New Car Reviews- Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara is a sports utility vehicle introduced by the country's largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki Udyog Limited, in collaboration with their Japanese partner Suzuki.

The Grand Vitara, which is known by many different names in different countries, was introduced in other countries way back in 1989, but has arrived in India a good 18 years later. However, it will not be manufactured in India. Instead, it is to be imported from Suzuki's plant in Japan.

Following the launch of the premium hatchback Swift and the sedan SX-4, the Grand Vitara is the Maruti Suzuki's third global launch in the country.

Having won many international accolades, the Grand Vitara has been launched in two variants in India -- manual transmission and automatic transmission. Both are available in a 5-seater configuration.

The Grand Vitara is covered by a basic warranty for three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes earlier. It falls in the same league as the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, and Ford Endeavour, and competes with them.

The Grand Vitara is available in an all-time four-mode 4-wheel drive (4WD) configuration. The four modes are: 4 High, for normal driving; 4 High Lock, for medium off-roading; 4 Low Lock, for when the vehicle is stuck in mud, sand, or snow; and Neutral, when the vehicle is being towed.

Under the hood of the Grand Vitara is a gutsy 2.0-liter Inline-four cylinder (I-4) engine with a double overhead camshaft (DOHC), which churns out 119.5 bhp @ 5,500 rpm and 170 Nm of torque @ 3,500 rpm. It may be linked to either a 5-speed manual transmission or 4-speed automatic transmission, depending upon the variant. Both the transmissions are responsive and shift smoothly.

The Grand Vitara is maneuvered by a power assisted hydraulic rack and pinion steering, which offers crisp, prompt responses. It rides on McPherson strut front suspension and multi-link rear suspension, which soak up the impact of bumps and road irregularities, thereby giving a smooth ride. It comes equipped with front disc and rear drum brakes, which bring it to a quick, smooth halt upon pressing the brake pedal, without screeching.

With a turning radius of 5.5 metres and ground clearance of 200 mm, the Grand Vitara can be driven, turned, and parked on all kinds of roads with considerable ease. All these attributes make the Grand Vitara a good off-roader.

With a length of more than 14 feet and a wheelbase of more than eight feet, the Grand Vitara looks sturdy and muscular. Its front fascia is marked by a big body-coloured bumper, a wide grille with the company's insignia in the middle and distinct multi-reflector, halogen projector headlamps. It also comes standard with a headlamp leveling device and front and rear fog lamps.

The Grand Vitara comes standard with electrically-adjustable outside door mirrors and a rear window demister. It also features 2-speed, variable intermittent wiper and washer in the front and 1-speed intermittent wiper and washer in the rear. It wears standard 16-inch alloy wheels and rolls on 225/70 R 16 tyres.

This SUV is reasonably large and sophisticated inside and can seat a maximum of five passengers comfortably. It comes with a seat height adjuster for the driver seat and features a reclining rear seat, which can be folded in the ratio of 60:40. The rear seat also comes with a centre armrest. All seats are fabric-trimmed as a standard.

The Grand Vitara offers the comfort of automatic climate control and comes standard with power windows, central door locking, and remote controlled door locks. The windows come fitted with green tinted glass to protect from heat and harmful ultraviolet rays. The Grand Vitara comes standard with a urethane, power steering wheel, which can be tilt-adjusted. It also features a steering lock, a day/night rear-view mirror, and dual front and rear cup holders.

Its instrument panel includes a tachometer, digital clock, outside temperature gauge, fuel warning indicator, fuel consumption gauge et al. A gear position indicator is exclusive to the automatic transmission variant. It also offers ample storage options such as a centre console box, an overhead console, and a luggage room under-floor compartment.

For entertainment-on-the-go, the Grand Vitara comes equipped with a CD tuner including MP3, four speakers, two tweeters, and a subwoofer. It also comes standard with automatic volume control and steering wheel-mounted audio controls.

With rear seatback raised, the Grand Vitara's maximum boot capacity is 398 litres, which can be expanded to 758 litres by tumble folding the rear seatback.

It also comes fully loaded with active and passive safety measures. Some standard safety features include front and rear side impact door beams, a head impact protection structure, a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS), front dual airbags, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), brake assist, 3-point emergency locking retractor (ELR) seatbelts with pre-tensioners, force limiter and height adjusters in the front and 3-point ELR seatbelts in the rear, ISO FIX child-seat anchorages, child-proof rear door locks, and an engine immobiliser.