Close your eyes for a minute and imagine these in an automobile: a longitudinally-mounted four-cylinder engine, rear wheel drive, 17-inch alloys and vented disc brakes all around. These ingredients can certainly pass as the prerequisites for a sports car, but believe it or not, this is the same stuff found in the Suzuki Grand Vitara. But before you start thinking of doing drift moves with your Grand Vitara, let’s just say something got lost in translation. The Grand Vitara isn’t something you should be taking to the racetrack. In fact, it’s not something we’d like to take anywhere with a sporty reference. It’s satisfied at being merely competent, and that doesn’t bode too well in this ultra-crowded market.
The Suzuki Grand Vitara has gone through numerous nips and tucks since its 2005 introduction. When compact SUVs with six-cylinder engines were the ‘in-thing’, Suzuki plopped in a 2.7-liter and then a 3.2-liter unit under the hood. Quirky as these engines maybe, now that the gasoline prices are nothing short of astronomical, Suzuki dropped these horsepower-biased engines and decided on something that can deliver more km/Ls: a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. What’s more, they shunned all-wheel drive and went for the really basic stuff: two-wheel drive. So basically, the Grand Vitara transformed itself from something extra-ordinary to something quite the opposite.
We’ve always wanted to try the 6-cylinder Grand Vitara, so forgive us for our lack of enthusiasm for the 4-cylinder model. Sure, we understand that the move was needed in these fuel conscious times, but 166 horsepower certainly pales in comparison to 230 horsepower. That said, the 2.4-liter unit still does the job of hauling the heavy 1,620 kilogram curb weight. It’s responsive from the get-go, but the engine is somewhat vocal and throaty as the tachometer needle goes up. It has enough power for those quick overtaking maneuvers in city traffic thanks to low-end torque and the quick-witted automatic gearbox. The Grand Vitara even has a Sport mode which keeps the revs higher. However, pushing the Sport or not, the Grand Vitara loses steam once it reaches triple digit speeds; probably because of its lack of forward gears (it only has four). This also dents the Grand Vitara’s fuel economy figures: 7.30 km/L in city traffic. These mileage figures are comparable to the Ford Escape (157 horsepower, 6.83 km/L) and Toyota RAV4 (170 horsepower, 7.18 km/L), but are paltry compared to the more powerful Subaru Forester XT’s (230 horsepower, 7.69 km/L) and the Honda CR-V (150 horsepower, 12.07 km/L).
The merely competent drivetrain is mated perhaps to one of the Grand Vitara’s bright spots: the chassis. Despite the chiseled appearance, the Grand Vitara actually uses technology similar to those found in Land Rovers. The old ladder-on-frame layout is gone, and in its place is a unique uni-body with a built-in frame chassis. Theoretically, this set-up reduces weight while maintaining the toughness of a ladder-on-frame set-up. Though we have no way to test chassis flex and all that, what we can tell you is its excellent ability to absorb the sharpest of ruts. It can ride through the deepest of Manila’s potholes like a mid-sized or full-sized SUV can. Almost nothing can unsettle this car and its occupants; the exception being those accursed concrete joints seen on flyovers. Maybe due to the stiff spring/shock absorber set-up, passengers may complain of the jittery ride, especially at low speeds. The all-wheel vented disc set-up also shortens the Grand Vitara’s braking distances, but the pedal feel is somewhat spongy, especially on the initial travel.
The merely adequate or good enough attitude of the Suzuki Grand Vitara carries over to its overall appearance inside and out. From the outside, no one can complain about the angular lines. Throughout the car, it’s filled with the usual design touches you’ve come to expect in modern SUVs like the chunky lamps, strong upright profile and as a blast from the past—a rear door-mounted spare tire complete with a hard cover. The styling is derivative and boring. Blame it on Bangle, but car design is meant to polarize to make it exciting, but with the Grand Vitara, it fails to register on anyone’s radar. The dull looks should make it more appealing in the long term, but would you own this same car ten years from now?
Thankfully, the unalienable approach to car design takes a short breather with the Grand Vitara’s cabin whish is stylish without being over the top. It’s decisively sporty all around without being too dark or dreary. In terms of space, the Grand Vitara’s just right—not too small, but not too big. It reminds us of compact SUVs from a generation ago, with enough space for your wife and maybe two kids. However, if you need to fit the yaya you may want to consider something bigger. The cargo bay opens up via a traditional side-opening door as opposed to a hatch, something that’s not found anymore in any of its newer rivals. This should make it a joy for those with low garage ceilings, but it’s quite hassle when trying to load something huge in parking lots. The deeply recessed gauges are lovely too—easy to read and a perfect fit to the Grand Vitara’s cabin. Suzuki even managed to fit a multi-information display panel in there as well. The careful placement of the metallic accents is a nice touch too.
The excellent gauges and metallic accents though are not enough to distract you from the Grand Vitara’s poor choice of cabin materials. For P 1.27-million, you would be expecting, at the very least, soft plastics to touch and caress. In the Grand Vitara you get the appliance-grade type. Knock on any surface, and it will sound hallow; it’s the hard-wearing variety, but not a vote of refinement. The same is true with even the most basic of driving controls such as the urethane-covered steering wheel and stalks that feel like they’ll snap off with engaged with enough force. Even the gated shifter, which looks promising, engages vaguely through the PRND slots, sometimes causing mis-engagements in the process. The cheapo cabin materials are a real shame since the driving position and overall ergonomics are actually quite sound. And speaking of sound, the Grand Vitara doesn’t have an aux jack, so those relying on their iPods for driving tunes, you’re out of luck. The same goes for those who want a more premium system, as the speakers on the Grand Vitara are quire tinny—Sting will sound like he’s singing from a well.
Some will argue that I’ve set the bar too high or have been overly critical with the Suzuki Grand Vitara; after all, it’s gone a long way from its predecessor. That may be, but the first one didn’t really raise the bar that high, did it? Other SUVs have at least one trait going for it be it value-for-money, comfort and refinement, good looks or performance. Some, in fact, have been able to successfully integrate two or three of these traits, making them into true winners. I’m afraid; this isn’t the case with the Suzuki Grand Vitara. Sure, it’s got a supple ride, but just about every compact SUV these days can do that too. The Grand Vitara is just being competent, and that’s a real shame. From the same company that came out with the quirky APV and the sporty Swift, the Grand Vitara could have been a much better SUV, especially since it does have the right ingredients to make itself a winner.
By Ulysses Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
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