The Suzuki Vitara was a perfect match for Warwick and Hazel when they scaled down to one vehicle. Their choice was driven by it's day-to-day versatility in carrying all the essentials - grandchildren, groceries and a trailer full of DIY. Plus it's off-road muscle regularly comes in handy when visiting their Banks Peninsula bach. In their eyes, there is no better alternative to their Vitara and it's making their retirement all the more effortless.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
My wife (Hazel) and I both have retired in the past two years. Hazel was a schoolteacher and I owned a small engineering business. We live in Christchurch and have a small holiday bach on Banks Peninsula where we enjoy gardening. We love travelling and spending time with our family, including our 5 grandchildren, in Christchurch and Auckland.
I am also passionate about old cars and have restored a 1929 Austin 7 Chummy and currently own a 1926 Austin 12/4 Clifton Tourer. As a keen vintage car enthusiast and an engineer, I have always valued quality cars of all makes.
Our Vitara has been a delight to own on many fronts with faultless reliability that has been of real value to us.
Is this your first new car?
I was fortunate in my working career to have new company cars and a business vehicle during the time of business ownership. This is actually my first new personal car.
Why did you choose Suzuki over other brands?
Upon retirement we were looking for a small SUV that was four-wheel drive and economical. We wanted a vehicle that would not only be fit for driving around town but would also be great for travelling to our bach. Sometimes we are towing a trailer to take all sorts of items for typical bach projects.
What do you love about your Suzuki?
We love the great versatility of this small SUV. Our Banks Peninsula bach access has a steep shingle road that is classed ‘only suitable for four-wheel drive’ (it's one of the steepest unsealed roads on Banks Peninsula!), so the AllGrip technology in our Vitara definitely gets put to use on these roads. The hill descent control is a great feature that adds to the safety when coming downhill. When we are driving up to hilltop on the sealed road the ‘sports mode’ changes the car into what feels like a large 6-cylinder vehicle. All of this with a current fuel consumption rate for the life of the car of 6.3 L/Km - wow!!
How would you describe your Suzuki to a friend?
Really great value, super reliable and very economical. A very comfortable car to travel short and long distances. It is a well finished vehicle with all the driving features expected in any modern car.
Why was your Suzuki Vitara the right fit?
We use the four-wheel drive function to get to and from our holiday bach with effortless driving. We also find that it is a great sized vehicle for general around town transport. There is always plenty of room for the grandchildren, groceries and DIY stuff.
How has owning your Vitara made a difference in your life?
We love our Vitara and do not think that there would be any alternative option to fulfil our transport needs. We feel safe on the roads due to its safety features.
Describe the experience you had buying your car?
Our local Suzuki dealer Hollands Suzuki Christchurch were amazing to deal with and the 5 year warranty continues to provide cost effective peace of mind motoring. Servicing is always made easy with a courtesy car made available. When we purchased the Vitara we chose to wait for the arrival of the next shipment so we could get the Savannah Ivory Metallic + Cosmic Black colour. We love the colour and we're delighted with the body blackout options to personalize our car. It looks great!!
Have you got a nickname for your Suzuki and why?
For obvious reasons we call our Vitara Suzy!!
How do you use the car day to day?
We decided to scale down to one reliable car when we retired and share the car. When the need arises for two cars we use Uber as a second form of transport. (Doing our bit to reduce our carbon footprint and saving a lot of money not owning a second car).
What will you be doing/where will you be going when you next pick up your car keys?
Most likely driving down to supermarket to buy weekly groceries and onto our local hardware shop to get gardening goodies or items for the next home project.
What's some advice you would give to someone looking to buy a car?
First look closely at what you need the car for, this will most likely dictate the size.
A few other things to consider include:
- What special features are going to best meet your needs?
- Are you going to transport lots of people or are most of your trips going to be by yourself?
- What carrying capacity do you need?
- How much are you willing to spend to give you the greatest value, quality, reliability, economy and drivability?