Suzuki Vitara 2018 Philippines: Price, Specs Review, Interior, Exterior, Pros & Cons

Known as a compact SUV of Suzuki, the Suzuki Vitara has gone through nearly 30 years with four generations since its first debut in 1989. Many may have been familiar with the name Suzuki Grand Vitara but since the fourth generation, the car has been dubbed "Suzuki Vitara".  

Most recently, the latest generation - all-new Suzuki Vitara has officially been launched in the Philippines in November 2017. The arrival of the Vitara 2018 model year has stirred up the booming local auto market because of its significant changes. Back to the second and third gens, both were designed as a C-segment and did not truly reach the success and enormous favor as the first generation did. For this reason, the brand has changed their strategy to play when deciding to bring the Vitara 2018 into the B-segment. This means the Vitara has finally entered the fierce fray to compete with strong players like the Mazda CX-3, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke.

Suzuki Vitara 2018 (facelift) | Walkaround | Frankfurt Autoshow

To provide you a deep insight into this expected crossover, Philkotse.com would like to choose the top-spec variant - the 2018 Suzuki Vitara GLX to make a comprehensive Suzuki Vitara 2018 Philippines review and hopefully this review will be a strong encouragement for those who are wondering about this car.

Nowadays, most crossovers come adorned with polarizing fascia, sharp angles and intricately-designed crevices. However, counteracting the trend, Suzuki chose to give its Vitara 2018 a distinctive exterior design with a mixture of rounded and edgy shapes, bringing the SUV a fresh and striking look.

Suzuki chose to give its Vitara 2018 a distinctive exterior design with a mixture of rounded and edgy shapes

The 2018 Vitara front fascia gets a swooping look and is decked with an iconic front bumper, sedated two-bar chrome grille and bold headlamps.

The 2018 Vitara front fascia gets a swooping look...

... and is decked with sedated two-bar chrome grille

In the end of the simply-designed side, the rear appears to be attractive and eye-catching with soft quarter wheel arches and 17-inch alloy wheels (16-inch in lower version).

The GLX is equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels

The side looks quite simple

The image of a Vitara which has a spare tire mounted on the tailgate now goes away from the Vitara 2018. Instead, the latest variant gets a new tailgate and hexagon-shaped taillights. Perhaps this makes some regret for the traditional Vitara tailgate but many highly appreciate the change because of its fresh and liberal appearance. Getting the new tailgate, the car design comes more cohesive and innovative. Still, it is not the most revolutionary point in design but it is not a bad refreshment.

The image of a Vitara which has a spare tire mounted on the tailgate now goes away from the Vitara 2018

For the roof, the GLX gets two roof color options which are black in the Bright Red 5 Metallic and the Atlantis Turquoise Pearl and white in the Horizon Orange Metallic. In the meantime, that of the GL+ and the previous GL just comes in one cue.

4th-gen Suzuki Vitara vs. 1st-gen Suzuki Vitara

2.1. Cabin space

Getting inside, you’ll be welcomed by a contemporary and ergonomic cabin. The Suzuki Vitara 2018 interior has a handful of changes in the steering wheel and dashboard arrangement, compared to its predecessor. The steering wheel now has a smaller diameter but still retains the familiar 3-spoke design.

The Vitara 2018 interior has a handful of changes in the steering wheel and dashboard arrangement

Under the body, the rim is now thicker and the wheel also comes equipped with an adjustable cruise control, which brings the vehicle a better grip and eases the drivers’ control to get into their destination.

Speaking of the seats, the Vitara offers comfortable seats for both driver and passengers. Especially, the driver's seat receives great compliments for its convenient adjustable function, helping the driver control the car much more effortlessly.

The car is also equipped with qualified and well-arranged power window switches, climate control dials, door handles and dashboard buttons. On the other hand, the plasticky door panels are quite flimsy, bringing a feel that they may get broken more easily after a long time of usage.

For the rear seating row, it offers all three occupants large space for leg room and elbow room. However, the headroom may cause some inconvenience due to the addition of a panoramic sunroof, which comes exclusively in this top-of-the-line trim.

Space for housing up luggage is also very generous as it is capable of containing four bags and even additional big kinds of stuff or suitcases. And all of four doors are armed with bottle holders which can hold up to 1.25 L bottles.

Nevertheless, there is an inconvenience in the cabin, that is the A-pillars and side mirrors will bring some loud wind noises when the car travels at remarkable speeds.

2.2. Infotainment system

This might be one of the most interesting things of the car that attracts many car enthusiasts. At the center of the car is a 10-inch Android-based touchscreen infotainment system which is considered as one of the biggest in its segment and even in the whole auto market. It offers a multitude of multimedia functions including SD, CD, USB, Aux and AM/FM radio. It also has Wi-Fi hotspot function, smartphone mirror-link and preloaded-apps such as Google Maps, Waze, Spotify, Facebook, etc.

At the center of the car is a 10-inch Android-based touchscreen infotainment system 

3.1. Engine

The Suzuki Vitara 2018 Philippines is powered by a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine which is capable of cranking out 113 hp and 156 Nm of torque, mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Looking at the maximum output of the Vitara, you might think it is not outstanding at all but what the car performs will surely surprise you.

The Suzuki Vitara 2018 is powered by a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine

3.2. Performance

The Vitara 6-speed transmission makes the car different as it just needs a relatively light tap to accelerate the vehicle while most of the self-shifting gearboxes require drivers to mash the pedal to speed up the car.

It seems that the paddle shifters would be preferred if it is made of metal rather than plastic. Thankfully however, the plastic used in the Vitara is fine and still brings good sense while driving.

On the highway, the engine guzzles about 17 km/l with low revs while on city streets, the car consumes around 10 km/l. If the car runs at a lower speed, the fuel consumption will be 19 km/l and 12 km/l, correspondingly.

According to Mr. Kennedy Adia, Senior Product Supervisor for Automobiles of Suzuki, it is not necessary to equip the Vitara with manual versions because most of SUVs and crossovers nowadays run with CVT or automatic transmission. However, the engine seems to be noisy at the beginning of acceleration even when it is loading light luggage.

It is not necessary to equip the Vitara with manual versions

If the previous Grand Vitara is a semi-crossover which has the ladder frame built into the unibody, the Suzuki Vitara 2018 is born as a full crossover with a unibody developed from the dynamic SX4 S-Cross. Unlike the last Grand Vitaras and Vitaras which decorated the four-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive with longitudinally-mounted engines, the new Vitara motor is fitted horizontally for the front-wheel drive. In the global market, a 4-wheel drive variant is available but in the Philippines, it seems to be far away.

With a more car-like orientation, the Suzuki Vitara now can easily handle tight bends and corners. The car offers a quite low ground clearance of 185mm, helping create least body roll and prevent wallowing.

In both city and highway driving conditions, the steering supported by electronic power is finely-weighted but still, it is not excellent enough to make the driver truly feel the driving sense.  

With a more car-like orientation, the Suzuki Vitara now can easily handle tight bends and corners

The brake system is a good point. Accompanied with a lighter body, the more advanced brakes make the driver more confident on the go and ensure their safety effectively. And the accelerator pedal is also better and easier to use and adjust power delivery. However, it is a little bit small for those who have big feet.

The Vitara boasts good dampers and a firm unibody, providing it a great performance and an amazing capacity to tackle every terrain from city streets to harsh and rough roads.

However, the ride is a bit bumpy as the 55-series tires are not armed so firmly, just sometimes. This is suspected that the bumpy ride is caused by both tire’s firmness and also air pressure that is beyond the recommended level.

Being a great B-segment crossover, the new Suzuki Vitara 2018 offers a price at P1,098,000 for the top-spec GLX and P988,000 for the mid-grade GL+. This is worthy of refreshing and welcome changes, making the Vitara 2018 becomes one of the most wanted crossovers besides a youthful design, spacious interior, powerful performance and a great fuel economy.

All in all, born in the B-segment crossover but the Suzuki Vitara offers a plenty of features that can be found on larger and more expensive vehicles. It also marks the strategy view of Suzuki brand as they brought their beloved kid comeback the competitive auto industry with great enormous updates to challenge all rivals in its segment.

So wait for what? Drive home this dream crossover and experience exciting journey!

To learn more about other hot models in the Philippines, please click here where our complete guide on model profile, latest price, specs and more will help you get your head around them.