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Suzuki Vitara vs Nissan Qashqai

What's the difference?

VS
Suzuki Vitara
Suzuki Vitara

$20,444 - $35,990

2021 price

Nissan Qashqai
Nissan Qashqai

$33,890 - $52,090

2024 price

Summary

2021 Suzuki Vitara
2024 Nissan Qashqai
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Inline 4, 1.6L

Turbo 3, 1.5L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol

Electric/Pulp
Fuel Efficiency
5.8L/100km (combined)

5.2L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • No AEB availability in this grade
  • Stiff ride
  • Too much road and engine noise intrusion

  • e-Power limited to costly Ti grade only
  • Requires 95 RON premium unleaded
  • No spare wheel – boo!
2021 Suzuki Vitara Summary

Suzuki invented the modern compact SUV. It’s funny how quickly people forget.

Yes, the pioneering Vitara of 1988 rode on a ladder-frame chassis so was not car based, but it was successful enough to show the way for others to follow. Chiefly, Toyota, with the seminal Corolla-derived first-gen RAV4 of 1994.

Fun fact: this earliest Vitara was also known as the Suzuki Escudo (Japan) and Sidekick (North America), as well as the GMC/Geo/Chevrolet Tracker and Pontiac Sunrunner (USA), Asüna Sunrunner (Canada), and perhaps most evocatively, Wanli WLZ5020XLD and Guangtong GTQ5020XLZ (China).

So, respect to the Vitara, especially since it has evolved over four redesigns, eight different badges and 33 years, from fashionable 4x4 leisure machine to 4x4 off-roader (1998 FT and 2005 JT Grand Vitara) to 2015’s monocoque-bodied JY-series small SUV.

How does the 2021 JY Series II Vitara 1.6 auto stand up? Keep on reading.

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2024 Nissan Qashqai Summary

Everybody loves an underdog story and Nissan’s one is a beauty.

For decades, the model we knew as the Pulsar struggled to crack the European small car market against the likes of the Ford Focus and the company was in serious strife. Worthy but derivative, it struggled to stand out.

So, for its 2007 replacement, some bright sparks convinced Nissan to reimagine the hatch by butching it up, raising the ride height and changing the name to something exotically daft. And, voila, the original Qashqai was born.

Initially sold in Australia as the Dualis, it quickly became a global smash hit, finally catapulting the brand from follower to leader, creating the small SUV segment as we know it today.

If you love your Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-30, Toyota C-HR or VW T-Roc you have Nissan’s ingenuity to thank.

Now it’s at it again with the Qashqai e-Power – an EV-first hybrid using a petrol engine to only charge its battery so an electric motor can drive the front wheels. More than a Prius, less than a Tesla, then.

The next big thing or a dead end? Let’s find out.

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Suzuki Vitara 2024 Nissan Qashqai

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