Quick impressions
We got an opportunity to drive and review the all new Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid from Maruti Suzuki. Having driven the Toyota Hyryder, we had a fair idea what to expect from the Grand Vitara. To give a short intro or a quick summary of Maruti Grand Vitara – the car was quite comfortable and spacious with an impressive HUD. The interior was a mix of good quality and few parts felt too much use of plastics.. The 360 degree camera quality could have been better. Grand Vitara gets a Sunroof with an impressive panoramic view. You can find more detailed review with driving impressions below:
Exterior Design
The exterior impressions are quite subjective, but we think the rear section of the car looks nice and bold.
Interior
The Grand Vitara is very feature packed. For a car at this price, Grand Vitara’s interior could have had more premium finish. There are a lot of options in the speedometer. The HUD (Head-up Display) offered in the car is minimal and to the point without unnecessary information. It would have been great if Grand Vitara featured the ventilated seats making the summer season better.
We felt the steering wheel controls are a little confusing. The infotainment buttons are placed on both sides and not just one. So one gets confused while trying to navigate.
Space and Comfort
Coming to space and practicality, the car is completely spacious from the inside. Five people can comfortably travel in this car. Not to forget, the passenger at the back sitting at the center gets over the shoulder seat belt.
Notable features list
As told before the Grand Vitara is a feature packed car. One of the useful features being the auto dimming IRVM which is very helpful to drive at the night, it helps cut-off the unwanted beam of light from other vehicles on road. It is important to note that the Grand Vitara features automatic sunroof closing and opening unlike manual sliding in cars even at 50-60L( Eg: Mini Cooper).
Engine and Performance
Grand Vitara is available in many variants which are manual and petrol only. The one which drove for this review was the automatic hybrid variant. The power delivery offered by Grand Vitara is amazing. Foot on the pedal and it just goes all in. We felt the CVT gearbox offered in the car may seem a bit laggy. There is a specific B mode in the gear box that helps you regenerate charge to the battery when there is frequent braking.
Suspension of Grand Vitara was very good offering a comfortable drive. We felt the brakes are comparatively slow. It was not instant/quick.
Pricing
:How is it priced for the base variant, how is it priced for the top trim? The Grand Vitara has different variants and trims based on gearbox and fuel type. The base variant Sigma (Petrol Only) is priced at Rs 11 lakhs (Ex-showroom). The Strong Hybrid variant of Grand Vitara starts at Rs 18.43 lakhs (Ex-showroom). With negligible features such as poor 360 camera, CVT gearbox etc the Grand Vitara is a well priced car.
Verdict
So, what’s our verdict on the new Grand Vitara? It is a good fun to drive car. The car gave us a realistic mileage of around 17 kmpl in Bengaluru’s bumper to bumper traffic and also a drive around the town. If you are looking for a good compact SUV at a budget around 20 lakhs, Grand Vitara Strong hybrid. is a good choice to pick.
A quick suggestion from the author, don’t slam the accelerator around turnings or mud at slow speeds as all the power would be delivered to the tyres causing a wheel spin which in turn would burn the rubber on the tyres leading it to wear out sooner.
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