Review of the new Suzuki SX4 SZ5 4x4

On the face of it, tiny all-wheel drive cars like this Suzuki SX4 in SZ5 4x4 guise don't seem overly useful. After all, their off-road credentials are decidedly limited, so why bother forking for one? In truth, as we discovered recently when we tested over twenty 4x4s of various sizes, you can pay a lot of money for a supposedly very capable 'off-roader' only to find that it will struggle when the blacktop runs out. Therefore your Suzuki may not actually lose that much in off-road ability compared to a £40,000 behemoth. It'll tackle slippery tracks and gentle trails with equal aplomb, so why pay to go large when there's really no need.

That's the logic at least. In reality there are all sorts of reasons for buying a big 4x4, some eminently practical, others more related to image and status concerns. If you're not particularly hung up on what your social set will think about such a modestly sized car, the Suzuki SX4 SZ5 4x4 is worth a look, if only because it's a fascinating little piece of kit. Suzuki has manufactured a long line of slight oddities, with 4x4 an option used on a number of their ordinary passenger car models, cars that conspired to puzzle British buyers. The SX4 looks a more natural candidate for an all-wheel drive system, with its raised body and aggressive styling. The ground clearance of the Suzuki SX4 SZ5 4x4 gives its drivers a little of that go-anywhere feeling but it's really there to do little more than make tackling obstacles like speed humps, car park kerbs and grassy tracks stress free.

The i-AWD four-wheel drive system is modern and clever. It's not permanently engaged, the Suzuki instead running in a fuel saving front-wheel drive mode most of the time. As soon as the system detects that a front wheel is relinquishing grip, it instantly diverts a percentage of torque to the rear wheels, giving the car the ability to haul itself out of some very sticky situations. The engineering is similar to the Haldex system used in something like an Audi TT, but Suzuki has gone one stage further and given the driver plenty of control over how this system is marshalled. Most of the time, the SX4 is best left in a default mode where it functions as a conventional front wheel drive hatch. If the going suddenly gets really slippery, a lock mode ensures that front and rear axles are locked together to provide ultimate traction.

"The SX4 SZ5 4x4 is a crossover for those people who want the advantages but none of the drawbacks of a conventional small 4x4"

A clutch system allows a small amount of slippage once under way and once you've reached 37mph, the system switches to its third mode, auto, which is the driver-selectable part-time 4WD mode. In practice the system works very well and, importantly, quickly. There's are few things more unnerving than running out of traction on a steep climb, with precious momentum being squandered while the 4wd system tries to figure out what's going on. The transition from front to four wheel drive in the SX4 SZ5 4x4 is both rapid and smooth.

Like all of the best four-wheel drive vehicles, the vulnerable bits on the underside have been tucked well out of the way, giving the all-wheel drive model a green lane capability that's far beyond what you'd at first expect. The front suspension is a conventional MacPherson strut setup while the rear end features a compact torsion beam arrangement, in this case sculpted to make way for the prop shaft and rear differential.

The SX4 SZ5 4x4 engine line-up includes either a 1.6 VVT petrol or a 2.0-litre DDiS diesel. The diesel powerplant offers more torque for light off roading giving 135bhp, but we can only test the engine in front of us and the 120bhp 1.6-litre petrol unit is largely unexceptional. It's relatively refined but in 4x4 guise, isn't particularly economical and seems to feature one of those fuel gauges which crawl down the top half and then rocket down the lower half. Suzuki quotes a combined fuel economy figure of 43.5 mpg and over a 270 mile round trip of mainly motorway routes, we returned a figure of close to 40mpg. Torque and acceleration aren't particularly strong, the car getting to 60mph in 11.5 seconds, but it does step off the line neatly which is often all you need in urban situations.

As for equipment, well all SX4 models are decently specified, complete with six airbags, remote central locking with deadlocks, air conditioning, MP3 / WMA compatible CD tuner with eight speakers, four electric windows, a driver information display and illuminated steering wheel mounted audio controls. This SZ5 includes the fog lamps, 16-inch alloy wheels, side body protection and heated door mirrors, keyless entry and start, dashboard centre speaker and automatic air conditioning of the plusher SZ4 variant and further adds rear privacy glass, with cruise control also included on the diesel variant. SZ5 1.6-litre petrol models get a 5-speed manual gearbox, while in the 2.0-litre DDiS diesel, it's a 6-speeder.

Combined cycle fuel economy from the SX4's engines in 4x4 guise is 43.5mpg from the petrol and 51.4mpg from the 2.0-litre diesel with CO2 emissions pegged at 149g/km and 143g/km respectively. Compared to 2WD SX4 models, that's about 6g/km down on CO2 and 2mpg down on the combined cycle. In other words, this Suzuki is certainly no gas-guzzler.

We can see why the Suzuki SX4 SZ5 4x4 could do rather well. It's keenly priced, neatly styled and offers plenty of utility. Interior space may be a little pinched but the roof bars allow for a box on top for the sports oriented and it's perfect for an active couple with young kids. There are now plenty of other Nissan Qashqai or Peugeot 3008-style crossover rivals but all are significantly more expensive and don't offer all-wheel drive unless you buy a very expensive variant. Others may see things differently but we think the SX4 SZ5 4x4 looks a decent buy. Pragmatists form an orderly queue.

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