30 — Friday, July 16, +S99 — North Shore News

LIKE ts predecessor, the Sidekick, the 1 new Suzuki Vitara comes as 3 two-door convertible ora 3 four-door hardtop. Changes include t new exterior and interior styting,
two more refined four cylinder powerplants, including a slightly larger 2.0-litre engine on upievel JLX models, a revised rear suspension, and a stronger body-on- —

frame design.

_ON the heels of the V6-
”. powered: Suzuki Grand

_: Vitara comes the four-
‘eylincer Vitara —
. Suzuki's replacement for
the 10-year-old. ~
_ Sidekick, : Be

open first ghnce, the Vitara

~ ‘appears-to be little more than

y ‘restyled Sidekick.:
"The Vitara is about the
same size as the Sidekick, .
offers two similar four-cylinder

*y, pewer plants, and retains a ta-

ditionz , truck: like body-on-
- frame’desi rand a part-time °
four-wheel-drive system. -
“And as before, i iv ’s available’
_, in two body styles: a spunky.
two-door convertible and a
-bigger, roomier four-door
"hardtop."
“Tt’s not until you get:
behind ‘the Wheel
* that the! differences become

anivernible’ 5 base* 6 lite
foie der is carried over,
-the optional 2,0-litre, four-

: cylinder éngine (up raded:’.
from 13 Titres) is new, has
* more horsepower, and is mu
"smoother and quieter thant’ —_
before. 3:

Suzuki engineers put alot’.

.. of effort into reducing the~-

., thrashiness of the 2. o litre...

- "engine, ‘and combined with a
stiffer body and more sound
insulation, the Vitara offers a
mich quieter passenger cabin,
even in the convertible. (The
2.0 litre engine is standard on
the four-door Vitara). .

“Ride and d handling have -

(QX4e

of the Vitara”

ayvive

improved too, co ofa .

‘revised five-link, solid-axle rear

suspension with coil springs, a
tighter body, a new reinforced
boxed ladder frame, new gas

b shack absorbers, and different

spring rates.

‘Another important differ-
ence between the Vitara and
the Sidekick is the interior —
the Vitara’s redesigned dash-
board has a more contempo-
zary look, more user-friendly -

~ controls with the centre-dash
‘inclined towards the driver,

and higher quality dashboard
and seating materials.
The base, two-door Vitara

, JX Convertible retains 2 1.6-
‘fitre, SOHC, 16-valve, four--

cylinder engine with 97 hozse-
power, up slightly from.95 last
year.

A five-specd, manual trans-
mission is standard, however
an automatic transmission is
not available with this engine.

Fuel consumption is wy
thrifty, particularly for a 4
averaging 8.4 1/100 km oe
m.p.g.) in city/highway dri-
ving when equipped with a
manual transmission.

In fact, the Vitara was
recently awarded the
EnerGuide Award by. Natural

_ Resources Canada as the Most

north shore news

AUTO

Nati

Fuel Efficient Special Purpose
Vehicle in Canada,

JLX Vitaras have a new
2.0-lire, DOHC, 16-valve,
four-cylinder engine with 127
horsepower, replacing the
Sidekick’s 1.8-litre, four-cylin-
der power plant with 120
horsepower.

The new 2.0-lire engine
has a lightweight but rigid alu-
minum alloy design, a new
valve train design for improved
performance, a new fuel injec-
tion system for reliability, and
new hydraulic engine mounts
to reduce vibrations.

Both manual and tour-
speed automatic transmissions
are available with this engine.

Fuel consumption averages
9.5 1/100 km (30 m.p.g.}
with the manual transmission,
still pretty reasonable for a
4X4.

The Vitara’s part-time,
four-wheel-drive system, for
use on slippery surfaces only,
can be shifted ‘on the fly’ into
AWD at speeds up to 100
km/h; 4WD Low Range can

only be haa an when the

vehicic is st

My two-door pe ara
Convertible JLX test vehicle
was equipped with the more
powerful 2.0-litre engine, and
proved surprisingly peppy.

Acceleration times (with
the 2.0 litre engine) are even
better than with the four-door
Vitara because the nwe-door

aaodel is 80 kg (176 Ib.)

lighter.
The two-door Vitara has

some other advantages over
the four-door model — a
shorter wheelbase which

 sengers’ legs to

allows a tighter turning circle,
a shorter length that makes it
easier to park in ught spots,
and of course, a convertible
top for enjoyable top-down
motoring during fair weather.

However, there’s no doubt
Suzuki wil sell more four-door
Viraras than rwo-doors.

With « wheelbase that is 11
inches longer, the four-door _
hardtop offers 2 better ride,
improved security, more interi-
or room, easier access to the
back seat, more cargo space,
and five-passenger copacity

instead of four...

Still, the two-door Vitara”
has more. passenger room than
you might expect. :

Its tall roofline provides
plenty of headroom for front
and rear passengers, and allows

‘the seats to be positioned

higher, thereby y permitting pas-
positioned
vertically rather than splayed
out in front,
~ In addition, rear passengers

- have adjustable head restraints,

wide outboard armrests, and
open storage bins for maga-
zines and snacks, and individ-
ual cup holders.

Howevcr, the stubby two-
dcor Vitara lacks cargo room
with the foiding rear seats in
the ‘up’ positio

There’s just 6. 3 cubic feet
of cargo area behind the rear
seats — about half that of a
typical small sedan. .

If you’re not transporting
rear passengers, however, the

. Fear seats can be folded down,

and cargo space triples in size.
The Vitara’s rear seats fold
fiat — the bottom cushion

Is up against rhe front seat-
pete then the rear backrest
folds flat on the floor — pro-
viding a surprisingly useful
cargo area.

The rear cargo door opens
sideways towards the curb.

It’s easier to open than tail-
gates and hatches, but makes
loading difficulc when parked
next to a sidewalk because the
door bfocks entry to the cargo
area from the sidewalk.

The long door also means~
that you have to allow halfa
car’s length behind the Vitara.
to fully open it. :

On the plus side, sihce

: most roads are slanted toward
. the curb, the door falls open ‘
_ |, naturally towards the curb,

and stays there due to the pull
of gravity.

If che door were to open in.

the other direction, there
might be a problern getiing i it
to stay open.

One problem: when
equipped with power door
locks, the rear door.
doesn’t unlock/lock with the -
other doors.

The Vitara’s convertible.
top is a blessing and a curse.

It has two separate sections, .

a folding ‘sunroof’ above the

front passengers, afd a remov-' >

able rear convertible top over
the rear ngers.,:
The front suntoof fii § Over

easily by releasing two clips on ”

the windshield header, ore:

", removes entirely for a full sin
~-Foof effect. °

The rear cony rettible top:

_ however, consists of four sepa-
. Fate parts: the roof, nwo side:

windows, and a rear. window
joined together by buttons, :
clips, zippers and velcro strips,
‘Taking them apart or. *”
putting them back together:

“Technical Bata

Base price: $17,795:
Price as tested: "$22, 295
‘Type: two-door, four-

assenger convertible suv

Layout: front engine/rear-drive/PT 4WD - :
Engine: 2.6 litre, four cylinder, DOEIC, 16 valves ‘
Horsepower: 127 @ 6,000 r.p.m.

forque: 134 @ 3,090 r.p.m. S
, automatic (sud. five-speed manyal)

Transmission: four-sp

Curb weight: 1290 kg (2, 844 Ib. )
Wheelbase: 2,200 mm 86. 6 in.)

Length:
Width: 1719 mm (67.3 in.)

Height: 1,690 mm (66.5 in.)

3 860 mim (152.0 i . )

‘O area: seat up 177 litres (6,3 cu. ft.) Ps
Fue consumptien: City: 10.3 1/180 kms (27 m, P. B K
Hwy: 8.5 1/100 kms (33 m.p.-g.)

Warranty: ‘three years/80,060 km

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