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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.