Maruti Grand Vitara AWD 3000km Review

The Grand Vitara is fitting well in the CarDekho family. But there are a few hiccups.

In my last report, I noted down my first impression of the Grand Vitara after having driven it for 1100km. Having added 2,000 more kilometres on the odo, my thoughts have matured. While I understand and appreciate the Grand Vitara more now, there are some minor issues I have with it. Here they are. 

It's Very Comfortable

The Grand Vitara should be made tax free by the government because it hides the imperfections of the road. Be it the sharpest or stupidest of speed breakers, bad patches of road or just your average city potholes, the Grand Vitara goes over them with a sense of plushness. The suspension absorbs almost all kinds of bad roads and doesn't let them make you uncomfortable in the cabin. In fact, I had forgotten how bad the roads around my office were until I drove another test car. This is something that my friends and family appreciate too.

Needs more poke, but not in the city

Here goes the debate of do you really need more power in the city in traffic? The answer is:  to each his own. For me, during 90 percent of my commutes, I don't. The Grand Vitara is a laidback car to drive and for the commutes, with the manual transmission, it has enough poke for city duties. Overtakes won't make you sweat and the drive remains smooth. However, in that 10 percent, I do miss the power to leave the traffic behind and have some fun. Especially on the highways, you miss the power for quick overtakes. And because I have driven every single competitor of the Grand Vitara, I know that the segment has that on offer. 

Feature Fixture

This the top variant for the Grand Vitara without the strong-hybrid setup. And for a ‘top variant’ it got its feature priorities wrong. This Grand Vitara skips out on ventilated seats, instead offering a panoramic sunroof, a feature which is a lot less useful but surely looks good on a brochure. And while I am all for large sunroofs in cars,this one gets a curtain which is made of a cloth thinner than a politician's conscience. 

It also misses out on a wireless charger and has no Type C charging ports either, though it gets wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. I would have happily sacrificed the larger touchscreen, and the panoramic sunroof for these more essential features. Also, the centre storage gets no rubber mat to place the phone or keys, causing stuff to rattle and move around. A simple Rs 99 mat fixed this issue but surely Maruti could have offered this as stock on their flagship. 

Niggles

While picking the car up from a lower rpm, there is rattle coming from the rear of the car. While I have not been able to narrow it down, there are two prime candidates for this. The rear windscreen or the number plate. Whichever it is, it is very irritating. 

Another issue that plagued our Grand Vitara was the condenser water pipe leakage. The pipe that takes the condensed water from the AC to outside the car travels via the passenger footwell. And there is a rubber pipe connecting to a solid plastic outlet there. Someone must have kicked it out and that meant the water began leaking inside the passenger footwell making a full puddle. And since the Grand Vitara gets a carpet-type floormat, getting this water to dry and go away was a task. Luckily, putting it back in place only required willpower, and now it’s working fine. 

Finally, it's a good looking SUV. 

The Grand Vitara, especially in this grey shade, to my eyes, is the best looking SUV in the segment. You feel good driving it to a friend's place, to a mall, restaurant or a relative’s place. It is an SUV that truly makes you feel good inside out. And because of this very reason, I am a bit heartbroken that the keys are being taken away from me. Yet again, my long term test car is being taken over by the production department for shoot and backup duties. I am sure that it will perform well there. As far as my reports are concerned, there is an off-road party pending which is going to be a lot of fun! Stay tuned.