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7500 km / 10 month update of our Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara AT

30th July 2024, 12:02 by Kanad Kalasur

Sorely miss 360 degree camera and integrated TPMS. It’s available only on Alpha variant. We had to skip Alpha variant as the sunroof was hampering my headroom.

BHPian pappyrohit recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It has been a little more than 10 months since we purchased a blue colour Grand Vitara Zeta AT(mild hybrid). Over the ownership period, we clocked 7500kms. My parents rarely use the car in city as they prefer metro for commute. Most of the distance was clocked on highway runs to our village, averaging about 600kms a month. During this period, I got a chance to spend more time with the car as compared to my last update. Sharing my experience below

Service

Completed two free services so far. Third service is due sometime within the next month.
Fuss free service experience. Kalyani Motors (Kanakapura Road) offers free pick up and drop and the staff has been very courteous. No regressions in the car post service.
Service cost has been less as compared to Honda, so far. Will have to see, once the paid service period starts

Driveability

City:
In city, the car is really comfortable to drive. There’s no dearth of power. Size is a tad too big for me, as I mostly drive a hatchback. It’s a little cumbersome to drive in the narrow lanes of J.P. Nagar inner neighbourhoods. But overall, zero bad experience.
Highway:

Absolutely comfortable to drive. Can easily hit the speed limit (max 120kph, that too, only on Mysore Expressway) and the car cruises at the speed without breaking a sweat.
High speed overtakes require a bit of planning and I need to use Physics equations to plan the overtakes.
I really love the cruise control (I sorely miss this on my Jazz). Makes driving on expressways a breeze.
Not sure if it’s the seats and/or engine/suspension setup, but long drives do not cause fatigue, like in the Jazz. I feel a little fatigued while driving over a 100kms at a stretch on the Jazz, but not in the Vitara. Lovely cruiser.

Ride comfort

Really comfortable suspension setup.
17 inch wheels and suspension keep low speed ride reasonably comfortable, especially in the pothole ridden city roads. The high ground clearance adds to the confidence to drive over some really bad roads.
Highway manners are way better than my Jazz. The car is steady at high speeds and barely wallows over undulations and can corner better than my Jazz (soft suspension and undersized wheels on Jazz do not inspire confidence).
Braking needs a special mention. Brakes are solid and braking is fuss free.
An anecdote: We were cruising at about 100kmph maintaining two car lengths with the car ahead of us, on Mysore Expressway. All of a sudden, the car in front of us, veered left, hit a slow moving truck on the side and flipped thrice into our lane. If it wasn’t for the strong brakes on our Vitara, we might have been in the path of the flipping car. Fortunately, there was no major mishap, and the driver(only passenger in the car. Poor guy, fell asleep while driving.) of the totalled car survived with just a few minor cuts and bruises. This incident has increased my confidence in the braking system of the car. 10/10
Fuel efficiency: Suzuki cars are known for their relatively high fuel efficiency. On average I get 12kmpl in peak BLR traffic, and I comfortably manage 18-19kmpl on expressways.

Creature comforts and Safety

Way more leatherette and soft touch materials than my Jazz. Feels a little premium
ICE works fuss free. It had one minor glitch once, in like 9 months. I am no audiophile and I find the sound quality excellent to my taste.
Cruise control works like a charm. I really do not miss ADAS features as it would make the driving experience more boring, imho.
Auto headlamps are tad bit too sensitive. While driving under random tree cover on the road, headlamps turn on and the interior consoles dim, making it hard to read information.
6 airbags and decent build quality. Hopefully the car would be rated 4+ stars in crash ratings.
The car is a little sparsely kitted as compared to its competitors (Creta/Seltos), but I do not particularly miss anything. The current spec suits our needs.
Sorely miss 360 degree camera and integrated TPMS. It’s available only on Alpha variant. We had to skip Alpha variant as the sunroof was hampering my headroom.

Overall, very happy with my ownership experience. We would really love to keep the car for a long term and are not planning to upgrade it anytime soon.