It was a haunting moment and I felt a sudden chill, though that could have been the cooling desert wind sending its icy fingers down my spine. Still, nothing that a cold can of Crown and the magic of the moment couldn’t immediately dispel, my thirst for beauty and beer simultaneously slaked. It had been a long journey from Auckland to Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it’s known by the local Aboriginal people, made even longer by the inordinate amount of time it took us to clear immigration, customs and baggage at Sydney Airport. Three hours to fly from Auckland to Sydney, and half that time again just to get through the airport! We overnighted in Sydney, then flew off to the tiny Ayers Rock Airport, although slow service and long snaking queues at the under-manned Qantas desks at Sydney airport made us think at one stage we just weren’t going to make the flight. Still the view of the rock was more than worth it when we finally got there, as was dinner overlooking it, and the vastness of a night sky filled with more stars than I’ve ever seen before – more, even, than in the empty sands of Africa’s Namib and Kalahari deserts, the frigid wastes of northern Finland, or a yacht floating at anchor in the Bay of Islands. We were the guests of Suzuki, and had flown to Australia to meet up with Australian and Japanese journalists, plus Suzuki dignitaries, for the launch of the latest incarnation of the Suzuki Grand Vitara. Bright and early the next morning – just before dawn so we could catch the rising sun – we were up and off to board helicopters for the first leg of our journey, right up to the rock, and a flight all around it so we could see it from all angles. I’m sure many of you know all the ins and outs of Uluru, but for those who don’t it’s the world’s largest monolith and an Aboriginal sacred site in Kata Tjuta National Park 450 km southwest of Alice Springs. Visitors flock to see it all year around, and many of them do the tough 1.6 km ascent to the top or take a walking tour around the rock with an Aboriginal guide. For us, though, it was 21st Century, with a Bell Long Ranger taking the place of our feet. Not quite as good as being able to touch and feel, but certainly a different angle, with a pedestrian tour something we can save for later. Being in the chopper also gave us a chance to fly to the Olgas, a lesser-known, but in my opinion more spectacular series of 36 dome-like rock formations which stand up to 546 metres high – taller than the 348 metres Ayers Rock - and cover an area 35 km in circumference. Like Uluru they produce an incredible light show at sunset, with crimsons turning to rusts, and pinks to mauves. We also flew beside Lake Amadeus, a dried salt pan 180 km long and 10 km wide – fascinating. We were told it contains as much as 600-million tons of salt, but it’s too remote to harvest. You can drive from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs – which is dead centre in the middle of Australia - and there are two main routes. One is the all-tarmac Lasseter and Stuart Highways. We were later to travel on part of this, and it’s a well-made and very quick route (there’s no speed limit in the Northern Territory) that is stress-free and quite attractive. The other, and much more important for our readers, is the Mereenie Loop Road, which requires a 4WD. You need a pass (which is for a nominal fee, around AUS $2, and includes an information booklet) to travel on this road and it’s available at the Visitors Centre in Alice Springs or along the way at Kings Canyon or Glen Helen depending on which way you are travelling. We also took in part of this route, too, and found the main challenges were the heavy corrugations in places, and the sometimes choking fine red dust. We touched down at Kings Creek Station, which is on the Mereenie Loop Road, and there we got our first sight of the new Grand Vitaras, all lined up and waiting. And it was a bit of a double-take, really, for not a lot has changed on the outside of either the three-door or the five-door models. Basically we’re looking at a new grille and bumper 30 mm further forward to accommodate a new V6 engine and its ancillaries, a four-bar motif in the grille, 17 inch or 18 inch wheels depending on the model, and LED turn lamps in the door mirrors. In addition, the front fog lamps have been repositioned, with wider spacing. The V6 version also gets HID (xenon) headlights plus the dirt sensors and headlamp washers necessary to prevent them dazzling other road users. Which is fine by me, for I like the styling, particularly of the funky three-door – now the only three-door in its segment since Toyota doesn’t import the three-door RAV4. Inside the changes were more pronounced. The information display has moved from the centre console to the instrument cluster where it’s more easily seen by the driver. Extra features have been added into the digital display, which now relays instantaneous fuel consumption, average fuel consumption, driving range and average speed at a push of the mode stalk. The trip display now incorporates two trip meters, odometer and external temperature read-out, and the display brightness can be adjusted. Moving the information display has freed up space on the dashboard for the inclusion of a new centre speaker in both Ltd models for improved sound quality in the combination AM/FM/CD tuner. All models now feature back-lit steering wheel switches, new sun visors with an extension function, and a sliding centre arm rest. Every model also comes standard with a revised climate control air-conditioning system, featuring an LCD display and intuitive controls in the centre stack. The interior temperature can be controlled automatically by setting a desired ambient temperature, or adjusted manually with an eight-speed fan. However, it’s the new engines, the huge improvements in NVH (noise, vibration and harshness – particularly on the diesel model) and the great ride quality which impressed most. The Grand Vitara five-door cabin benefits from the addition of a lower door trim seal and upgrading the glass in the front doors from 3.5 mm thick to 4 mm, and these changes have helped reduce cabin noise by around two decibels. The new four-cylinder unit is now a new super-smooth 2.4-litre petrol model with balancer shafts. This has variable valve timing (VVT), and is available in both three and five-door models, in addition to the current 1.6-litre (3-door) and 2-litre (5-door) engines. Rated at 122 kW, it provides a 67 percent increase on the previous 1.6-litre in the three-door, while fuel efficiency improves to 8.8 litres/100 km for the five-speed manual. A four-speed automatic transmission is also available in the three-door, which like the rest of the range comes standard with ESP, and six SRS airbags, as does the five-door – and that model also gets cruise control and rear ventilated disc brakes. Top of the five-door four-cylinder range is the 2.4-litre Ltd, which adds leather trim, sunroof, mirror-mounted side indicators, premium seven-speaker (plus subwoofer) sound system and 17-inch alloy wheels. This has gutsy performance, with the 0-100 km/h sprint now taking 11.7 seconds, down from 12.5. As before the Grand Vitara diesel gets a Renault-sourced 95 kW/300 Nm 1.9-litre DDiS engine, but it has been reworked for an eight percent improvement in fuel economy. More importantly it also gets a dual mass flywheel for improved smoothness, and additional sound deadening. For me this was the most significant improvement in the range, and turns what was previously a quite agricultural-sounding unit into a desirable engine option. But the top of the tree is the 165 kW Ltd V6 with its all-new 3.2-litre quad-cam V6 offering 22 percent more power over the outgoing 2.7-litre V6. Styling changes are limited to the grille and headlights, and dashboard variations, and it gets 18 inch alloy wheels with low profile road tyres. Other Grand Vitara models come with 17 inch wheels shod with all terrain tyres. All models have a four mode 4WD system, operated from the main switch on the instrument panel. The 4H or 4 High modes can be used in normal driving with open differentials front and rear, and an open centre diff. The 4H Lock mode locks the centre differential to give more traction, while 4 Low Lock engages the lower ratio in the transfer case and locks the centre differential. ESP eliminates the need for a centre LSD, and includes traction control which operates in all conditions; however the power-reducing portion of the ESP module is switched off automatically when low ratio is selected, and can also be switched off manually in high range, but only at low speed. Also new for Suzuki is hill descent control, although this is unfortunately only available on the V6. This regulates the speed at which the vehicle travels downhill, particularly in steep or difficult off-road conditions, and it’s engaged by the driver via a dash-mounted switch in either 4H lock or 4L lock modes. Coupled with HDC is hill hold control, designed to assist the driver in hill starts; the system helps prevent the vehicle rolling for two seconds while the driver’s foot moves from the brake pedal to the accelerator. Ground clearance on all models is 200 mm. All this came in very useful as we moved off on the corrugations towards Kings Canyon Resort. Typical of the “Red Centre” as this part of Australia is known, the roads are covered in red dust, and plumes are sent up by each vehicle, cutting vision and slowing you down so much that at times the washboard road surface sends vibrations through your whole body. Still, the Suzies coped well, and there were certainly no rattles or squeaks. The scenery got better as we went through Morris Pass and into the Watarrka National Park, and soon we found ourselves on a smooth and basically straight bitumen road, where we could let the horses out a bit. Although the straights weren’t that long I saw 190 on the speedo at one point, and 140 km/h cruising was easy-peasy! Pretty soon though the tar ended, and we were back on the gravel, though by now it had smoothed off considerably, allowing some spirited driving, though one has to watch out for corrugated patches that can throw you offline. Lunch was planned for Gosse Bluff, an imposing natural feature caused by an impact meteor around 140-million years ago. The ensuing explosion, estimated to be about 1,000 times the power of the first atomic bomb, caused a crater about 20 km across and destroyed every living creature within a radius of 300 km, as well as altering weather conditions for the next millennium. Makes you wonder whether man, or nature, is causing global warming… After lunch we set off on our final leg of the day, headed for Glen Helen Gorge where we were to camp for the night. But before that we went off-road onto a special circuit designed to put the Grand Vitaras through their paces. Typical of this sort of “launch test” they didn’t come close to taxing the little 4WDs, but we managed to easily get through one section of deep sand which had caught out an unwary bunch of travellers in a Nissan Patrol. They were still digging when we left. And so to Glen Helen. Situated in the Glen Helen Station – unfortunately no longer worked because of drought and a downturn in the cattle market at the turn of the 19th Century - the gorge is home to the Glen Helen Resort, which uses one of the four original station homesteads. However, our destination was a site just down the road beneath a tall red sandstone bluff. Accessed by a rough and ready road carpeted in talcum powder dust, it was a magnificent place to camp, although the facilities were limited to just one portable toilet – for the ladies! However Suzuki had put on a great spread, and we happily crawled into our little blue tents with tummies full of great food and even better wine. I was snug enough in the tent despite the bitter cold of the desert night, but unfortunately sleep came in only small portions. It reminded me of a time I walked through a large herd of buffalo in Zimbabwe. The night at Glen Helen was like sleeping in the middle of that herd, with continual snores and snorts and other noises from the 55 mainly male party, interspersed with loud zipping noises as tents were opened so their occupants could relieve themselves, and the odd grumpy greeting as people met in the moonlight. Still, dawn eventually arrived and we reluctantly crawled out of our tents, to be greeted by the smell of cooking bacon, fresh coffee, and the wood smoke of the resurrected campfire. The discomfort of the night washed away as our tummies took on warm sustenance – and afterwards we slipped off to the resort to freshen up. All too soon it was time to get on the road again. Fortunately we could leave the tents and gear behind for someone else to pack up, and we were on the road to Alice. More fast tarmac driving, and after lunch it was on to the airport and the final two flights home – three hours from Alice, and another three hours over the Tasman. What stands out about the new Grand Vitaras? Firstly, they still look fresh and modern. Secondly the changes make them more comfortable, quieter, and easier to drive for Mr “Joe Average”. Most importantly, the new engines take the vehicles to another level in the compact 4WD segment, one that’s going to be very hard for their competitors to match. The 1.6-litre three-door and 2-litre five-door models have been retained in the New Zealand line-up making the Grand Vitara range the most comprehensive of any SUV range sold in the country. The 2-litre five-door models benefit from revised engine tuning to improve fuel economy and CO2 emissions. These models also gain side and curtain airbags.