Saying Goodbye to our Suzuki Grand Vitara

Some vehicles arrive in your life with a plan. Others sneak in quietly, almost accidentally, and only later reveal how much they’ve shaped your journeys. Our Suzuki Grand Vitara belonged to the second group.

We bought it for simple, practical reasons: a bit of fun on local muddy tracks, hauling a trailer to the garden, replacing the old Land Rovers we used to take into the woods just for the joy of getting stuck and survive winters when our main electric car struggle. It was never meant to travel far. It was old, uncomplicated, and honest — a tool, not a travel companion.

But tools sometimes surprise you.

Somewhere between a frozen mountain pass in Romania and the soft spring light of Slovenia, this twenty‑year‑old 4WD reminded us why we once loved off‑road travel so much. The freedom of choosing the unpaved road. The confidence of knowing the car will climb, crawl, or push through whatever lies ahead. The quiet satisfaction of a machine that doesn’t pretend to be anything more than it is — but does its job with absolute loyalty.

We rebuilt it piece by piece: a new compressor for the 4WD system, a full suspension overhaul, brakes redone from scratch, fresh Yokohama Geolandars that bit into snow, gravel, and wet grass. And after that, it simply went. Every time. No drama, no hesitation.

It became the unexpected hero of our winter trips, our spontaneous detours, our “let’s see where this track goes” afternoons. It carried us through places we didn’t plan to visit and reminded us of a way of travelling we thought we had left behind.

And then came Georgia in our Opel Vivaro campervan.

Watching the locals drive their battered, lifted, patched‑together machines — vehicles that looked like they had lived ten lives already — something clicked. We realised that having two adventure vehicles in the family was too much. Too much maintenance, too much overlap, too much dividing our attention between two different styles of travel.

So we made a decision: to merge both worlds into one. One vehicle that can carry the spirit of the Vivaro and the capability of the Vitara. One machine that can take us far, sleep comfortably, and still follow the rough tracks when curiosity wins over asphalt.

Of course, it will come with compromises. Every “do‑everything” vehicle does. But it feels right — a new chapter built from the best parts of the previous ones.

And no, despite the Georgian inspiration, it won’t be a Delica. But that story belongs to the next post.

For now, we say goodbye to the Vitara — with gratitude for every unexpected kilometre, every mountain road, every muddy climb, and every moment it reminded us that adventure doesn’t always come from the vehicle you planned for.

Sometimes it comes from the one you never expected.