Maruti Suzuki’s completely new Grand Vitara is almost here and, after our brief experience in Rohtak, we had a proper set of drives in Udaipur where we spent time with all four variants. Here’s all you need to know.
Story: Jim Gorde Photography: Maruti Suzuki
New Grand Vitara – What’s New?
Simply put, pretty much everything. The new Grand Vitara is an all-new mid-size SUV built on the global C-platform; which also underpins the new Brezza. Here, the wheelbase has been extended to 2,600 millimetres, similar to the old S-Cross, but the new Grand Vitara is longer, measuring 4,345 mm from nose to tail, 1,795 mm wide and 1,645 mm tall. The styling is bold and eye-catching, with a huge grille and chrome surround, piercing LED light arrays with integrated with daytime lights and turn-indicators, projector headlamps below, and a sweeping bar LED tail-light cluster and “Grand Vitara” badging in chrome. The wheels are 17-inch dual-tone alloys with 215/60 rubber and all four disc brakes.
New Grand Vitara – Interior
Inside, the new Grand Vitara gets a neat two-tone black and beige theme in this “Alpha” trim level with seats upholstered in a neat maroon and black dual-tone scheme of their own. The side windows are large and light in the cabin is aplenty, helped by the huge dual-pane sunroof with a thin veil of a sunblind. The steering wheel is new, with smart controls and the screens—part of the SmartPlay Studio Pro+ package—adding their own element of modernism within. The “Alpha+” trim in the Hybrid model also gets audio controls on the steering wheel, as well as ventilated front seats. Only the Hybrid models getting wireless smartphone charging in the centre console, among other details.
New Grand Vitara – Engines
The powertrains in the new Grand Vitara are essentially two engines and four drivelines. The first three use the familiar 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, mild-hybrid petrol engine–with 103 hp and 137 Nm, paired with a 2.2-kW integrated starter-generator (ISG) for assist and recuperation–paired with either a five-speed manual (with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, rated at 21.11 km/l and 19.38 km/l respectively) or a six-speed automatic with front-wheel drive, rated at 20.58 km/l. The fourth is the hybrid or “strong hybrid” with Toyota’s TNGA 1.5-litre, three-cylinder, Atkinson-cycle petrol engine that is joined by a 177.6-volt battery pack and an electric motor to put out a peak combined 116 hp and an estimated 200 Nm of torque. It boasts of 27.97 km/litre.
