Is the all-wheel drive premium worth it? Driving impressions

SUZUKI South Africa has been in the news for a while now for all the right reasons.

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

THE Grand Vitara GLX AT AllGrip Hybrid is a handsome looking vehicle.

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They’re consistently second on the sales log, getting involved with various sponsorships and supplier agreements with the central theme around it all being fun and not taking themselves too seriously. The Swift remains their most popular product and the cult-like Jimny the most high-profile, but there's also the flagship Grand Vitara hanging around in the background.

Like all their products, there’s nothing flashy or polarising about it. The Grand Vitara GLX AT AllGrip Hybrid we had on test simply gets on with the job of, well ... being a Suzuki.

By SUV design standards, it’s a well-proportioned vehicle with its clamshell bonnet and multilevel honeycomb grille flanked by three-point LED daytime running lights above the headlights with dark polycarbonate surrounds.

At the back, it has a fashionable LED lightbar across the width of the car with the indicators slotted into the edges of the lower bumper.

The roof rails provide an attractive touch and it’s rounded off with 17-inch alloy rims.

Again, there's nothing flashy about the spacious full leatherette interior, and what struck me was how solidly the Indian-built Grand Vitara is put together.