Alison has moved to New Zealand from the UK for work and, after having a compact SUV as her work vehicle overseas, is wondering if she should buy one here.
Her work vehicle in the UK was the Suzuki Vitara. Alison asks if she should just replace like for like or try something new.
We’ve decided to include the Vitara and also suggest Alison try something different for her new life in New Zealand.
Suzuki Vitara
Suzuki Vitara
Suzukis are extremely popular with New Zealanders — especially the Swift. But with the SUV market growing rapidly, it’s time for the new Vitara to shine as it reinvents the compact SUV — anyway, that’s what Suzuki says.
There are many style, space, efficiency, safety, technology and personalisation elements to this vehicle.
Without listing them all, a reversing camera, smartphone connectivity, advanced navigation system, cruise control and speed limiter, ALLGRIP 4WD system and panoramic sunroof are just some of what’s on offer with the Vitara. And with two model variations — the JLX and LTD — some of these features are even available as standard. The Vitara is priced from $27,990.
Mazda CX-3
The Mazda CX-3 came out on top within the SUV/Crossover category at our 2015 New Zealand Car of the Year awards and was Driven’s Car of the Year winner. Once you start highlighting all the features that are packed into this small SUV, it soon becomes easy to understand why.
The new Mazda boasts blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, keyless entry and push-button engine start, MZD Connect with 7-inch full colour touch screen display, climate control air con, and navigation with live traffic capability.
And what’s impressive is that Mazda wasn’t even operating in the compact SUV category before the release of the CX3 — it came, it saw, and it is certainly in the process of conquering this class. The Mazda CX3 is priced from $38,695.