Suzuki ALLGRIP: 55 Years Later
As I wrote sometime last year – here, 2025 was an important anniversary for Suzuki, and as the title suggests, it celebrated 55 years of their ALLGRIP tech. And for this special event Suzuki invited me, and other motoring writers (I’m not that special!), down to Cardiff to celebrate this milestone.
The day started in very civilised fashion. Breakfast, polite chat with fellow scribblers and Suzuki folk, then a proper drive in the latest Hybrid Swift to a place with a name that sounds like it should come with a waiver: Monster Mountain.
We set off from Cardiff in a mix of current ALLGRIP-equipped Swifts, with time on public roads first to get a feel for how they behave when not knee-deep in ruts.
Of all the vehicles in the Suzuki UK lineup the Swift is possibly the most amusing surprise of the lot. A small hatchback with four-wheel drive might sound niche, but on wet, winding roads it makes a huge amount of sense. It’s not fast in a headline-grabbing way, but it’s grippy, confidence-inspiring, and quietly brilliant when conditions aren’t playing ball.
An hour-and-a-bit later we arrived at Monster Mountain, a motocross facility near Merthyr Tydfil that is exactly as subtle as its name suggests. Think steep climbs, ruts, and loose surfaces - the sort of terrain that makes you instinctively check whether you’ve paid your excess.
ALLGRIP in the Real World
Now, Suzuki’s approach to ALLGRIP has always been refreshingly honest. This isn’t about rock-crawling Rubicon fantasies or pretending a small crossover is a Dakar racer. It’s about usable, confidence-boosting four-wheel drive for real people, on real roads, in real weather.
Suzuki uses a few different flavours of ALLGRIP across its range, but the principle is the same: keep things simple, effective, and predictable.
The Vitara ALLGRIP, in particular, impressed here. Light weight is its secret weapon. Where heavier SUVs sometimes feel like they’re fighting physics, the Vitara skipped over rough ground with surprising composure. The ALLGRIP system worked quietly in the background, never making a song and dance about itself.
The S-Cross ALLGRIP felt like the more grown-up sibling. A bit more space, a bit more refinement, and a touch more motorway calm. It’s easy to forget that underneath the sensible styling there’s still a proper four-wheel-drive system ready to shuffle power around when things get slippery.
Even the Swift ALLGRIP, which really has no right to be here on paper, managed sections of the course that would have most superminis crying for mercy. No, it’s not a Jimny, but that’s rather the point. This is about everyday cars having an extra layer of ability when conditions turn nasty.
On the two routes we could explore around Monster Mountain the cars just got on with it. Traction was metered out smoothly, wheelspin reined in without strangling progress, and steep climbs dispatched with far less fuss than you’d expect from cars on standard road tyres - even the Swift managed some ridiculously torturously and punishing inclines.
A Nod to the Past
Part of the day also looked back at Suzuki’s 4×4 heritage. Fifty-five years isn’t a marketing gimmick – Suzuki has been quietly building capable four-wheel-drive vehicles since long before “SUV” became a lifestyle buzzword.
What made the day even more fun was driving some of the older models off-road alongside the current line-up, it underlined just how consistent Suzuki’s philosophy has been. Small, light, dependable vehicles with proper traction, built to be used rather than talked about.
Why It Matters
What struck me most about the day wasn’t just how capable the cars were off-road, but how normal they felt doing it. There’s no bravado here. Suzuki isn’t trying to convince you you’re an adventurer; it’s just giving you the tools to deal with mud, snow, wet grass, farm tracks, flooded roads, and all the other nonsense real life throws at you.
In a world where many “SUVs” are essentially tall hatchbacks with big wheels and bigger egos, Suzuki’s ALLGRIP offering feels refreshingly honest.
Final Thoughts
The Suzuki ALLGRIP event at Monster Mountain wasn’t about extremes. It was about showing that four-wheel drive still matters, and that when it’s done properly, it doesn’t need to be complicated, heavy, or intimidating.
Fifty-five years on, Suzuki’s approach remains much the same: keep it light, keep it simple, and make sure it works when you need it. After a day of Welsh roads, dust, ruts, and the sort of terrain that normally has PR people sweating quietly into their gilets, it’s hard to argue with that.
