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The Suzuki Vitara has had its second facelift, and it finally arrives in Australia some two years after it was revealed for Europe and more than a decade since this current fourth-generation small SUV was first launched in Japan.
While it might take a keen eye to spot the design differences – of which there are few – the headline act for Australia is the introduction of a mild-hybrid powertrain across the lineup, similar in concept to the Swift hatchback.
A Euro-adjacent proposition despite wearing a Japanese badge, the 2026 Suzuki Vitara Hybrid is still imported from Hungary for the Australian market and has been described as “the more economical (claimed) power unit supported by technology and specification upgrades to boot” with the less expensive (claimer) Power Unit.
But is that a good enough small SUV segment? The Vitara Hybrid’s high price tag keeps it from competing with cheap Chinese alternatives and also in the thick of household names.
For a brief launch drive in Sydney with the new all-electric e Vitara and updated Jimny off-roader, we had an short launch driving to see if Suzuki’s little SUV is worth your consideration.
How much does the Suzuki Vitara cost?
The electrified Vitara lineup launches in Australia in two trim levels, priced from $39,990 drive-away.
| Model | Price before on-road costs | Drive-away pricing |
| — | — | — |
| 2026 Suzuki Vitara Turbo Hybrid | $38,990 | $39,990 |
| 2026 Suzuki Vitara Turbo Hybrid AllGrip | – | $45,990 |
It means the Hungarian-sourced Suzuki starts in the same ballpark as the cheapest Hyundai Kona Hybrid (from $36,950 before on-roads, or $39,990 drive-away), while undercutting the base Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid (~$42,000 drive-away).
While the Vitara (mild) Hybrid lines up okay against mainstream-branded competition, the Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid can be had from just $29,990 drive-away – a whole $10,000 less – while the GWM Haval Jolion HEV starts from $29,999 drive-away as well.
As you can see, the Vitara is at the more premium end of the small SUV class – even though Suzuki has been known for its low-budget motoring.
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
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What is the Suzuki Vitara like on the inside?
To be honest, not much has changed.
For example, if you look at the face of the Vitara Hybrid as it was before its predecessor, but inside the cabin differences are much less conspicuous and more or less limited to the display technology.
A new or updated display of MY26 is the driver’s instrument cluster and central infotainment displays, which added a couple of new displays including – digital speedometer readout; an additional software interface (see latest Swift) that provides wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the flagship AllGrip version.
This is all fine and decidedly ‘old-school’ in style, especially when it’s a time of massive tablet-style displays and touch-capacitive switchgear (which may be make-or-break depending on which side of the fence you lean on).
Many of the key touches point (such as leather steering wheel and chunky gear shifter) feel nice, while the solid (if dated) buttons and switches have a nicely damped action to them.
That said, except for the dashboard upper and front-row armrests of the interior of Vitara’s interior, hard scratchy or piano-black plastics are largely lined with “hard” (which may look fine on first impressions but not super-plush to touch).
Similar story is the central infotainment touchscreen, which looks neat and tidy on first presentation but a bit laggy and unsophisticated in real life applications (especially when compared to systems that are available in similarly priced competitors).
The base car’s 7 is also the ’ in more. While the top-spec variant’s 9-inch display does not have wireless smartphone mirroring, 0-inch displays do not. This is 0-inch unit with cableless connection and inbuilt navigation. Despite the fine and improvement over the old model’s infotainment system, it’re still less than average among today’.
The cloth upholstery of the base model is fine, but it’s okay to be clean and bolstered by the front seats themselves (and everything feels slightly plain)? Leatherette bolsters and a swish suede insert featuring the tyre tread-like pattern are used to make up the accent of The AllGrip, but again it’s not all that different from the last one.
In the AllGrip model, storage isn’t a strong point either because it has to be stored in headroom (the big sunroof) and that both rows are slightly different.
The deep under the centre stack shelf has a shallow shelf with larger phones running out and smaller items such as keys sliding around, while squared-off cupholders between front seats are an odd size and shape.
The storage solutions up front are round out by an average-sized bin under the centre armrest and small door bins with bottle holders.
A plastic handbrake lever and basic-looking gear shifter feel very cheap, as is the case with the plastic manual hand brake lever. So it’s all just dated and slightly undercooked like the competition these days.
Pictured – MY24 Vitara Turbo
In the second row the Vitara again is starting to show its age compared to better packaged and furnished competition.
And this is one of its classiest cars — if you’re six feet tall or taller, that’s certainly clear. There is a very tight Knee room behind an older driver (I’m 6 ‘1) and headroom seems pretty compromised with that panoramic glass roof.
You’ll also have no rear air vents, no seatback map pockets and no fold-down centre armrest. It’s a bit of spartan, but there are bottle holders in the doors.
ISOFIX anchors are also found in the window seats and top-tether points across all three rear positions, so that the kiddies are catered for.
Pictured – MY24 Vitara Turbo
The Vara Hybrid’s cargo capacity has dropped slightly compared to the outgoing model, although the 48-volt hybrid battery is not in the boot under the front seats for optimal weight distribution.
Suzuki cites 362 litres with the rear seat backs up, and 642L with folded seats. It also has a quoted ‘maximum’ volume of 1119L (presumably to the roof), which is apparently at least one-half of what s say. Regardless, it is still on the smaller side of this class.
| Dimensions | Suzuki Vitara Hybrid |
| — | — |
| Length | 4175mm |
| Width | 1775mm |
| Height | 1600mm (1595mm with sunroof) |
| Wheelbase | 2500mm |
| Ground clearance | 175mm |
| Cargo capacity | 362L – rear seats up 642L – rear seats folded 1119L – Maximum, to roof |
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
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What’s under the bonnet?
The Vitara Hybrid range utilises the old Vitara Turbo’s 1.4-litre ‘Boosterjet’ turbocharged petrol engine mated with a 48V mild-hybrid system.
Pictured – MY24 Vitara Turbo
| Specifications | Suzuki Vitara Hybrid |
| — | — |
| Engine | 1.4L turbo-petrol 4cyl 48V MHEV |
| Power | 80.9kW at 4500rpm |
| Torque | 235Nm at 2000-2500rpm |
| Transmission | 6-speed auto |
| Drive type | Front- or all-wheel drive |
| Weight | 1245kg – FWD 1275kg – AWD |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 5.8L/100km – FWD 5.9L/100km – AWD |
| Fuel economy (as tested) | 5.8-6.4L/100km |
| Fuel tank capacity | 47L |
| Fuel requirement | 95-octane premium unleaded |
| CO2 emissions | 129-130g/km – FWD 137-139g/km – AWD |
However, the reintroduction to mild-hybridisation has reduced the quoted maximum power output (80) as it transitions to less than normal. A comparison of 9kW vs 103KW) and the outgoing Vitara Turbo is 9MW – but peak torque has increased by 15Nm to 235NM. The mild-hybrid system can help with an extra 50Nm under acceleration, bringing the theoretical torque maximum to 285Nmm for short burst? (I’m very much like that of any car which weighs less than 1). 3 tonnes – .
According to official figures, the only improvement in terms of fuel consumption has been marginally improved by quoted drivers (5. 5–5 8-5. 9L/100km vs 5 . 9-6 9 6. But the e-assist under load and the extended idle stop-start function will widen that gap in real world urban driving (i.e., 2L/100km), but this is not limited by any single “real-world” urban driver’s narrowness which has been increased due to an increase in distance of 1 km or more.”
Similarly, for example, the last time I drove the Vitara Turbo AllGrip I saw an indicated readout of 8 was 8. After a week’s worth of mixed driving, 0L/100km was the last time we did our relatively short launch drive in the Vitara Hybrid range gave an indication readout of 6 (in which it is known as ‘the most important thing to do with my current Varirian’). We didn’t spend as much time in city traffic but 4L/100km – although we did.
A more realistic idea of how the 48V MHEV system will perform in daily commuters is that we’ll have to get the Vitara Hybrid through the childcareman.xyz garage for further testing.
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
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How does the Suzuki Vitara drive?
A brief drive of the Vitara Hybrid sparked us out, and around the surrounds of Sydney Motorsport Park in Eastern Creek (Nearly 35-45 minutes behind the wheel), disappointingly.
This was bolstered by some soft-roading, performance testing and a slalom handling test but in totality we had been with the updated Vitara for quite ages – so keep that in mind when reading my impressions below.
One of the most notable traits of this outgoing Vitara Turbo was its soaring, enthusiastic nature and keenly-tuned and funky dynamics; it is also a decent way to maintain that reputation.
The added torque keeps the Vitara’s modest outputs from feeling underdone in regular driving situations, and the six-speed automatic is pretty solid at shuffling through ratios while keeping the engine on the boil.
This small SUV is also characterized by the speed and accuracy of its steering, which makes it light and darty in the bends with playful body roll that keeps well-checked. In the AllGrip, you have the added assurance that if you need it on-demand all-wheel drive.
sometimes felt like I had to work the 1. But 4-litre ‘Boosterjet’ is a little harder than it was before to get it moving quickly, and general refinement at the other end of the day is starting to feel slightly off the pace these days.
With its light and chuckable nature, the Vitara has a boomy (and small-sounding) cabin that is also louder in particular on rougher roads. While the base model was under $30,000, it may have been fine; this newer car with minimal modifications pretty much starts in the $40,000 world – so that should be better to buy.
Most of its performance is good but sometimes booms and feels unsettled over pockmarked blacktop and other types of flaws you’ll see in urban confines. It is a bit of an old joke, but this may have been about average five or 10 years ago and the game has now moved on in 2026.
Although the new Vitara is described as a ‘Hybrid’, it only works mildly with no electric-only driving capability such as the Kona and Corollan Cross full-hybreds.
The engine is shut off as you stop from about 17km/h, and the integrated starter-generator fires it back to a rapid speed without hesitation and shuddering of non-MHEV idle-stop systems.
Despite being more sophisticated 48V than the Swift’s 24 V configuration, that said ‘The Vitara Hybrid won’t close off the 1 at all. 48V MHEVs do so when coasting to save more fuel is like a great deal of 4L turbo motor.
So this is what makes that 6. For a petrol-only car of this size but not particularly frugal for ‘Hybrid’, 0L/100km indicated fuel consumption reading is fine.
The Vitara Hybrid is noticeably slower than the new e Vitera AllGrip, but it makes speed confidently and predictably without feeling over- or under-powered by some quick straight-line acceleration testing.
In addition to repeating the Vitara’s no-frill and keen dynamics, the ‘lalom exercise’ also reiterated the ‘chuckable feel’ that allows for acceptable body lean and can throw it around without feeling like it has been forced to be forcefully pressured.
But if all the powertrain wizardry and over-assisted feel of newer cars is just a little bit for you, this could be making you look at it like that.
It’s a similar story on the driver assistance front, with adaptive cruise control and lane keeping features that aren’t overzealous, nor do they continue to beep and bonging at you.
This has also been boosted by an automatic lane centring function for the Vitara Hybrid, meaning you’ve got semi-autonomous levels of driving assistance when you are doing longer stints on the freeway – something that was just too old car to do.
A reversing camera is also now standard across the range, as is traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. But you can’t get a surround camera system like you do in rival cars.
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While The AllGrip is used to ‘pick up front and rear parking sensors’, the tall glasshouse and big-ish mirrors mean outward visibility is mostly fine – save for the thick D-pillars.
A bit of a little off-roading We also did some very mild off road trip with the Vitara’s AWD system ‘LOCK’ mode to keep sending drive to the rear wheels, and over some dirt trails and mild moguls the Viara Hybrid didn’t break.
Suzuki claims that a level of off-roadability has been maintained in the current Vitara, as opposed to its more rugged cousins, but with only 175mm ground clearance this vehicle will be best suited for ‘light-duty gravel road or camping trail’.
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
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What do you get?
Two trim levels are available at launch, similar to the outgoing model.
2026 Suzuki Vitara Turbo Hybrid equipment highlights:
- 17-inch alloy wheels in 215/55 R17 tyres
- Space-saver spare
- Automatic LED headlights
- Automatic high-beam
- 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Fabric upholstery
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment
- Paddle shifters
- Air-conditioning
- 4-speaker sound system
- Auto-dimming internal rear-view mirror
The Vitara Turbo Hybrid AllGrip adds:
- 17-inch polished alloy wheels
- Panoramic sunroof
- ‘Premium design elements’
- Rear privacy glass
- Power-folding exterior mirrors
- 6-speaker sound system
- 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Satellite navigation
- Selectable drive modes
- Leatherette upholstery
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
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Is the Suzuki Vitara safe?
ANCAP safety rating is no longer valid, as its 2015 five-star rating has expired.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- 6 airbags
- Adaptive cruise control
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane-keep assist
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Reversing camera
- Traffic sign recognition
The Vitara Turbo Allgrip AWD adds:
- Front and rear parking sensors
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
How much does the Suzuki Vitara cost to run?
As before, the Suzuki Vitara Hybrid is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years of complimentary roadside assistance.
| Servicing and Warranty | Suzuki Vitara Hybrid |
| — | — |
| Warranty | 5 years, unlimited kilometres |
| Roadside assistance | 5 years |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000 kilometres |
The servicing program is described by Suzuki Australia very carefully as a ‘Genuine Service Program’ rather than ‘capped-price’ service offering, although prices for the first five workshops visits are details below.
| Service interval | Pricing |
| — | — |
| 12 months/10,000km | $329 |
| 24 months/20,000km | $429 |
| 36 months/30,000km | $339 |
| 48 months/40,000km | $539 |
| 60 months/50,000km | $349 |
To see how the Suzuki Vitara lines up against the competition, check out our
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childcareman.xyz’s Take on the Suzuki Vitara
But ‘Old faithful’ may not be able to make the headlines here, as the mild updates to the Suzuki Vitara are about as mild as its ‘Hybrid’ drivetrain is.
Typical Hallmark traits still remain good lightweight dynamics, traditional ergonomics and a cutesy-boxy aesthetic that provides more space than its compact 4175x1775mm footprint may suggest.
In 2026, what was a cheap and cheerful product from the Japanese small-car brand has become relatively expensive, dated (and only moderately jolly contender) with nothing but its featherweight specs standing out.
Neither its features, drivetrain, technology nor on-road manners are class leading by any stretch and the (mild) ‘HybriD’ driver is required to understand what efficiency gain would be expected from an automobile with such branding.
The price position of its European origins doesn’t help it be a good car, but the Vitara Hybrid would be much better for both grades if they were about $5000 lower. But that’s a price advantage over competitors from other legacy automakers, so you can make concessions for its many flaws.
The Vitara Hybrid will only appeal to brand loyalists as it stands, and perhaps ‘traditionalist’ buyers who don’t like the design, ergonomics or technologies that newer small SUVs are offering.
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