Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara review: Answers the 'Kitna Deti Hai?' question

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Zara Hatke Test Drive: This is not what we do usually, taking the car back home. We drove the upcoming Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara back to Delhi, from the first drive experience event in Udaipur. Media drives are generally a day or a half-day affair as we spend a couple of hours with the product, seeing, observing and driving the vehicles for our first impressions.

However, this time around we decided to do this differently as the car was different and the first in many ways. Maruti Suzuki rolled out the Grand Vitara with a mild-hybrid, All-Grip and a strong hybrid version; and it was natural for me to be curious about the strong hybrid (and All-Grip version too) as this isn't something to be found on Maruti cars very often. But now let's focus on why it was worthy to be driven on an almost 700 km long road test.

How Grand is the new Vitara?

The Grand Vitara is a people pleaser and a successful one at that. A no-nonsense look which ticks most of the boxes any midsize SUV is expected to. On the outside sits a bold face, thanks to a hexagonal chrome panel all around. This panel ends with a smart strip of LED DRLs on both sides. The headlamp gets a separate slot at the bottom and the strong hybrid version which we were driving also features piano black panels around the headlamps, side cladding and wheel arches. The rear design, on the other hand, has a more attractive light layout which the company calls the NEXTre. This gives the car a very distinct look especially when the sun goes out and lights are out.

Interiors and space:

The strong hybrid version gets different interiors. The theme is dark which makes it a bit edgier. The upholstery is darker, dash comes in dark grey with a few soft-touch panels and inserts. The centre panel gets a copper finish highlight, however, the rest of the elements are very Brezza-ish, including buttons and controls. The space department is satisfactory in the front row. The second row is good with legroom, knee room and seat comfort, but what troubled me was the headroom. For any above-average Indian height passenger, it is going to be cramped. The luggage space too is less than the mild hybrid one due to the battery pack placement underneath the boot. However, there were three of us travelling, with our bags, one big suitcase and camera equipment, and we managed. So, even if there is a deficit of around 50L (compared to the mild-hybrid version), space was good enough.

How new or improved are the features in Grand Vitara?

To keep the value proposition, Maruti cars were devoid of some select features which now have a significant asking among domestic buyers. However, the Grand Vitara is seen as an evolution which answers to this, thanks to the inclusion of HUD, ventilated seats as well as a huge panoramic sunroof - one of the biggest attractions in the feature list of Grand Vitara.

Maruti has been listening to our feedback and now the head-up display shows the navigation as well besides fuel efficiency, rpm, speed and warning lights. The SmartPlay Pro+ fitted 9-inch infotainment system now has wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. This gives me the confidence that the designers and engineers at Maruti Suzuki will listen to me again. I say this because the wireless charger slot needs a redesign as even a small bump displaces the phone from the charger range and eventually, I stopped using the wireless charger. And before I forget, the Grand Vitara also needs a set of stronger headlamps.

Just in case you were wondering the car comes with 40+ connected features (including emergency alerts, breakdown notifications and geo-fencing), cruise control and paddle shifters.

Safety features in the Grand Vitara such as Dual front airbags, rear parking sensors, ESP, hill hold assist, 3-point seat belts on all seats, ISOFIX and engine immobilizer are standard in the Grand Vitara. Higher variants get the front side and curtain airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, 360-degree camera, and hill descent control as well.

Is Grand Vitara a powerful, exciting car to drive?Not exactly, but it feels like the best Maruti car yet. It starts quietly, in EV mode, shifts to the petrol engine smoothly and keeps shuffling afterwards. The display on the infotainment screen or the sign on the MID keeps telling you what mode you are on. The Grand Vitara is really intelligent, depending upon the charge level of 177V battery or your throttle input, it shifts between petrol and the battery. So, contrary to the assumptions, the EV mode can engage at any speed provided the battery is charged and you are not pushing the car hard.

The eCVT was the next thing to impress me. It gives a silent, seamless performance without any drama and delivers a smooth drive. It was only after a couple of hundred kilometres I realised that the eCVT has been working so effortlessly, making this car such a smooth car for the highways and the city.

The engine however can do with some extra initial power and grunt. It can be a bit noisy if you push it too hard too soon. This also reminds me that the car could do with some better cabin insulation. Triple-digit speeds on a rough highway could be a noisy affair.

The steering, handling and braking department is well taken care of. The EV mode requires some extra effort on the braking as the initial power is used in battery recuperation. Overall the car has a balanced performance, for city and highway rides. Also, what we witnessed at the Udaipur offroad section organised by Maruti, even though we drove the All-Grip versions, the car's structure and dimensions can take bad roads as well.

'Kitna-deti-hai' war is on:

We drove the Grand Vitara from Udaipur to Delhi and then to Noida. The total distance was around 700 km. The aim was to figure out the actual real-life fuel efficiency of the Grand Vitara. The company claims 27.97 km per litre, for the strong hybrid version. I was doing the typical highway speed between 80-100 kmph, and crossed towns, and pockets of traffic. Considering all this, I was expecting the real efficiency to be 20kmpl. But, the strong hybrid Grand Vitara delivered 22.8 kmpl of average fuel efficiency.

There was a phase when 'Kitna Deti Hai?' was considered to be an India-specific question and Maruti Suzuki was the undisputed king of that segment. Which is not the case anymore.

Automobile engineers all over the world are working on cleaner and more efficient versions of engines, and looking for answers in electric vehicles, hybrids and fuel cell technology. However Japanese companies, especially Toyota felt more confident in the hybrids. And, the result is the new Toyota Hyryder and the Grand Vitara hybrid. Technology will help Maruti win back the customers who left Maruti, as India's number one car company ditched the diesel engines. Yes, the diesel engines deliver better torque and the heavy-duty SUVs behave better with diesel hearts but the main attraction has been the fuel efficiency. That lot has a new option, the Maruti Grand Vitara hybrid. Maruti has finally entered the midsize SUV segment with a bang. Provided, the prices are competitive and I hope they will be.

-Fuel Efficiency,

-Drive,

-Comfort, and

-Panoramic Sunroof.

-Initial acceleration,

-Lights, reverse camera and features,

-Second-row headroom, and

-Sound Insulation.