My Maruti Grand Vitara mild-hybrid: 14 likes & 9 dislikes after 1600 km

This SUV is tuned for fuel efficiency rather than performance. Got 23-24 km/l on highways at speeds of 75-90 km/h with full-time AC on and 4 occupants on board.

BHPian tj123 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Here are some of my impressions after driving my Grand Vitara Zeta (AT) mild Hybrid version for around 1600 km. Driven around 600 km on National Highways, rest on small dual carriage state highways and city.

Here is what I liked in the car:

1. Looks are subjective, but somehow I don’t like the excess chrome in the front of the car. The rear looks much better with those sleek-looking tail lights
2. Commanding driving position, with good all-around visibility
3. I feel that the car is put together well at the Toyota plant in Bidadi. Decent safety package, all disc brakes, a proper 3-point seat belt for the rear middle passenger, 6 Airbags, and the usual ABS & EDB, ESP etc.
4. Engine & Transmission – the K-series engine is quite refined and silent. Hard to guess if the car is turned on, couple of times I accidentally pressed the start-stop button and then realised my mistake by looking at the tacho. The Torque converter AT creeps up nicely once the brakes are released, great for city rides. The performance is smooth but becomes quite lazy at highway speeds above 80kmph due to the tall gear ratio setting.
5. Suspension setup is quite stiff and it can handle rough roads/potholes with ease. The car did quite well on broken forest roads in Nagarhole reserve forest and some country roads, so far the car has held well with no rattles or squeaks
6. 210mm ground clearance gives me confidence in doing some mild off-roading without scrapping the bottom
7. Decent 9" infotainment system. Had some issues with CarPlay and Android auto due to my inexperience in handling the system.
8. Steering feedback and response are good, weigh up nicely as the car gains speed
9. Highway manners are confident and it feels quite planted at highway speeds
10. Braking performance is reassuring
11. Seats are firm and comfortable over long rides
12. Service experience - 1st service was done at 900 km it was just a general check-up, chassis bolt tightening and fluid top-up hence just gave the car along with the Valet driver
13. Fuel Efficiency - I am a sedate driver and I feel that this car is tuned for efficiency rather than performance. Got 23-24 km/l on highways at speeds of 75-90 km/h with full-time AC on and 4 occupants on board. 10-13 km/l in Bangalore city traffic
14. Interiors – The Korean cars offer better-looking interiors, but I have no problem with the dark interiors (easier to maintain)

Dislikes:

1. Turning radius is a bit higher than my liking, doing a U-turn can be a bit challenging on small roads
2. The gearshift lever position (P-R-N-D-M) is difficult to slot especially in the dark as the position indicator is not illuminated, I have to look at the central MID to confirm
3. AGS is quite aggressively tuned, as soon as I brake, it shuts down the engine. Quite irritating in bumper-to-bumper traffic
4. Engine performance is quite lethargic once one crosses 80km/h
5. Low beam LED headlight performance is good but the high beam throw is not that great as per my liking
6. Non-availability of TPMS is a big miss on this car, Maruti could have at least given it as an accessory
7. Sunglass holder does not have any felt lining, sometimes can hear the annoying noise of my glasses sliding in it
8. Infotainment system- experienced some issues reconnecting to Google maps after stopping and restarting the journey. The android auto maps screen goes blanks and then I have to disconnect the phone to fix it. Not sure whom to blame for this glitch the phone or the infotainment system software or both
9. Lack of cooled glovebox which the Brezza also offers

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