Suzuki Vitara Brezza automatic a breeze in everyday traffic

They say time flies when you are having fun and that is exactly what has happened in the case of our long-term Suzuki Vitara Brezza.

The Vitara Brezza GLX auto has reached the end of its three-month stay at The Citizen and has made way for a manual derivative, also in top-of-the-range GLX trim. Similar to the automatic, we will keep you updated on the three-pedal version’s progress for the next three months.

Ultimately, we will compare the two transmissions of the Japanese carmaker’s compact SUV on the basis of living with it on a full-time basis. But before we can say kon’nichiwa to the manual, we owe a proper sayonara to the Pearl Artic White automatic first.

Setting sail

We covered 5 933 km of which around 2 000 km consisted of open road trips to Bloemfontein, Clarens, Phakisa Raceway and the Magaliesberg Biosphere. The rest of the distance was spent in and around various degrees of Johannesburg traffic which included daily school runs, going to the office, grocery shopping, carrying mountain bikes on the aftermarket towbar carrier and transporting larger cargo inside.

No matter what the challenge put in front of it, the Vitara Brezza took in its stride. Not only on the tarmac, but also short stints on gravel roads. Thought it might not be equipped with hardcore off-road gear, the McPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear suspension along with a generous 198 mm ground clearance come in very handy when taking on rougher terrain.

RELATED: Suzuki Vitara Brezza geared for affordable road trips

Taken into consideration that the Indian-built compact SUV measures just short of four metres as staying within this parameter ensures tax relief in its main market, interior space is very decent. And not only for city commuting. In our Motorsport Editor Andre de Kock’s words, “three burly okes” were kept quite comfortable on a three-hour drive to Phakisa.

Even those with a much shorter threshold for patience – children – managed to get through long-haul trips without much fuss. My own two primary school children had space in abundance on a four-hour round trip to Buffelspoort Dam, while even a teenage boy kept himself entertained all the way to Bloem and back via Clarens!

Versatility

We also never ran out of bootspace. The 328-litres available behind the rear seats were enough for a family’s long weekend luggage, professional camera equipment and coolbags, cases and sporting bags for the school run and a supermarket trolley full of grocery bags. With the rear seats folded flat and bootlid removed, we also managed to fit a road bicycle on one occasion and a walking frame on another.

We felt that the naturally aspirated 1.5-litre K15B-engine, which produces 77 kW of power and 138 Nm of torque, is a good match together with the four-speed automatic transmission pulling the 1 130 kg compact SUV. We had our initial reservations about the gearbox, as we were not completely convinced by the very same engine/transmission combination that does duty on the Jimny. On the Vitara Brezza though, it feels just about right.

Along with its light steering – made possible by electrically assisted rack and pinion system – and easy manoeuvrability, not having to change gears manually makes the Vitara Brezza a great option for everyday city traffic.

Not the automatic choice

It did however not appease everyone on longer journeys. While it cruises comfortably at 120 km/h in fourth gear, the need for extra grunt during overtaking results in a downshift with a fair bit of annoying revving noise until the box settles back into fourth gear.

While there is no manual function available to override the transmission in cases like these, there is the option of disabling the fourth gear. Being considered as an overdrive gear, the fourth gear can be disabled via a button on the gearlever. While this function comes in handy on hilly or twisty terrain in order to keep the power consistent, it will unfortunately not help those drivers born with an intolerance to annoying revving noise.

Frugal

But regardless of the additional revolutions to keep the engine on the boil, the Vitara Brezza in auto guise still proved to be quite frugal. Daily city commuting was done at around 6.8 L/100 km, which is quite close to Suzuki’s claimed number of 6.2 L/100 km. And while the “three burly okes” with a flat accelerator yielded a return of as high as 7.8 L/100 km to Phakisa and back, the 326 km easy family outing to the North West resulted in a very impressive 5.4 L/100 km.

It will be interesting to see how the five-speed manual version performs during it’s three-month stay with us both in terms of driveability and fuel consumption. Watch this space for our first update next month.

Priced at R309 900, the Suzuki Vitara Brezza 1.5 GLX auto comes with a class-leading four year/60 000 km service plan and a five year/200 000 km mechanical warranty. Service intervals are every 15 000 km or year.