The Suzuki Vitara became a huge success right after its introduction in 1988. It is a fact that both the first generation and its 1998 replacement were not competitive road vehicles. The other fact is that they were well priced, attractive, and pretty good all-rounders. The new Grand Vitara has to compete with more rivals now than in the early days. So you need good off-road performance, as well as decent looks and sophistication. When Suzuki launched the Grand Vitara in 2005, its new look was much sleeker, nothing like a scruffy machine it replaced. It’s no shame to admit that the slightly muscular design of this car has drawn a few gasps of excitement.
The vehicle it replaced had been for sale since 1998 and was in dire need of a pension. This car was designed and engineered as an old school SUV meaning it has a low ratio gearbox and separate ladder chassis for a supreme experience on rough terrain. But the only disappointment with this model was that it felt more like a farm machine than a car. This has been fixed in the new Vitara model, which has more car-like refinement and composition for the on-road experience, while retaining old-school off-road credibility. Becoming the first of its kind, it has an Integral Body Frame construction.
The textures and colors used in the cabin of this Grand Vitara are very nice and the design is also quite clean, the switches and instruments are red backlit, which feels somewhat exotic. The action of the switches is very smooth and the brilliant presentation of the dials is really noticeable. The Vitara comes with fine ergonomics; the rear reclining seats can also be folded flat and split 50:50. It has good legroom, but headroom is dangerously inadequate in the most upright position. The Grand Vitara comes with air conditioning, electric windows and a CD player. Suzuki Vitara petrol engines are offered in two variants: a 140PS 2.0-litre generating 183Nm of torque, with 220g/km emissions, 25.8mpg economy and 0-60s in 12.7sec. km/h.
The other is a 188bhp 2.7-litre V6 that makes 249Nm of torque, CO2 emissions of 263g/km, accelerates to 62mph in 9.7 seconds and a combined economy of 21.2mpg. The Suzuki Vitara diesel engine comes in a 129bhp 1.9-litre DDiS that produces 300Nm of torque, accelerates to 62mph in just 13.2 seconds, economy of 30.5mpg and CO2 emissions of 205g/km. A conventional Torsen center differential is used in the four-wheel drive system. With an unlocked center diff, the system can be set as standard using the rotary dial on the dash and the diff can be locked in low or high range modes. The braking system is good; It takes 2.8 seconds to get to 60-0 mph. But if you are on steep off-road descents and you use the brakes more often, they will overheat very quickly.