In a strange way, the latest addition to the FW Fleet reminds me a little of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV that my colleague Alex Grant is currently the happy custodian of.

The latest addition to the Fleet World fleet

Why? Well it’s not the drivetrain… our new Suzuki Vitara 1.0-litre BoosterJet, despite being sprightly and efficient (52mpg on test vs WLTP test figure of 39mpg), doesn’t have any electrified technology on-board. No, it’s in the feel of the car – a no-nonsense interior that is relatively basic and very functional – and the cutting-edge technology that has been integrated within these surroundings.

There’s little of the soft-touch plastics that SEAT’s rival Arona offering provides, for example, and the Vitara – in SZ-T ALLGRIP spec here – eschews things like keyless entry, electronic parking brake and automatic headlights. It does, however, have satellite navigation, a rear parking camera as standard and the ALLGRIP also gains a few extra safety features already standard on the range-topping SZ5: lane departure warning system, adaptive cruise control and Dual Sensor Brake Support. The latter is effectively a collision warning system that has already proved its worth!

P11d/BiK: £20,799 (29%) MPG/CO2: 39.4mpg (WLTP) / 129g/km (NEDC Correlated) Test MPG: 52.3mpg