CTC Review: 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara

[X-Traction]

I think the Grand Vitara is a bit long in the tooth now. It had some snappy options when it come on the market, but not enough to sway public opinion.

The diesel Grand Vitara won a "Best Compact SUV" award in Australia last month over the XTrail, CRV and Rav4.  The Tucson/Sportage and Escape/Tribute designs are older than the GV.  Given Suzuki's product cycle, I expect the GV won't be substantially different until about 2011.

http://www.infibeam.com/blog/news/2008/06/05/suzuki_grand_vitara_wins_prize_as_australias_best_compact_suv.html

edited to add url.

[X-Traction]

Scanning the 4-Day Test Drive articles for similar cuv's, we find:

Grand Vitara........11.1 l/100km....$31K
XTrail.................10.3*.............$32K
Rav4..................13.5**............$36K
CRV...................10.6................$34K
Outlander............11.5...............$30K

*all city driving
**harsh winter driving

Ok, this is a very small sampling.  Let's get that out of the way.  But since the Grand Vitara got mileage similar to the other  V6 cuv's, there is no support here for the theory that the GV's engine is crude.  In fact, if you assume, say, a 1L/100km penalty for the GV being in 4wd all the time, the result is 10.1L/100km.  (We'll forget about the GV's short 5th gear since these tests probably didn't involve a lot of highway driving.)  Which is better than even the 4-cylinder XTrail and CRV.

So, if we can somehow get our minds around the idea that the GV does not get bad mileage, then we have no choice but to dismiss the idea that the GV's engine is crude.  (Or the engine is crude and Suzuki has done some other drivetrain magic.)  In fact, we might just have to acknowledge that the GV's engine may in fact be more efficient than some similar engines.  But I know people are determined to dump on the GV's engine, so I don't have much hope of changing minds.

Then there's the price.  The GV was fully loaded, no options untouched.  I don't think the others were.  The XTrail certainly wasn't.  The Outlander was a more basic model.

A few comments on the Grand Vitara's 5-speed automatic transmission.  One is that it tends to drop two gears on long moderate hills.  Although this sounds terrible, the mileage is the same or less than if it went up the same hill one gear higher.  Another negative for this off-road-biased vehicle is that the automatic has no provision for selecting 2nd gear, and it has no manual mode.  To engine brake downhill in 2nd takes putting it in 1st and applying a touch of throttle input at just the right speed.  On the positive side, the transmission has a very effective engine braking mode when coasting downhill or to a stop in normal driving.  Lastly, the 5-spd automatic GV gets better highway mileage than the 5-spd manual, probably because the manual has even lower gearing, in keeping with the off-road bias.

[rrocket]

^^^^Crude doesn't mean inefficient. (FWIW, I don't recall James saying the engine was crude).  But, in this review anyways, I think we could say the engine is crude because of all the drivetrain noise that James's mentions. In that regard, I've found Suzukis I've ridden in to have a bit more engine noise and vibrations throughout.  Though to be fair, I haven't been in this particular vehicle. So while the engine is frugal for a 6 cylinder, the NVH is what some might consider to be crude.

[X-Traction]

^^^^Crude doesn't mean inefficient. (FWIW, I don't recall James saying the engine was crude).  But, in this review anyways, I think we could say the engine is crude because of all the drivetrain noise that James's mentions. In that regard, I've found Suzukis I've ridden in to have a bit more engine noise and vibrations throughout.  Though to be fair, I haven't been in this particular vehicle. So while the engine is frugal for a 6 cylinder, the NVH is what some might consider to be crude.

Fair enough.  I didn't mean to imply that the current reviewer called the engine crude, but many other reviewers and people commenting on the GV have said that.  I don't recall similar complaints when the same engine was used in the previous XL-7.  The NVH may simply be a result of inferior sound insulation.  To that end, I see on the list of changes for the 2009 GV is increased sound insulation.  Indeed, I have a roll of "Ultimate" I bought from b-Quiet waiting for me to have time to install it in my GV. 

Other than a slight, and not unpleasant whining sound I hear sometimes, I wouldn't say I hear anything else from our GV's drivetrain.  I wonder if the one tested had either the infamous rear end misalingment, or the infamous drivetrain vibrations - either of which presumably could cause driveline noises.

I thought Jame's review was refreshingly fair to the GV's unusual combination of characteristics.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Ad on the tele last night showed GV's for $19,995 (likely cash purchase). Good value and solid feeling vehicle IMO. Back seat was fine for me 

[Jeff Ross]

Re: "Fresh perspective(s)".  Suzuki seems to have finally acquired one of their own concerning the Escudo's, (our Grand Vitara),  engine options there in the home market.   The long rumored 3.2L six producing 230hp and improved mileage figures vs the long in the tooth 185hp 2.7L, (which was a derivative of the 1999 2.5L Grand Vitara engine!), is debuting in Japan RIGHT NOW.  It's being joined by a new 2.4L inline four producing 166hp.  Speculation is both will be coming to North America for the '09 model year. Hill descent control will be standard on all six cylinder 4wd models. The new front facia looks nice in an Escudo preview picture I came across. 

[jarrod]

hey guys. i installed the spacer lift kit and have had trouble with alignment and the front struts. who makes the kit that replaces the struts. thanks