Suzuki SX4 1.6 GLX 4Grip
On the face of it, tiny all-wheel drive cars like this Suzuki SX4 4GRIP dont seem overly useful. After all, their off-road credentials are decidedly limited, so why bother forking for one? In truth, as we discovered recently when we tested over twenty 4x4s of various sizes, you can pay a lot of money for a supposedly very capable off-roader only to find that it will struggle when the blacktop runs out. Therefore your £12,999 Suzuki may not actually lose that much in off-road ability compared to a £40,000 behemoth. Itll tackle slippery tracks and gentle trails with equal aplomb, so why pay to go large when theres really no need.
Thats the logic at least. In reality there are all sorts of reasons for buying a big 4x4, some eminently practical, others more related to image and status concerns. If youre not particularly hung up on what your social set will think about such a modestly sized car, the Suzuki SX4 4GRIP is worth a look, if only because its a fascinating little piece of kit. Suzuki has manufactured a long line of slight oddities, the 4GRIP moniker having been used on a number of their ordinary passenger car models, cars that conspired to puzzle British buyers.
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As soon as the system detects that a front wheel is relinquishing grip, it instantly diverts a percentage of torque to the rear wheels, giving the car the ability to haul itself out of some very sticky situations. The engineering is similar to the Haldex system used in something like an Audi TT, but Suzuki has gone one stage further and given the driver plenty of control over how this system is marshalled. Most of the time, the SX4 is best left in a default mode where it functions as a conventional front wheel drive hatch. If the going suddenly gets really slippery, a lock mode ensures that front and rear axles are locked together to provide ultimate traction.
"The SX4 4GRIP is a 4x4 for those people who want the advantages but none of the drawbacks of a conventional small 4x4"
A clutch system allows a small amount of slippage once under way and once youve reached 37mph, the system switches to its third mode, auto, which is the driver-selectable part-time 4WD mode. In practice the system works very well and, importantly, quickly. Theres are few things more unnerving than running out of traction on a steep climb, with precious momentum being squandered while the 4wd system tries to figure out whats going on. The transition from front to four wheel drive in the SX4 4GRIP is both rapid and smooth.
Like all of the best four-wheel drive vehicles, the vulnerable bits on the underside have been tucked well out of the way, giving the all-wheel drive model a green lane capability thats far beyond what youd at first expect. The front suspension is a conventional MacPherson strut setup while the rear end features a compact torsion beam arrangement, in this case sculpted to make way for the prop shaft and rear differential. Although the SX4 engine line-up includes a 1.9 DDiS diesel, the 4GRIP is unfortunately only offered with a 107bhp 1.
6-litre petrol unit which, on the face of it, seems a weird choice. The diesel powerplant would have offered more torque for light off roading but we can only test the engine in front of us and the 1.6-litre is largely unexceptional. Thanks to a useful sixth gear, its relatively refined but the 4GRIP version isnt particularly economical and seems to feature one of those fuel gauges which crawl down the top half and then rocket down the lower half.
Suzuki quotes a combined fuel economy figure of 39.2 mpg but over a 270 mile round trip of mainly motorway routes, we returned a figure of 31mpg. Torque and acceleration arent particularly strong, the car getting to 60mph in 11.2 seconds, but it does step off the line neatly which is often all you need in urban situations.
You might well think youve seen a Suzuki SX4 dressed up as a Fiat and you wouldnt have been mistaken. Both Suzuki and Fiat have a connection through General Motors (Fiat tried to offload its car-making arm to GM and the American giant has a 20 per cent stake in Suzuki) but Suzuki has a remit to control its strategic partnerships as it sees fit and there was a good fit with Fiat who could supply state of the art diesel engines and who needed a car of this type. Therefore Suzukis Magyar plant in Hungary turns out not only 40,000 SX4 models, but 20,000 Fiat Sedicis, a badge-engineered model that sports a different nose and interior detailing. I can see why the Suzuki SX4 4GRIP could do rather well.
Its keenly priced, neatly styled and offers plenty of utility. Interior space may be a little pinched but the roof bars allow for a box on top for the sports oriented and its perfect for an active couple with young kids. The biggest rival could come from Fiat in the form of the Sedici but if I were spending my own money, the superiority of Suzuki after sales service would probably just outweigh the Fiats cheeky brand identity. Others may see things differently but the SX4 4GRIP looks a decent buy.
Pragmatists form an orderly queue.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CARS: Suzuki SX4 1.6 GLX 4GRIP
PRICE: £12,999 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 7
PERFORMANCE: [1.6] 0-60mph 11.2s / Max Speed 112mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.6] (combined) 39.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver and passenger airbags, ABS with EBD WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE: (length/width/height) 4140/1755/1620mm
