Why I think the Maruti Grand Vitara Zeta AT mild-hybrid is VFM

Seats are Ok, but Creta and Seltos have better seats. So does the Elevate.

BHPian DCEite recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I drove a Grand Vitara Mild Hybrid (K15C) Zeta Automatic variant extensively over the last weekend, and my observations against some of the points you mentioned:

• Sunroof/AC:

The Zeta variant does not come with a sunroof. I was driving the car in Delhi NCR with outside temperatures in excess of 45 degrees. Never I felt the AC performance to be bad. It was quite effective. I think for someone looking for an effective AC and lives in north India, rather go for the nonsunroof variant.

• NVH:

The 4-cylinder engine is quite refined and road noise is also minimal. In fact, I found the interior noise insulation to be better than segment leader Creta. Perhaps, what you mentioned is true only for the strong hybrid.

• Ride:

I found the ride to have nearly perfect balance between stiffness and being compliant at the same time. It's not as soft as say the earlier generation of Creta, nor as stiff as the Seltos. In fact, Maruti has nearly made the handling uber-perfect. Perhaps, the Strong hybrid has different dynamics due to different weight distribution because of EV battery/engine size and weight. Not sure though.

• Seats:

The seats are OK, but Creta and Seltos have better seats. So does the Elevate.

• Music system:

If I talk about the Zeta model alone, this car costs around 15.5 lacs ex-showroom (or less based on discounts) for the AT version.

Now, If I compare it to the non-Bose system in the Hyundai/Kia, it is at par. Of course, one cannot compare it to the top-end models of Kia/Hyundai which come with Bose speakers and subwoofer. But then for the direct price competitor models, the sound quality is at par.

• Headlights:

Again, I found the Zeta variant's LED projector setup to be slightly better in terms of intensity, compared to the Seltos and Creta. The spread though is decent, could have been better.

• Rear seat space and comfort:

The rear space is nearly identical to the Seltos/Creta and in fact wider than the Elevate. However, the Elevate has more knee room.
Regarding headroom, the nonsunroof version does not have any problem. Though in the higher variants with panoramic sunroof, I have a slight issue as I am 5'11.

• Doors:

The doors do not have the heaviness of the Honda/Hyundai/Kia but are not light either. I would not judge the build quality of the car based on the heaviness of the doors or even the door thud alone, but it's decent and comparable to rivals.

These are just some of my observations. For the other points, I did not have much to observe.

But if I were to summarize, the non-hybrid variant, at the price points where it sells, is a decent value for money. The only downside is that you cannot expect spirited highway performance. For mostly city use, this SUV is nearly perfect.

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