The current Suzuki Vitara is blowing out ten candles on its birthday cake this year, but Suzuki is not yet retiring the crossover. In fact, the Vitara will receive a facelift in its tenth year of life.
In October 2014, Suzuki pulled the curtains on the current generation Suzuki Vitara during the Paris Motor Show. The Vitara broke considerably with its predecessors. Suzi’s long-legged car is much less ‘all-terrain vehicle’ and much more crossover. About four years after its market introduction, the Vitara climbed back from the cutting table in 2018 with a tightened face and a subtly renewed buttocks. Six years later, Suzuki does not consider the time ripe for complete renewal, but for yet another facelift.
The Suzuki Vitara is immediately recognizable as such, although that certainly does not mean that nothing has been changed. The headlights have been given a new design, in the grille housed between them the emphasis is now on one chromed horizontal slat instead of six vertical slats and the entire bumper has also been overhauled. We see fewer chrome-colored accents and more black plastic filling. From now on, there will be no strip of plastic in body color between the upper and lower grille. The entire lower cooling opening is now framed by black plastic.
Suzuki also introduces new alloy wheels and it also brings new paint colors to the almost 10-year-old crossover. There are also internal changes, although they do not relate to the drivetrain, but to the interior. The Vitara gets a new and significantly larger infotainment screen. From now on, it is up to 9 inches in size and can handle Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Vitara also benefits from enhanced safety systems. Dual Sensor Brake Support II has been improved, the Vitara gets Driver Monitoring System – an attention warning – adaptive cruise control and Lane Keeping Assist.
The Suzuki Vitara is available again as a 115 hp 1.5 Hybrid and as a mild hybrid 129 hp (+14 hp mild hybrid) 1.4 Boosterjet Smart Hybrid. AllGrip all-wheel drive is optional on the Vitara with the mild-hybrid powertrain. The mild hybrid always has a six-speed manual transmission.
What will the updated Suzuki Vitara cost? We do not know yet. Suzuki does report that the updated Vitara will come to the Netherlands at the beginning of the summer. Despite its age, the Vitara is doing well in the Netherlands. In 2023, more than 2,000 units were sold, making it the most popular new Suzuki in the Netherlands.
