A lot of things sound good on paper, but somehow don't quite live up to expectations once introduced to the consumer. Like Communism, for instance. Or "The Muppet Movie." The same could be said for the Suzuki Grand Vitara.
Your mouth just about waters when you read Suzuki's specifications for its Grand Vitara. Most small SUVs are equipped with four-cylinder engines. Not so for the Grand Vitara; it sports a 2.5-liter V6. Most small SUVs are also rather wobbly-kneed when it comes to off-highway performance, but the Grand Vitara features big, bad manly-man truck components like optional four-wheel drive, a two-speed transfer case, and a body-on-frame chassis. There are also four doors, decent interior amenities and 16-inch wheels.
It all sounds so good, which is why we pitted the then-new Grand Vitara against its competitors in our 1999 Mini-SUV Comparison Test. The Grand Vitara stepped up, showed off its muscled-up body, revved its V6 engine, and then triumphantly belly-flopped into fifth place out of six vehicles. Hmm, what happened?
The short of it was that the Suzuki's characteristics didn't translate into real-world functionality as well as we thought they would. But we recently heard that Suzuki was introducing an additional version of the Grand Vitara for the 2000 model year. Obtaining one for a quick drive seemed like a good opportunity to take a second look at the Grand Vitara.
The additional model is called the Grand Vitara Limited Edition. This model is now the top-line Grand Vitara for 2000. It has all of the features found on the JLX+ (effectively 1999's top-line model), such as a standard CD changer, alloy wheels and antilock brakes. But it also gains a standard automatic transmission, a black or white monotone paint scheme, an armrest, a hard spare-tire case, gold-trimmed badges and wheels, fog lights, leather seats, and tinted windows. It can be ordered with two- or four-wheel drive. The Limited Edition costs $1,200 more than the JLX+.
We've liked the looks of the Grand Vitara in the past, and the Limited Edition's monotone paint and special alloy wheels only improves things. The paint, tinted windows, fog lights, and spare-tire cover all work together to give the Limited Edition a more upscale look.
The leather seats and armrest are also welcome. If you want leather seats in your small SUV, the Grand Vitara Limited Edition is one of only two small SUVs that offer them. The 2000 Toyota RAV4 Special Edition is the other. With everything else (Honda CR-V, Nissan Xterra, Kia Sportage), you're stuck with cloth.
Too bad the Limited Edition is still saddled with the Grand Vitara's inherent ergonomic faults. Our biggest gripe is that there's not enough room for rear-seat passengers or cargo. Adults placed on the rear seats will likely complain of not having enough legroom. Entry and exit from the rear doors isn't all that easy, either. There's also a lack of nighttime illumination for some of the climate controls and the rear wiper button.
In terms of cargo space, the Grand Vitara Limited Edition holds 21 cubic feet with the rear seats up, or 44.6 cubic feet with the seats folded flat. In comparison, the CR-V holds 67 cubic feet. The Grand Vitara's rear cargo door is easy to use, but it does open to the right, which can make curbside loading difficult.
To get that cargo moving, the Grand Vitara Limited Edition has the aforementioned 2.5-liter V6. It produces 155 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 160 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000. These numbers are near the top of the small SUV class, and the engine does provide good low-end torque. But with our particular vehicle, acceleration was somewhat below our expectations for a V6. The Limited comes with a standard automatic transmission, a $1,000 option on all other Grand Vitaras. Our test vehicle was also equipped with four-wheel drive. These two features sapped a lot of the V6's grunt. The EPA rates the Grand Vitara 4WD as achieving 18 mpg in the city cycle and 20 mpg in the highway cycle. Both of these numbers are on the low side for the small SUV class.
One advantage the Grand Vitara 4WD has is its two-speed transfer case. This allows the vehicle to be placed in 2-Hi, 4-Hi or 4-Lo. Shifting between 2-Hi and 4-Hi can be performed at any time below 62 miles per hour (and traveling in a straight line). Having the option of 4-Lo is very nice, but in some light off-highway testing, we found the Grand Vitara's four-wheel-drive engagement shifter to be rather balky.
General off-highway performance wasn't all that impressive, either. It would be nice if Suzuki offered an optional limited-slip differential, as it would greatly enhance traction in challenging conditions. But one isn't available. The Grand Vitara's stiff suspension is also problematic over bumpy terrain when traveling at anything over 5-10 miles per hour.
The stiff suspension also hurts ride quality when the vehicle is being driven over pavement. Combined with the body-on-frame chassis, the stiff suspension simply doesn't soak up pavement cracks and potholes as well as other suspensions found on more car-like SUVs. The Grand Vitara's ride isn't bad by any means, but like many other aspects of the vehicle, it just doesn't live up to the promise. The Suzuki Grand Vitara has some good attributes, namely its two-speed transfer case and rugged good looks. And if you absolutely need leather seats in your small SUV, then the Limited Edition will be a good choice. But if you don't, there are few concrete reasons to justify paying the extra money. Ordering the Limited Edition also "limits" you to an automatic transmission and a choice of either white or black exterior color.
Taking the bigger fish bowl of small SUVs into account, we feel the Honda CR-V or Nissan Xterra are superior choices. The CRV is a better on-road vehicle, the Xterra excels off-road, and both offer superior acceleration, fuel economy and cargo capacity.
Your mouth just about waters when you read Suzuki's specifications for its Grand Vitara. Most small SUVs are equipped with four-cylinder engines. Not so for the Grand Vitara; it sports a 2.5-liter V6. Most small SUVs are also rather wobbly-kneed when it comes to off-highway performance, but the Grand Vitara features big, bad manly-man truck components like optional four-wheel drive, a two-speed transfer case, and a body-on-frame chassis. There are also four doors, decent interior amenities and 16-inch wheels.
It all sounds so good, which is why we pitted the then-new Grand Vitara against its competitors in our 1999 Mini-SUV Comparison Test. The Grand Vitara stepped up, showed off its muscled-up body, revved its V6 engine, and then triumphantly belly-flopped into fifth place out of six vehicles. Hmm, what happened?
The short of it was that the Suzuki's characteristics didn't translate into real-world functionality as well as we thought they would. But we recently heard that Suzuki was introducing an additional version of the Grand Vitara for the 2000 model year. Obtaining one for a quick drive seemed like a good opportunity to take a second look at the Grand Vitara.
The additional model is called the Grand Vitara Limited Edition. This model is now the top-line Grand Vitara for 2000. It has all of the features found on the JLX+ (effectively 1999's top-line model), such as a standard CD changer, alloy wheels and antilock brakes. But it also gains a standard automatic transmission, a black or white monotone paint scheme, an armrest, a hard spare-tire case, gold-trimmed badges and wheels, fog lights, leather seats, and tinted windows. It can be ordered with two- or four-wheel drive. The Limited Edition costs $1,200 more than the JLX+.
We've liked the looks of the Grand Vitara in the past, and the Limited Edition's monotone paint and special alloy wheels only improves things. The paint, tinted windows, fog lights, and spare-tire cover all work together to give the Limited Edition a more upscale look.
The leather seats and armrest are also welcome. If you want leather seats in your small SUV, the Grand Vitara Limited Edition is one of only two small SUVs that offer them. The 2000 Toyota RAV4 Special Edition is the other. With everything else (Honda CR-V, Nissan Xterra, Kia Sportage), you're stuck with cloth.
Too bad the Limited Edition is still saddled with the Grand Vitara's inherent ergonomic faults. Our biggest gripe is that there's not enough room for rear-seat passengers or cargo. Adults placed on the rear seats will likely complain of not having enough legroom. Entry and exit from the rear doors isn't all that easy, either. There's also a lack of nighttime illumination for some of the climate controls and the rear wiper button.
In terms of cargo space, the Grand Vitara Limited Edition holds 21 cubic feet with the rear seats up, or 44.6 cubic feet with the seats folded flat. In comparison, the CR-V holds 67 cubic feet. The Grand Vitara's rear cargo door is easy to use, but it does open to the right, which can make curbside loading difficult.
To get that cargo moving, the Grand Vitara Limited Edition has the aforementioned 2.5-liter V6. It produces 155 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 160 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000. These numbers are near the top of the small SUV class, and the engine does provide good low-end torque. But with our particular vehicle, acceleration was somewhat below our expectations for a V6. The Limited comes with a standard automatic transmission, a $1,000 option on all other Grand Vitaras. Our test vehicle was also equipped with four-wheel drive. These two features sapped a lot of the V6's grunt. The EPA rates the Grand Vitara 4WD as achieving 18 mpg in the city cycle and 20 mpg in the highway cycle. Both of these numbers are on the low side for the small SUV class.
One advantage the Grand Vitara 4WD has is its two-speed transfer case. This allows the vehicle to be placed in 2-Hi, 4-Hi or 4-Lo. Shifting between 2-Hi and 4-Hi can be performed at any time below 62 miles per hour (and traveling in a straight line). Having the option of 4-Lo is very nice, but in some light off-highway testing, we found the Grand Vitara's four-wheel-drive engagement shifter to be rather balky.
General off-highway performance wasn't all that impressive, either. It would be nice if Suzuki offered an optional limited-slip differential, as it would greatly enhance traction in challenging conditions. But one isn't available. The Grand Vitara's stiff suspension is also problematic over bumpy terrain when traveling at anything over 5-10 miles per hour.
The stiff suspension also hurts ride quality when the vehicle is being driven over pavement. Combined with the body-on-frame chassis, the stiff suspension simply doesn't soak up pavement cracks and potholes as well as other suspensions found on more car-like SUVs. The Grand Vitara's ride isn't bad by any means, but like many other aspects of the vehicle, it just doesn't live up to the promise. The Suzuki Grand Vitara has some good attributes, namely its two-speed transfer case and rugged good looks. And if you absolutely need leather seats in your small SUV, then the Limited Edition will be a good choice. But if you don't, there are few concrete reasons to justify paying the extra money. Ordering the Limited Edition also "limits" you to an automatic transmission and a choice of either white or black exterior color.
Taking the bigger fish bowl of small SUVs into account, we feel the Honda CR-V or Nissan Xterra are superior choices. The CRV is a better on-road vehicle, the Xterra excels off-road, and both offer superior acceleration, fuel economy and cargo capacity.
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