03/06/10

• Price£12,255
• We like...Easy drive, well priced
• We don't...Smallish boot

For 2010, Suzuki’s SX4 is treated to an update. The front bumper and grille are new, while inside there’s new two-tone seat trim and prettier plastics on the dash. The models on sale are renamed to chime with other Suzuki models, so you pick from SZ3, 4 or 5 (the top-end choice). The engines are new and, as is the way, they’re more powerful, cleaner in emissions and less thirsty for fuel.

That’s all pretty routine. What is more interesting is what hasn’t changed. And it’s this: the SX4 is, and was, a bit of a weird one, bigger than a supermini (like a Volkswagen Polo) but more compact than a small off-roader (think Toyota Rav4). So you sit a good few inches higher in an airy cabin, but there isn’t too much car around you: it’s not off-putting to drive if you’ve only ever turned a wheel before in a Fiesta-sized car.

At the same time though, you are that useful few inches above the game when nosing out of tight sports or easing out of narrow city side-streets. The view out back is pretty good, too and parking is helped by the distance beepers fitted to our mid-level SZ4 test car.

And while its chunky engine trays and tough-looking bonnets suggest that this might be a handy car in the muck and mire, it’s no off-roader. Ground clearance is only a few centimetres improved over a ‘regular’ small car, and all but the top-end SX4 have just front-wheel drive. So there’s no extra help when the going gets slippy.

This Suzuki is smart enough inside that, if you’re moving up from a middle-aged Citroen or Toyota, you’ll be delighted. If, however, your regular drive is an Audi or a VW, you’ll think it a bit ‘budget’. But while the plastics and fabrics aren’t up with the best they have a tough ‘n’ honest sense about them that we quite like. There’s good passenger space front and rear but the boot is small until you drop the rear seats. It’s well kitted out: the SX4 has keyless entry and start, six airbags, alloy wheels and climate controlled air conditioning.

Start it up and the 1.6 petrol sounds old-school: buzzy and eager to go. It kicks up a touch of racket in the lower gears but settles to a cruise near the motorway limit, though you’ll notice a fair bit of wind rustle around the windscreen as speed builds. The steering is neat and accurate and, like the gears and pedals, light and smooth. The ride can get unsettled over broken surfaces at low speeds but improves once you leave the 30mph limit signs behind.

Should you buy one? Sure: it’s a capable car, different enough to stand out from the pack and sharply priced if you’re buying new. But it loses value quickly during its early months on the road and, by the time it is three years old is valued at only a third of its original cost. So if you’re thinking of one as a second-hand buy, the value’s even stronger.













* Rating is from new 1-50 insurance groupings system

• Engines1.6 petrol
• Power118bhp
• 0-60 mph10.7secs
• Economy45.6mpg
• CO2g/km143
• Insurance groups13*
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats5

Motors.co.uk value verdict: