Luke Wikner bids a fond farewell to our long-term Vitara.Our tenure with the Vitara has been short but sweet and it is currently on its way back to Suzuki, no doubt still averaging over 50mpg on the way, as it has done in the three months and several thousand miles on the FW fleet.

Our work on driver training as a prelude to the WLTP Challenge this month meant I was reunited with a Suzuki Swift (our previous FW Fleeter) and it really highlighted to me – and the rest of the team – what impressive cars Suzuki are offering to fleets these days. If anything, the Swift surprises more, as it feels incredibly well made, and at a demonstrably lower price point.

In SZ-T ALLGRIP spec, Suzuki’s small SUV Vitara definitely feels more functional in character but its appeal doesn’t appear to be diminished by this. Compared to the likes of SEAT’s Arona, Renault’s Captur and Peugeot’s 2008, the Vitara may seem like a less obvious choice, but it’s highly unlikely to disappoint.

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