Suzuki Grand Vitara Review

With the name “Grand” we all expect the Suzuki to have amazing features and without a doubt, this crossover SUV does not disappoint. Yes, rivals such as Nissan might be boasting of their high flying Juke and Qashqai, but they might just be sharing the clouds with the Grand Vitara from their competitors Suzuki. A little history will help us out here… Suzuki was behind the launch of their Jimmy back in 1970 and today’s Vitara has ancestors that existed back in 1988. The Vitara has gone forth to sell over 3 million cars worldwide which is why it is worth looking at this vehicle to see what is so grand about it. First of all the exterior is exquisite and has been made classy and urban.

Interior

This is the boot of the new Suzuki Grand Vitara
Image source: www.carmagazine.co.uk

When you get into the Suzuki Vitara, you will not feel as though you made the wrong investment because this vehicle is roomy with a spacious 375 liter boot with an adjustable floor that comes in handy when you need to configure the load bay for different kinds of loads. The accessories in the vehicle are urban and the instrumentation is arranged conveniently for an easy smooth drive. The main issue that some people have with the interior is the plastics in the dashboard. The shiny parts look and feel cheap and this might be a challenge to Suzuki especially because their rivals have better pieces.

This is the front interior of the Suzuki Vitara
Image Source: www.bestsuvs2016.com

Because of the tall body design, there is a lot of head and leg room in the front and the rear. This means that tall passengers will still have ample space to sit comfortably in the Vitara. The vehicle might have a small glove box but the door pockets are large enough to compensate this.

Driving

It clearly appears as though Suzuki wanted to make the Vitara handle smoothly just like the Swift supermini and they did a pretty good job. The vehicle has a light steering which surprisingly responds positively and is safe and well controlled. The suspension might not be the top in the market but it has been tuned to handle different roads well and delivers great comfort. The vehicle is convenient for most drivers especially because of the light controls and the excellent visibility which make it an accomplished company car that is safer than a conventional hatchback.

Engine

Under the hood, the Vitara comes in a choice of two 1.6 liter engines with one having its own chain cam petrol and the other boasting of a Fiat diesel engine. Both these engines have 120PS but the there have different torque outputs. The standard petrol has a 5-speed manual transmission and an option of a 6-speed torque converter auto.  The diesel option comes in a 6-speed manual transmission.

cruise This is the Suzuki Vitara
Image source watchrealcars.com

Safety

Judging by the predecessors of the Grand Vitara, we can expect that the new Vitara will be highly safety as there is evidence of the previous vehicles performing highly in evaluation tests. Some of the features expected include the active cruise control, stability control, seven airbags, and automatic emergency braking. All these safety features will leave the Grand Vitara in a better position to score highly and possibly achieve a 5-star rating on safety.