From Towcar Awards 2008

List price: £12,999 (when tested)
Kerbweight: 1265kg
85% Match: 1075kg
Max towing weight: 1200kg
Towball limit: 50kg

THE SUZUKI is the smallest car here, but it has one thing none of the other cars in this class has: four-wheel drive. This helped the car put its power to the road when the heavens opened – but there wasn’t that much power to apply.

On the hill-start test the handbrake struggled to hold the outfit. In 2WD the Suzuki climbed the hill but with some wheelspin.

Struggle

In 4WD the car was much happier, but the 107lb/ft of torque from the 1.6-litre petrol engine was only just up to the job. The stopwatch showed a 30-60mph time of 30.6 seconds, but it was a real struggle to haul the outfit up to 60mph in a headwind.

The ATC unit recorded a peak of 0.8G through the lane-change test. and the back of the car was shoved by the caravan. Solo the SX4 is good fun to drive. As a towcar, though, it falls short.

We say

Towing: 2/5
Solo: 3/5
Practicality: 3/5
Buying & owning: 3/5

Verdict: 3/5. Too slow and nervous to make a good towcar.

Braking 30-0mph: 11.80m