Suzuki Grand Vitara

There's an upside to the seemingly incorrigible shift towards SUV ownership, and that's a gradual reduction in numbers of oversized, dynamically flawed and perennially misused genuine off-roaders.

Suzuki's new Grand Vitara is a case in point. Replacing the ropey mud-plugger of yesteryear, this was designed primarily with tarmac in mind, and it makes a decent enough job of it.

Suzuki will tell you this car is still capable off road, and it may well be, but the truth is that only a tiny percentage of owners will ever find out, and only if they have to cross a field to park at their local fête.

What really matters is how the new Vitara copes between the kerbs, and it is a vast improvement over the car it replaces. The steering is accurate and mercifully devoid of that detachment and aggressive over-assistance so common to the lower end of the SUV market.

The gearchange isn't the slickest, but it better suits the fizzy two-litre engine than the optional auto. Where the Vitara has really moved on is with its handling. For a relatively tall and cumbersome bit of kit, it is surprisingly free from body roll and remarkably ready to be thrown about. The trade-off is a stiff overall ride.

Even on motorways it transmits too many surface imperfections into the cabin, but on rougher B-roads the vibrations reach an exasperating level. That two-litre petrol engine is a fairly noisy bugger too, especially when you give it the beans, but it'll settle at 4,000rpm in top for a comfortable enough motorway cruising speed.

That said, wind noise then becomes an issue and you start harbouring doubts that the Vitara will ever find an ideal environment. If there is one, it's the city, of course, where these quibbles will be muted and owners can get on nicely with their superior ride height, dubious soft-road status and the various practical basics.

And the five-door is very spacious inside. But the boot is let down by a door that hinges from the right rather than the roof. This means you're in the way every time you open it. Interior fit and finish is what you'd expect too, combining all the usual cod contemporary design cues of the moment, such as metal-effect plastic trim and super-simple dials and switches.

Although hardly reeking of quality, it should wear fairly well. The five-door starts at $28.990, undercutting the RAV4 by more than $8K. The less contrived styling might tempt more conservative buyers away from the Toyota, but a $23,990 three-door Vitara should be the clincher. Toyota has decided to drop its version, and the urban SUV posse won't like that.

Matt Master