If you’re a keen mountain biker like NZ4WD magazine Editor Ross MacKay, all roads in the upper-middle part of the North Island lead to Rotorua. For his latest trip there he had the use of a Suzuki Vitara Turbo.
Even those of you who last rode a push bike at school will – somehow, from someone or other – associate Rotorua’s beautiful Whakarewarewa Forest with mountain biking.
If the sport – or perhaps more accurately – the ‘activity’ – didn’t exactly get its start here in NZ beneath the six-hectare stand of majestic California Redwoods that line Long Mile Road on the south-eastern edge of the Bay of Plenty’s Lakeside tourist hub, then the first forays by intrepid riders on makeshift two wheelers must have come very soon afterwards.
Since these hazy and, I’m sure, at times crazy days of the late 1970s and early 1980s, a loose-knit group of riders has beavered away with the full and enthusiastic support of the local Iwi who own and manage the Whakarewarewa Forest to build a 130km network of trails which starts just up the road from the main car park and visitor centre on Long Mile Rd. It ends – if you have the time and inclination - on the shores of both the Blue (Lake Tikitapu) and Green lakes (Lake Rotokakahi) on the far south-eastern boundary of the 5600 hectare (13,837-acre) forest park.
In-between is a veritable cornucopia of what the kids today would call ‘trail goodness,’ with something for everyone, from beginner to steely-eyed young DH (downhill) wannabees and middle aged blokes (that would be me) keen on adding a little bit of adrenaline into his otherwise rather pedestrian fitness regime.
As a veteran now of just over 20 years of dedicated MTB ownership and – of that – coming up to 15 (years) of dedicated weekly use, I’m almost embarrassed to say that prior to organising this particular day trip, I had only ridden Rotorua once before.
That must have been coming up to a good nine years ago now, too, and all I really remember from that particular (very) wet day was that our pre-arranged shuttle bus couldn’t make it up the steep gravel access road from the other (Weipa State Mill Rd) forest access entry point, leaving us with no option but to grind-up the heavily-metalled access road ourselves before getting hopelessly lost taking whichever trail appeared to offer the most shelter from the cloying, misty rain on the way down.
Not the best introduction to what is still considered NZ’s premium MTB Trails area, though it certainly whetted my appetite for a return bout. As has – since that fateful day – the opening of the Gondola-accessed Downhill Park at the Skyline Rotorua complex on the other (western) side of the city.
Home of the first of the global Crankworx MTB Festivals to be held outside Canada and/or Europe since 2015, the steep, rugged yet beautifully sheltered slopes of the Skyline site on Mt Ngongataha bristle with every type of man-made track and/or obstacle you can think of.
As such, they offer the average trail rider like my good self a golden opportunity – while in town to ride the Redwoods – to give the very different discipline of pukka DH riding a go.
So, as I’m sure you can imagine, it took all of five, perhaps six, seconds for me to say ‘sure, I’ll head to ‘Vegas (the shortened slang term for the city based on the popular long-form Roto-Vegas) next week’ when NZSUV ad man Dan Prestige asked me to come up with a ‘day-away’ idea if he could convince Suzuki to loan us a VItara Turbo for this year’s NZSUV guide.
SUV’s by and large are not particularly easy things to ‘test’ you see. Most, in fact, are so utilitarian in their focus, and uniform in their basic spec, that it is all too easy to be confused as to which marque, let alone model, you are actually driving a lot of the time.
Not the Suzuki Vitara - in general – or the Turbo model in particular, however. So, when Dan got back to me with the news that Suzuki NZ did indeed have one we could test, well I don’t think I’ve looked forward to a day-out-of-the-office more since the last mid-week drift day at Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park and that would be a good three – perhaps even four – years ago now.
To be absolutely fair on all the other small to medium size SUVS battling it out for sales in what is now one of the largest and most competitive sectors of the new ‘car’ market at the moment, the Vitara is hardly a looker even when finished in one of the luminous colours unique to the local line-up.
While individual elements like the clamshell bonnet and pumped out blister-style rear guards work well from a modern design aesthetic, the overall effect is of a lack of cohesiveness.
On every other level however the Vitara - in my humble opinion – continues to punch so far above its weight, it is going to get my vote for Compact SUV of the Year in my own (NZ4WD) magazine’s 4WD of The Year awards for the third straight year in a row.
Let me use my own – long – day in the saddle driving from Auckland to Rotorua and back, to help explain why.
For a start, the Vitara Turbo has a nice, roomy cockpit with deep inset footwells and plenty of room for my long back, bony elbows and big head.
I’m no great fan of the harlequin-style (think diamond-shape) chequers of the synthetic suede Suzuki chose to trim the seats front and rear with. However I’d class the driver’s seat as all-day comfortable for all but the most committed corner carvers, who, I’d imagine, would prefer a little bit more lateral support from the otherwise long, broad and comfortable seat back.
The Vitara is also one of the easiest SUVs to get in and out of, a fact often overlooked in the buying process.
Naturally it sits higher on its 17-inch. dia. alloy rims and wide, tall Continental tyres than a similarly- sized conventional car but, by the same token, you are not reaching then stepping up to get in, then back down again to get out – as you have to with most medium-size and up SUVs these days.
Access for back seat passengers is just as good, and I was impressed with the amount of space behind the back seat for luggage.
In saying that, I made a bit of a rookie mistake packing my old Ogio MX gear bag into the luggage compartment before mounting my bike rack to the tow bar then fitting the bike to the rack.
Sure, the bike was off the rack within seconds of my arrival at the Redwoods carpark, but with the rack locked on to the tow bar (and the key safely back in Auckland…) there wasn’t enough room for the tailgate to swing out and up.
Of course I was able to retrieve my gear bag by simply dropping the rear seat back down, but next time I’ll probably mount the bike on a rack on the roof (like everyone else seems to be doing these days).
So. The Vitara Turbo is roomy, comfortable and easy to live with. What really makes it stand out from the packed crowd of other Compact SUVS on the market is the dynamic, engaging, safe – and above all else fun - way it delivers a unique, driving experience.
Safety, obviously, sells and the Vitara Turbo has earned its coveted five-star ANCAP rating thanks to the now usual interventionist suite of electronics which start with an Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) and includes lane departure warning, weaving alert, blind spot monitoring and now a rear cross traffic alert function.
This, when added to ABS and Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), a brake assist and even a total brake override capability, could well turn even the most dynamic of light, powerful SUVs into a dull, unresponsive shadow of its former self.
Not the Vitara Turbo, though, because like the other 4WD versions in the current range, it is equipped with Suzuki’s thoroughly impressive electronically-controlled, four-mode, All-Grip-Select driving mode system.
Driving around Auckland before, and even on the way to Rotorua (via Hamilton and Tirau) on a nice warmish, dry, spring morning, the default Auto mode was perfect. In Auto mode, drive goes to the front wheels and the engine operates in the interests of economy.
Had it been raining and the road wet, sensors in the system would have picked up on the fact that the front tyres were starting to struggle and immediately sent drive to the rear pair as well.
In saying that, I spent a lot of my return trip revelling in Sport mode, which you can move in and out of on the fly with the flick of a rotary dial adjacent the gearstick.
Everything felt sharper, more responsive in Sport, which I used selectively through the Mamaku Ranges on the way there and back, and on the Tahuna to Onewhero link road on my way home again.
Either way Suzuki’s sophisticated ‘little’ 1.4-litre BoosterJet (where DO they get their names?) engine did the Vitara Turbo proud.
Where once capacity might well have been King, now it is volumetric efficiency (VE) which is the current buzz-phrase and at just 1373cc, the BoosterJet is very much its poster boy.
To sum up, I think Suzuki’s Vitara Turbo is a great little family SUV, the sort, which though you might initially buy as a second car, ends up being the one you driving the most because it is just so practical, nippy, economical and fun!
SPECIFICATIONS
Suzuki Vitara Turbo
Engine: 1.4L (1373cc) 16-valve VVT direct-injection petrol BOOSTERJET turbo in-line 4-cylinder
Transmission: 6-speed auto w/electronic part-time/4-mode-Suzuki ALLGRIP 4WD
Power: 103kW@5500rpm
Torque: 220Nm@1500-4000rpm
Economy: 6.2L/100km
CO2: 145g/km
Susp. Front/Rear: MacPherson strut coil/torsion beam & coil
Brakes: FRONT/REAR: Disc/Disc
Wheels/Tyres: 17 x 7.5j alloy w/215/55R x 17 tyre
Turning Circle: 10.04m
LxWxH: 4175x1775x1610mm
Wheelbase: 2500mm
App/Dep Angles: 18/28 degrees
Ground Clearance: 185mm
Kerb Weight: 1185kg
Towing: 600kg (ub), 1200kg (b)
Safety: ESP w/ABS EBD & BA, ACC & LDW, WA, BSM & RCTA + HHC & HDC & HLA.
Safety Rating: 5-star ANCAP NZ
Warranty: 5 Year/Unlimited km
Price: $38,790+ ORC
