Suzuki Grand Vitara News

To the end of March, the Australian new car market was up 8.7 per cent while Queensland was up 10.5 per cent.However, Suzuki sales in Queensland were up 18.24 per cent.It follows record growth over the past five years for Suzuki Auto Co which imports vehicles for Queensland and is a separate company from Suzuki Australia which handles imports for the rest of the nation.Suzuki Auto Co general manager Keith Carroll said Queensland was the strongest performing state, selling 42 per cent of all Suzukis in Australia.“The strength of the product line-up and its relevance to the Queensland market is eagerly being matched by the commitment of the dealer network to the consumer,” he said.Carroll said growth had been across the product range with 16.5 per cent sales increase in the Swift small car, 9.6 per cent growth in Grand Vitara sports utility vehicle, 70 per cent growth in the APV (All-Purpose Van) and 4 per cent for Jimny all-wheel drive.He predicted further growth this year with more model variants becoming available.A base model of the SX4 all-wheel-drive small car will be available in June with about a $1500 discount on the $24,390 vehicle.It will be stripped down to two airbags, no fog lights, steel wheels, and no keyless entry.A 2-litre two-wheel-drive SX4 sedan and hatch will arrive at the end of the year.The sedan will replace the Liana. However, Carroll said that with demand for the Liana still high and supply limited, there would be no discounting of the $18,990 drive-away runout model.Carroll said Suzuki would start importing frugal diesel-powered cars in about 18 months, probably starting with the Grand Vitara and SX4.“We would have liked diesel in the SX4 from day one,” he said.“It would be good to have a passenger car diesel at the same time as a four-wheel drive.”Carroll said it would be a 2 or 2.3-litre diesel engine and the cars would have a higher level of trim.“We have to show that you get a little bit more wow for your dollar,” he said.Supply continued to be the limiting factor on sales growth.However, Carroll said Suzuki was building new plants in Japan, Hungary and India increasing production by 33 per cent.

There is a clear-cut champion in the compact four-wheel-drive class.It is the Subaru Outback, which does easily the best job for the majority of shoppers who want the size, comfort and command driving position of a soft-roader but don't plan to do much of the rough-and-tough weekend work in the bush.The Outback is a high-riding and tougher-looking Subaru Liberty wagon, which means it is a new-age station wagon for people who are convinced that four-wheel-drives are the best bet for the 21st century.But it's not the only way to go in a class which is as varied as any in Australian motoring.The all-paw smalls are a split-personality line-up which ranges from serious bush buddies to suburban shopping trolleys, with everything in between.Some talk the talk, but don't go remotely close to walking the wilderness, and others are surprisingly capable despite their soft-form looks. And looks aren't always the best – or easiest – way to make a choice.The Daihatsu Terios has the high-rider style you expect to see in a serious four-wheel-drive, but it could have come just as easily from the world's best-selling carmaker – Matchbox.The Suzuki Jimny is much the same, though it can really romp in the rough and is priced from just $17,990.At the other end of the action, there are several contenders which push past $40,000, including the over-priced and under-done Land Rover Freelander.The compact class also opens the options between "all-wheel-drive" vehicles focused on blacktop work and "four-wheel-drive" vehicles with serious off-road grip and dual-range gears, in a battle which rages all the way to the $100,000-plus machines in the luxury four-wheel-drive world.The split between the soft-road and hard-rock vehicles means it's important to split the winners, with the Nissan X-Trail taking top honours for real off-road work and the Subaru Forester and best-selling Toyota RAV4 – now with a punchier 2.4-litre engine – scoring on the soft side. The Outback was completely updated last year and picks up the five-star safety and top quality from the latest Subaru Liberty.But it also gets a tougher look, extra ground clearance, rough-road tyres and all the other gear you need for weekend expeditions.The price is pretty rich in a class where most of the action is below $30,000 – the H6 engine can lift it from $31,180 to more than $50,000 – but it's the one to recommend to friends and family if they can afford it. The Nissan Patrol is a heavyweight four-wheel drive star and you can see and feel the family connection to the X-Trail.It has the stumpy looks of a serious off-roader and backs it with a 2.5-litre engine hooked to a grippy drivetrain and a tough body.Nissan has also created a funky cabin for the X-Trail, with all the right stuff for twentysomething owners.It's not cheap, with pricing from $31,990, but the price is right for the class and the competition. The Forester, like the Outback, was developed for rougher roads than the regular all-paw Subaru family wagons.So the Forester sprang from the Impreza, as the Outback did from the Liberty, but with a much bigger change to the body.The Forester looks like it will work off the bitumen and it does, provided you recognise its limits.It also comes with a punchier turbo engine, though it's not WRX, and Subaru Australia has just rejected a Forester STi which would have really rocked the compact four-wheel-drive scene.