We noticed that the slight change in castor angle gave sharper steering response, with somewhat less self-centering action. Ride quality improved, with almost no ‘thumping’ from the suspension and bump absorption was also better. The shock absorbers were twin-tube types with a longer stroke than standard, to accommodate the greater spring travel of the after-market coils.
The ground clearance issue was fixed when we bought a Dobinson suspension kit ($1500 including fitment at Dobinson’s Narellan NSW workshop) that replaced the standard coils and shock absorbers with taller components that gave us a 40mm lift front and rear. However, like most 4WDs it can benefit from additional ground clearance and some under-body protection.Īt Outback Travel Australia we needed a softroader to evaluate some products that don’t suit evaluation on our LandCruiser ute. It has useful 1.97:1 low range gearing and is robustly built.
The Suzuki Grand Vitara is by far the most capable SUV on the market.
