ignis 5speed always puts a smile on your face especially when refuelling. I average 4.6 litres per 100klms Which is handy considering I travel 1000klms per week (Leura blue mountains to Ingleburn NSW every day). The 1.2litre engine pulls willingly when given a boot full and will surprise other motorists, at least to 60klms an hour. This is probably notable due to the 840kgs weight of the Ignis. One area for improvement would be suspension tuning! With occupants In the back seats (only 2 x 70kg teenagers) the little Ignis will bottom out with a thud!!! even over small bumps. Considering I drive this car by myself 95% of the time, this issue isn’t a real concern for me. Another area for improvement would be road noise. On certain rough road surfaces the road noise can be a little annoying especially when talking on the phone. The seats are comfortable even for taller occupants my son is 6ft 3” and is happy to travel an hour and a half in the back seat. I wouldn’t hesitate a road trip for 2 down to Melbourne or up to Queensland in the little Suzy either. One thing Suzuki doesn’t offer for the Ignis is a row bar kit. Yes I know I know it’s not the type of car that could lug around a trailer full of dirt or bricks, but it would be ideal to be able fit a rear bike rack. I’d love to see the AWD version in a 5 speed come to Australia and fitted with the 1.0 turbo, the power to weight ratio would make for an even more enjoyable drive, with the added advantage of being able to explore a fire trail or two. I’d highly recommend this car for anyone single or a couple for a daily commute or a road trip. Servicing and parts are cheap and you won’t ever need to do a timing belt!! Keep this car regularly serviced and I doubt you’ll experience any major mechanical issues. I’ve traveled 60,000klms in 14 months with out a single concern!

This car is by no means a performance SUV the 1.6L Is just adequate for city driving and it will not complain if you push it. If you need any more performance than that you need to be looking at the 1.4L Turbo. The price for what you get is hands down the BEST value small SUV on the market. The closest in price was the Mitsubishi ASX but it was thirsty, ancient, heavy and that horrible CVT auto is subpar in my opinion. One thing that the Vitara excels at and a lot of people complain about in modern cars is visibility, is that it has excellent visibility all around with big windows! It is so easy to park and drive around the city! The Suzuki has a good conventional auto which it is an excellent little unit, gear changes are smooth and it is very responsive from the get-go. It is a breath of fresh air when comparing it to most other Japanese manufacturers who offer CVT as standard. It has inclusions that feel ''premium" and most other brands WILL NOT give you in their entry level variants; such as DLR LED lights, GPS, reverse camera, paddle shifters (for the auto), nice looking alloy wheels, darker privacy rear windows and even LED welcome illumination on the front driver's and passenger's foot wells (Mazda charges over $200 just for the welcome illumination!) The infotainment is excellent, the touch screen is very responsive and it comes with standard android auto/apple car play. I am comparing this to the horrible MAZDA MZD Infotainment system which is laggy, outdated and the touch screen cannot be used once the car is moving! Oh and they will charge you $500 for Android auto/Apple carplay (Shame on you Mazda) The speakers are only average but for the audiophiles there is an premium upgrade speaker option! which I have not tried so I cannot tell if it actually improves the audio quality. The interior is very basic but very well thought out with ample space for what it is and excellent rear leg and headroom for its class which is better than a Mazda CX-3 or a Hyundai Kona (And those cars are more expensive). Boot space is also one of the largest of its class (375L vs Kona 361L) which is a plus for a small family and it has the added dual floor for extra storage underneath! It has accessories galore and even though a lot are very expensive at least you get the option to customize your vehicle if you wish to do so. How far you go will depend on your budget. The warranty is 5 years which is a plus but there is a catch - you need to have all the services done by a Suzuki dealer otherwise it reverts to a standard 3 yr which I found a little bit unfair as I think for this to be a money-grabbing exercise by Suzuki. Service intervals are very short 10,000 or 6 months - for those who do not do many Kms like myself it means I will have to visit the dealership more often and they are not cheap averaging $250 per service which is over $500 per year (However I am a big believer of good maintenance so I find this to be a plus in a way for me). I think one year or 15,000kms others offer is pushing it for modern engines especially for stop/go city driving which causes extreme wear on the engine. All in all this vehicle should be selling way more than it currently is however I believe a lot of people do not make informed decisions and get caught up in the hype buying what is ''trendy'' without thinking of practicality. Also a lot of ''expert" review I see online are very unfair on the Vitara as a lot of scores are very low, I used to own a Mazda CX5 and I can honestly say this is a better product, less gimmicks, no istop or other electric gimmicks you don't need and way more practical and easy to drive around the city (even though the CX-5 is on a different category).