You may find Grand Vitara a little more than it seems
Before we start. Let’s just clear up a bit of confusion. While it has nothing to do with Suzuki, it seems there is quite a bit of confusion around what this latest Grand Vitara really is. It’s little brand identity crisis that’s all to do with a lot of badge shuffling around the corner.
See, when Suzuki launched the Vitara Brezza a couple of years ago, that car arrived alongside an albeit identical Toyota called Urban Cruiser. The Brezza was, and still is sold alongside this latest Suzuki Grand Vitara, which has long been a player in the South African market.
The confusion comes in thanks to Toyota. It has now shifted the Urban Cruiser badge from its previous Brezza base, to this bigger, bolder Grand Vitara. Which has caused some people to incorrectly believe that this car is the new Brezza. It is not. This Grand Vitara is a different car completely. You can still buy the Brezza, which used to share badges with Urban Cruiser.
Grand Vitara has been around 25 years
Toyota rather simply now sells the Grand Vitara, which celebrates a quarter century as a Suzuki badge, as its Urban Cruiser. The Grand Vitara in fact grew out of the first Suzuki Vitara, itself a bit of a city slicker offshoot of the rugged Jimny 4×4. Vitara evolved into Grand Vitara ten years later. It has since morphed into this fifth generation model over the years.
A modern interpretation of the classic, this latest Grand Vitara design retains a more sculpted clamshell bonnet atop an imposing multi-level grille neatly framing the Suzuki S-badge. Triple LED daytime running lights now sit above the auto headlamps and an aggressive lower grille. All of which now looks considerably more upmarket. And cool.
Grand Vitara’s flanks are dominated by imposing wheel arches wrapping 17” alloy wheels finished in silver in this GL version. They’re accentuated by a chrome shoulder line and traditional roof rails. A 3D LED taillight bar stretches the width of the rear. It all looks quite sturdy, although we found some of the trim to be a tad tinny.
Seats enhance plush Grand Vitara drive
Inside, you will find a neat space highlighted by plush seats that Suzuki claims contribute to a comfortable ride on any surface. Never mind, loads of leg room for rear passengers. Do not expect too much luxury. That’s thwarted by an abundance of hard plastics and some missing spec in this base variant. This one is more about practical versatility than outright luxury.
There’s enough spec to still make this car a bargain though. Creature comforts like a height adjustable driver’s seat, and a reach and rake adjustable power multifunction steering wheel make the Grand Vitara easy to live with. There’s also keyless access and start, power windows, automatic climate control, cruise control and four speaker and tweeter sound.
Albeit dated, infotainment is easy to use and has everything you need. Wireless CarPlay and Auto is a win. The screen could be larger and crisper and is in GLX models that gain other extra spec too. But does this average buyer really care considering price is such an important factor in this segment? It’s all there, and works well, anyway.
77 kW 138 Nm four pot surprised
Safety comes via electronic stability and hill control, ABS brakes with Emergency Assist, Vehicle Stability, Hill-Start, and Traction Control. Add driver and passenger, side and curtain airbags, park distance control, and three emergency lock rear seatbelts with top and bottom tether ISOFIX child restraints.
We expected the 77 kW 138 Nm petrol 1.5-litre four pot to struggle, and to be honest, our figures were not that impressive in this automatic car. We did however find Grand Vitara to be pleasingly capable to drive. Overtaking wasn’t a hassle, and even this auto was happy enough to cruise at highway speeds. We however found its drag strip cred a bit wanting.
That’s mainly down to this model’s archaic 4-speed automatic gearbox. Yes, it’s sufficiently smooth and does the job in and around town. But it simply isn’t up to it on the open road and at highway speeds. The slightest additional throttle input results in the car unnecessarily downshifting to third gear at anything over 100 km/h.
Automatic gearbox disappointed
The auto box also makes the car thrashy and annoyingly loud. The higher revs it demands clearly hamper fuel economy. All of which makes us look forward to driving a 5-speed manual, or that Suzuki-only hybrid AWD flagship. To be honest, we would not hesitate in taking that cheaper manual over this auto.
The all-new Suzuki Grand Vitara rides on a rigid new generation TECT platform with MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension with real SUV 210 mm ground clearance. Stopping is courtesy of vented front four-wheel disc brakes.
Ride quality exceeds expectations. Those special seats do seem to have an impact on its subtleness of ride, and this Suzuki handles bumps admirably. There’s also a surprising absence of road and wind noise in the cabin. Which makes for easy conversation with passengers, even at highway speeds.
Grand Vitara a Great bang for buck option
Perhaps the most compelling argument in favour of the new Suzuki is its price. You can get the new Grand Vitara from as little R339K. Add ten grand for this automatic version. So besides the confusion we opened up with, the Suzuki Grand Vitara has long been a compelling bang for buck entry SUV option in South Africa.
Yes, it may now have a badge buddy too, but this car still offers all the versatility, appeal, and motorcar that the Suzuki Grand Vitara has always done. And this one’s credibility still lies squarely in that S-badge, as they call it. – Michele Lupini
Testing & images: Giordano Lupini
ROAD TESTED: Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.5 GL auto 77 kW 138 Nm 1.5 litre petrol 4-speed automatic FWD TESTED: 0-60 km/h: 5.29 sec 0-100 km/h: 12.37 sec 0-120 km/h: 18.86 sec 400m: 18.5 sec @ 119 km/h 80-120 km/h: 10.19 sec 120-160 km/h: 7.00 sec CLAIMED: VMax: 175 km/h Fuel: 6 l/100 km CO2: 142 g/km Range: 750 km Warranty/Service: 5y 200K/6y 90K km LIST PRICE: R359K RATED: 7
