[TorqueIndia]

Originally Posted by INDIAFIRST

Friends please suggest between Honda City eHEV V trim OTR 22.2 L & Grand Vitara Alpha OTR 22.30

Use case: Strong hybrid. Monthly driving 4000 km including 50% on well surfaced highways. Features not too important. Safety ride, handling & refinement are crucial. Thus I don’t need ventilated seats /sunroof & gizmos like extra speakers

Can I ask you something ? Why not buy entry level variants and fuel it for the 8L you're saving?

Yearly fuel cost for 50K km hybrid : 2L
Non hybrid petrol : 3.5L

[INDIAFIRST]

TorqueIndia I need a CVT. So I guess price differential would reduce further.

[outdoorlover]

Originally Posted by INDIAFIRST

Friends please suggest between Honda City eHEV V trim OTR 22.2 L & Grand Vitara Alpha OTR 22.30

Use case: Strong hybrid. Monthly driving 4000 km including 50% on well surfaced highways. Features not too important. Safety ride, handling & refinement are crucial. Thus I don’t need ventilated seats /sunroof & gizmos like extra speakers

Hi, I would recommend that you look at the Toyota Hyrider S variant - it is a strong hybrid but with steel wheels,and I believe Maruti doesnot have this variant in its range. This will be a little cheaper and could tilt the scale for you financially. Good luck!

[bijims]

Originally Posted by INDIAFIRST

Friends please suggest between Honda City eHEV V trim OTR 22.2 L & Grand Vitara Alpha OTR 22.30

Use case: Strong hybrid. Monthly driving 4000 km including 50% on well surfaced highways. Features not too important. Safety ride, handling & refinement are crucial. Thus I don’t need ventilated seats /sunroof & gizmos like extra speakers

Considering you don't consider features too important, The Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder S Hybrid variant which costs under 20 lakhs OTR Mumbai (16.46 lakhs ex-showroom) would be the better buy if you can get it, the variant is in high demand and waiting periods are through the roof.

[izzikio_rage]

Don't know if its ok to post youtube links. Found a few good ones about how the Grand Vitara Mild Hybrid (although allgrip) performed in the hills and one with a guy testing the top speed. Seems to be contrary to the opinions on issues in hills and challenges in top speed. Or am i missing something

https://youtu.be/e8mdsD5RtRQ?si=R8ktGDvVlTjvUHj1

https://youtu.be/MPbhZPEX4RM?si=4CKa6ApXp5_BMTYa

[Small Bot]

I had a very poor experience today at the Nexa showroom where I was supposed to take delivery of our Grand Vitara MT Delta variant.

I have no qualms on calling out the dealer. This is Popular Vehicles (Nexa) in Arcot Road in Chennai.

We were initially supposed to get delivery of our Grand Vitara on this Monday morning at 10 AM. On Saturday, the sales advisor I was talking to called me and started that the side step that we paid for hasn't been delivered yet. It will reach only this Wednesday. We had made plans for the delivery, but since this was a non-negotiable accesory, we made our peace with it and graciously said: 'Don't worry, these things happen. We'll take the car after you fit the side step.'

On Wednesday morning (yesterday), I got the call requesting if I could pick up the car in the evening. I thanked them for making the fittings quickly, and declined, deciding that it would be better if we all go in the morning and not in the night.

This morning, I again rang up my SA at 9 AM and checked if the car was ready. He confirmed that it was all-ok, and that we need to be there at 10 AM sharp.

So we went there happily - my parents, my father's driver and myself. All decked up, with garlands, camera and some pooja stuff.

We were kept waiting with copious amounts of coffee and Bisleri water cans until 11:30 AM, by which time my, and my mother's sugar, started dropping and we asked how longer we would need to wait. Because we wanted to go eat something in the Sangeetha Desi Mane next door.

At that time, the supervisor of my SA told me that the car has been taken back for washing. At that point, I got a little pissed off. I told him in no uncertain terms that the service centre is just behind us and they shouldn't lie to me like that. Please just tell me upfront if you've messed up with the accessory fitment.

Time passed by, and I could see in the Suzuki Connect app that the car has left the showroom and was going back to the yard. At this stage, it was 1 PM, and so I walked up to the showroom head's cabin and asked him point blank: What's going on.

He told me that the side cladding had peeled off and they've taken the car back to the yard for refitting, and that I could expect the delivery only by 6 PM.

I was so close to losing my temper but backed off, as it's not going to accomplish anything. I just kept a blank face, took my parents and the driver and dropped them off at home before running to office (Yes, it's a working day).

Now my biggest worry is that this accessories fitment issue is also a cover for some other bigger issue, like probably a dent or paint scrape. I hope it's not the case and it's just a matter of either poor fitment or forgetfulness.

And now, I'll not even be there when my father takes delivery of the car in the evening (my shift ends at 9:30 PM today).

I'm utterly disappointed in you, Maruti Suzuki and you, Popular Vehicles. If you don't give me the peace of mind that makes me go for a Maruti, why should I even buy your car? What is your USP then?

That said, I'm not changing my mind on the Grand Vitara or the dealer. The car's still a great car, thoroughly apt for our needs and we're not going to make stupid decisions like backing off from the car purchase.

It's just that I feel really pissed off that all our enthusiasm for the new car has been killed due to incompetent and untruthful showroom people. Now I can't even be there to pick up the car in person, after paying in full via cheque for it.

This post has been mostly me venting out my frustrations, I guess. And calling out that Maruti is not free from dealer screwups too.

I'm going to repeat the entire chronology of incidents to Maruti if they call me for feedback. The feedback sheet in the dealer showroom doesn't matter, as I'll be hounded to the death if I give anything less than Excellent.

Will post again after the car's finally been taken home.

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

Will post again after the car's finally been taken home.

So the car was finally delivered at 8 PM. There was a bit of side moulding not properly affixed on the left rear door, which we saw but we're like: 'We'll take care of it elsewhere, just give us the car and let us go please.' To their credit, there were no dents or repaints or any visible repair work done anywhere.

I had to skip my last few work calls to run for the delivery, but I did so.

At this time, the usual temples were all closed, so we did our own small pooja outside the nearest temple and just went home to eat dinner.



This was the only pic I captured. The DRLs of both the little red monsters. The Grand Vitara and the Brezza.

I was in no mood to do any posing for the delivery photos, so I asked the Pater to do so.

At this stage, all we feel is exhaustion and relief, not joy or excitement. I'll post more on the car much later once I've recovered my enthusiasm and get a chance to do a couple of solo drives.

Thank you Popular Nexa and Maruti Suzuki for giving me the very nice car, but your customer experience is not even worth the paper the feedback form was printed on.

[Small Bot]

Originally Posted by Small Bot

There was a bit of side moulding not properly affixed on the left rear door, which we saw but we're like: 'We'll take care of it elsewhere, just give us the car and let us go please.'

This part is what I was talking about.




Other than that, the car looks really great in daylight. More understated than the Brezza's sizzling red. Fits perfectly into my father's parking spot.



We are quite thrilled to have the car and I'm now a lot more forgiving of what happened with the dealer.

It eats up a lot of luggage too, being a mild hybrid car. This is one of the major differences from my Brezza.



Oh, and my father's neighbour got himself a Brezza too.

[Shwet]

Don't know if its ok to post youtube links. Found a few good ones about how the Grand Vitara Mild Hybrid (although allgrip) performed in the hills and one with a guy testing the top speed. Seems to be contrary to the opinions on issues in hills and challenges in top speed. Or am i missing something

I can describe my experience with the Grand Vitara ALL Grip on hills. This vehicle drives very competently on hilly terrain. I recently returned from a trip to my home state HP and the Vitara AWD was a treat on the bends and inclines.

You can throw it with absolute confidence on the bends and it hugs the road beautifully even in the auto mode. Just put it in sport mode in the hills and the difference comes across beautifully in the way the car distributes torque and the handling confidence that it inspires. I had taken the very same bends in my Ertiga previously and anything above 60 used to be a nerve wracking experience whereas the Vitara broke no sweat at crazy speeds one should never take on bends The All Grip system is a gem from Suzuki and I think this system alone makes this vehicle stand out from its counterparts as no one and I can emphatically state this as I have driven all (barring the Elevate) handle as well as this car. Even the normal GV without the All Grip is a capable handling vehicle though it can be matched/bettered in handling by both the Volkswagen Group Twins.

So I would say the system is wonderful on hills , the hill stop assist is a boon , you won't need more than the auto mode which takes care of all normal impediments beautifully , the sport mode is for better handling and cornering and the snow and lock modes are rarely required unless you plan to go for some Off-roading. In my view the All Grip is the version to go for , however it depends on individual preference.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by Shwet

Don't know if its ok to post Youtube links. Found a few good ones about how the Grand Vitara Mild Hybrid (although allgrip) performed in the hills and one with a guy testing the top speed. Seems to be contrary to the opinions on issues in hills and challenges in top speed. Or am i missing something

I can describe my experience with the Grand Vitara ALL Grip on hills. This vehicle drives very competently on hilly terrain. I recently returned from a trip to my home state HP and the Vitara AWD was a treat on the bends and inclines.

You can throw it with absolute confidence on the bends and it hugs the road beautifully even in the auto mode. Just put it in sport mode in the hills and the difference comes across beautifully in the way the car distributes torque and the handling confidence that it inspires. I had taken the very same bends in my Ertiga previously and anything above 60 used to be a nerve wracking experience whereas the Vitara broke no sweat at crazy speeds one should never take on bends The All Grip system is a gem from Suzuki and I think this system alone makes this vehicle stand out from its counterparts as no one and I can emphatically state this as I have driven all (barring the Elevate) handle as well as this car. Even the normal GV without the All Grip is a capable handling vehicle though it can be matched/bettered in handling by both the Volkswagen Group Twins.

So I would say the system is wonderful on hills , the hill stop assist is a boon , you won't need more than the auto mode which takes care of all normal impediments beautifully , the sport mode is for better handling and cornering and the snow and lock modes are rarely required unless you plan to go for some Off-roading. In my view the All Grip is the version to go for , however it depends on individual preference.

I ride a Fiat Punto (pre facelift - 90 HP version) and have been on lookout for my next car. I will retain the Punto though as the beater. They rarely make such mechanically sorted car anymore and hence this stays in the garage till it can be maintained.

One of key requirements is an AWD/4*4. Mind you Punto is dynamically very sorted and never broke a sweat in hilly terrians. We specially plan trips to such terrain just to enjoy the ride and handling of the car. So good ride and handling balance is one more important criteria.

Was on a trip to Sikkim a year back and I kept thinking how great the drive would have been if my car had AWD or 4*4. It snowed on few occasions and though we were able to manage an AWD vehicle would have really helped. The hilly terrain really needed a lot of focus to the point where I stopped enjoying the drive. Please note that I am not a newbie driving on hilly terrain. I never had issues till my visit to Sikkim where it was continous incline/decline coupled with snow/rain and bad roads. I didnt face any issue at all driving perse but the amount of focus it needed was very exhausting. Cold weather was icing on the cake literally and its the first time in 1.4 L kms (current mileage) that I didn't enjoy diriving at all.

Unfortunately Indian automotive landscape hardly has much to offer in the AWD/4*4 space. Bolero, Gurkha, Thar, Jimny, Scorpion-N, XUV700, Compass, Tuscon and Vitara.

Bolero, Gurkha, Thar and Jimny all ruled out for my use case. I need a car which has ride/handling as close to Fiats as possible and should feel worth the money for 95% of use case (5% of all travels would need real AWD/4*4).

All the above vehciles excel in off-roading but are not great on road to varying degrees.

Scorpion-N, XUV 700 , Compass and Tuscon are the other cars which meet most of my criteria. Scorpion-N doesnt seem worth the price for the interiors it provides. Somehow both Compass and Tuscon dont justify their prices , more so compass. No way these cars should cost any more than 30 L.

XUV 700 meets most of my requirement along with 5 star rating but for some reason doesnt seem butch enough and attention grabbing as the others. Besides the AWD is available only on the 7 seater version only. It pales in comparision with XUV 500. Again it reaches the Compass and Tuscon territory for the AWD version.

The only real option left is the Vitara (Hyryder). I never had it even as an option and just went out to check it. Had 3 test drives - Hyryder once and Vitara twice (one test drive covering 80+ kms).

Lots of compromise if based on the must haves list that I have - auto a must (AWD version doesnt have auto yet), panaromic sun/moon/rain roof (the one in Vitara is but the cover is a joke). This was the first thing my daughter complained. We took the test drive closer to noon and trust me it didnt feel good at all even with the cover in place.

Irrespective of what you tubers and other such self proclaimed experts say the 1.5 L engine is weakest I have seen in a vehicle. Its down right bad. Things get a little better in Sports mode but thats about it. I wanted to hear the 120 kmh buzzer and could not even attain that speed in mild traffic. I had to go to ORR to reach that speed. I have reached speeds of up to 120 kms on these roads in my Punto. Its yawn indcuing trying to reach higher speeds on Vitara. Best is to be around 100 kmh and enjoy the drive. A lesser powerful Punto would smoke Vitara every single time on a highway. And Punto's engine tune mind you is pretty poor. But it makes up for a strong mid range and highly achievable top speeds (one can easily cruise at 120-140 kmh on Indian highways).

But was pleasantly surprised by the Suzuki all grip. Its a highly acclaimed system based on what I read online and I am absolutely convinced about the same. In Auto and rest of the modes it does as expected and in Sports mode its even better especially for highways and curvy roads. Power delivery is much more enjoyable in Sports mode and torque distribution is better from what I have read. Its actually feels better to drive in Sports mode.

I am ok with the interiors. Nothing great for the price but still manageable. Someone who has lived with Punto for 10 years now anything better would do. All I need is an ICE with ability to either screencast mobile or with Andriod Auto. Most car now a days arent VFM anymore. Taxes and manufacturers greed has made sure each one of them is priced 10-20% higher that what their ideal prices should be.

I am still waiting to see the new Duster and next gen Vitara/Hyryder before I take a final call. No issues with my current car (touch wood) and can wait till 2025.

I am hoping Vitara(based on Brezza should ace the BNCAP with at least a 4 stars) and the next gen should have a better engine, autobox, better interiors and better cover for the sunroof. The current engine is just so meh that neither heart nor head agrees to compromise.

Assuming new gen Duster will be launched by 2025 and going by how good the last gen Duster AWD was it should make it to my shopping list along with Vitara. Vitara in the current form with all its good and bad isnt worth the money yet.

[armaaan.in]

While using wireless CarPlay in my Maruti Grand Vitara hybrid Zeta+, I've noticed that my iPhone 13 Pro doesn't charge; rather, it undergoes a gradual discharge of 1-2% after 1-1.5 hours on the wireless charger. The phone also tends to get warm during this process. Is this normal, or is it a specific issue? I haven't observed similar behavior in my Carens when using Bluetooth for streaming, although it doesn't support wireless CarPlay.

[Shwet]

I was talking about the All grip system and jotted my thoughts on the same. I concur with what you have mentioned about the engine, however I think reaching 120 is not difficult on open highways and is easily done, yes it can't be compared with torquey diesels or turbo petrol's , I am in no ways a sedate driver but do keep my cars for long and one punt I have taken is on the long term reliability aspect of the naturally aspirated engine. I am sure it will last for long and I plan to keep the vehicle for more than 10 years. My last ride an Ertiga Petrol was with me for a good eight plus years and clocked 162000 Kms, its engine was as good as new . That has prompted sticking to an NA as buying/changing cars frequently is a futile and costly exercise going forward and I guess it has to be planned accordingly.

Suzuki and Toyota have not laid their bets on turbo petrol units due to some issues which I also feel are genuine. In Indian conditions coupled with inept/poorly trained technicians these units will need proper maintenance which can be a little tricky , for all the joy a Turbo petrol gives it is never going to be a rough and tough cookie which can take everything in its stride and that is what it is going to be exposed to in the dust and grime of India.

[airwarrior]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

The link to the owners manual has already been provided above.

In addition to that, I would like to show you the “S-assist” section screensho.....
Attachment 2473467

Thankyou@ Paddleshifter.
I downloaded the Rewards App but when I fed in the Vehicle Registration number on being asked, it said it did not exist and asked to contact the dealer. The dealer Sales executive said that the app will be enabled on my first visit to the SC. Does that mean we have to wait until the first service to get hold of the Owner's Manual? Or the Sales Executive has not properly briefed me on how to have the Rewards App enabled.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by airwarrior

I downloaded the Rewards App but when I fed in the Vehicle Registration number on being asked, it said it did not exist and asked to contact the dealer…Does that mean we have to wait until the first service to get hold of the Owner's Manual?

Please find the Invicto user manual PDF on the below URL from Maruti Nexa’s official website for the same. These are official website links from Nexa and are safe (When I was a new customer in 2020, I was sceptical at seeing azureedge.net url).

https://nexaprod6.azureedge.net/-/me...m9tk65-pdf.pdf

Audio manual is located here:

https://nexaprod5.azureedge.net/-/me...-tk640-pdf.pdf

URL for user manual of all Nexa cars.

https://www.nexaexperience.com/car-manual

For me (also), the Maruti Suzuki Rewards and Suzuki SmartPlay studio app did not work because the Nexa sales person did not add my phone number in their system properly during the sale. Upon insistence to rectify it after a few weeks, they updated my phone number to another wrong number. Once I got the number corrected (in third attempt) in their online system, registering the car on both the apps was flawless.

Please note that I bought the car (S-Cross) at the peak of first wave of COVID-19 in 2020 so I did not bother about these apps till first service anyway. As per my understanding of their system, your car is already billed in your name in their online system. The issue must be your phone number which needs to be updated properly. Hope that will resolve the issue.

[sndpks]

Originally Posted by airwarrior

Thankyou@ Paddleshifter.
I downloaded the Rewards App but when I fed in the Vehicle Registration number on being asked, it said it did not exist and asked to contact the dealer. The dealer Sales executive said that the app will be enabled on my first visit to the SC. Does that mean we have to wait until the first service to get hold of the Owner's Manual? Or the Sales Executive has not properly briefed me on how to have the Rewards App enabled.

My car’s first service is also done and it’s the same. I wonder why Maruti is not taking this seriously while we have paid for it upfront.