Our tester was clad in Splendid Silver paintwork. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe After five months and just about 5 000km, we bid farewell to our long-term Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.5 GLX automatic this week. In contrast to the usual one-week periods we spend in test cars, living with one model for almost half a year afforded us the rare opportunity to experience it like your typical owner would.
Being a compact SUV wearing the second most loved badge in the South African market, we are happy to report that the GV ticks every box its sets out to do. It turned out to be as comfortable, dependable and easy to operate as you’d expect from a Suzuki product. But it misses another Suzuki-renowned trait.
The value aspect. With the hybrid all-wheel drive Suzuki Grand Vitara quietly discontinued locally, the GLX auto has become the flagship GV. But its price tag of R453 900, a R72 000 premium over the GL auto, is not doing it any favours and this reflect in its slow sales.
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On the other hand, its aggressively priced production sibling the Toyota Urban Cruiser has gone from strength to strength. Figuring out why is easy when you see the flagship Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.5 XR auto’s price of R373 800, a sticker even less than GV GL auto. The Toyota’s spec sheet is much shorter and does not include the likes of a panoramic sunroof, head-up display and 360-degree camera.
But is clear that buyers are willing to forgo these comforts on the price sensitive side of the market. One of the reasons the GV’s smaller siblingthe Suzuki Fronxis so successful is that it fights in the lower R300k segment, low enough on the scale to keep it fairly Chinese proof. And by undercutting its Toyota Starlet production sibling, it is the one model in the two manufacturer’s alliance that has managed to outsell the Toyota locally.
Speaking of the joint venture between the two Japanese carmakers, the Suzuki Grand Vitara is power by the KB15B 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine. This trusty mill powers most of the models assembled in India by Maruti Suzuki regardless of which badge they wear. The four-pot free-breathing engine produces 77kW of power at 6 000rpm and 138Nm of torque at 4 400rpm which is sent to the front wheels.
Weighing in 150kg heavier than the Fronx, you do need to rev the GV slightly higher to keep it on the boil, but it nonetheless still does what it says on the box. The four-speed automatic gearbox is not everyone’s cup of tea as it can be a tad lethargic to shift and drone under hard acceleration. But for those blessed with a bit more patience, it goes about its business just fine in everyday traffic sparing the driver from having to operate a clutch.
Or those horrible dual-clutch or CVT configurations in lower end Chinese cars. Speaking of products from the People’s Republic, the GV does not suffer from any throttle calibration issues.
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