SUZUKI GRAND VITARA 2.0 16v 5dr (2005)

Big and safe, good in all weather conditions, bit costly to run.

We got this as we're planning a family and wanted something safe and reliable. We found a few of these Suzuki Grand Vitara models, and went for a 2 litre after comparing with the smaller engine and finding that it overtook a bit easier. We are sort of regretting that we didn't go for a diesel now though, cos of the fuel economy.

Another reason we got this car is because we do quite a bit of bird watching and that can involve a fair bit of country driving, and a bit off road sometimes. It's so happy in all those conditions, just no problem getting up really steep hills, working through fords in the road and really heavy rain and snow. It's so reassuring to be driving a car that just happily hops through those sorts of conditions.

The Suzuki Grand Vitara is comfy inside too, nice and soft and warm. If anything it can feel a little bit too wide, like you have to shout to the passenger! Actually that's a point, the engine can get a little bit loud when you're going at speed on the motorway, which can be a bit tiresome. One thing about that as well - we got our five door one after looking inside a 3 door version and seeing that the back seats were just quite a tiny size, no use for adults at all. There's lots of space in ours though, including loads of handy storage spaces in the front.

The back of the car is really golden for trips away. For the birdwatching it's especially great. We can get a nice big tent in it, as well as even our little portable bird watching hideaway, plus a couple of small bikes (folded up with the front wheels off). The back seats flip up towards the front seats. I also like the way the boot door opens sideways, which is good for my back (old before my time!).

I remember when I first got in it thinking that you're sitting kind of low down for a fairly tall car. I'm about 5 foot 6 and I think I'm only just tall enough to see really properly all around me. But then I found the lever for adjusting the height of the chair, problem solved! That works really well, very good feature. You can move the steering wheel up and down too, then it locks into place once you've found the right spot. It does mean that me and himself spend time fixing the other one messing the positions around though!

The sound system is easy to use, and it takes an ipod as well which is handy. I doubt that was the case with some of the earlier ones though, ours was new in 2009.