[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by Samurai

You mean the hill where my wife is standing? I am not sure which one.

Yes, that one. Also I mentioned 'your third shot'.

About my trip, I'll let you know by Monday.

[iraghava]

Wonderful pictorial Samu! Keep up the good work!

[kpzen]

Wow.!! Wow.!!
Fantastic pics San. Great pictorial. The GV looks great...

[nayakrnr]

man samurai, you are a real samurai..!
you never hesitate to put your vehicle at risk!!

[Absar]

Wow! Samurai! The things you do with your GV are the true things to be done with a 4x4! And you seem to be doing it to get maximum benefit! Serving as a full time 4x4!

cya
A

[Venkatesh.C]

San, you have scored again. Its almost as if I did the off roading. Well written. I liked the fields in the last snap and the tyre section view of the road (your 1st pic) was lovely. Good to see someone putting SUVs where they belong.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Yes, that one. Also I mentioned 'your third shot'.

I was wondering because, it is the same hill shown in the next four shots, the one I off-rode.

Originally Posted by nayakrnr

man samurai, you are a real samurai..!
you never hesitate to put your vehicle at risk!!

Thanks, but the risk was not so high. Our members who go for track events are taking lot more risk compared to me. They can end up with totalled cars. Here I took my time planning the decent, and I had a very competent 4x4 with diff locks, I took it very slow going down and going up. The only risk was not being able to climb back. Yeah, that was one crazy thing. Until I turned back I had not thought about climbing back. Only when I faced the steep muddy incline, I wondered whether I bit off more than I could chew.

Originally Posted by Venkatesh.C

Good to see someone putting SUVs where they belong.

I am able to do this only because I have opportunities around here. Aerially speaking, this location is barely 2Kms from my home.

[Nitin]

Superb write up & very nice pics,Samurai!
I've always been a fan of the Grand Vitara,and it really makes me happy to see someone go off-roading with it. Its been underestimated for a while now..but I see that there are people to prove things right!
We'r waiting for more off-roading reports..

[phamilyman]

kicka$$$$$

When what you have is GV, all the world's a trail

[theMAG]

Samurai,

How does the clutch feel? Is it the same featherlight type from the Swift/SX4 (assuming you've driven one). Basically, what I'm getting at is the longevity of the clutch and towards this end, have you heard anything from the dealership/existing owners?

[binz]

Very nice!

Isn't your car running in .. ??Back in dubai,in 1999 my dad bought an Suv,A hyundai galloper.Two days later my uncle tries some off-roading and manages to get the car stuck.

A week later,my dad is driving on the highway with 4 colleagues at about 140 when he sees a wheel and tire roll past him.Balanced the thing on 3 wheels till it came to a halt.Needless to say,it must have been the scariest situation in his life.

Obviously both situations aren't realated,.. but ... ... you never know!

[Traxter]

Nice adventure...nice pictures. GV seems a great vehicle to own. Would really love to drive down to coastal Karnataka, scene look beautiful. I suppose rains have stopped by now..

[akroy]

Samurai, That is some serious off-roading on this few days old SUV...The pics were amazing !!
Now make a drive to Bangalore via SHiradi Ghat

Abhi

[rjstyles69]

Samurai nice report coupled with excellent pics,the GV sure looks appealing.

How does the clutch feel? Is it the same featherlight type from the Swift/SX4 (assuming you've driven one). Basically, what I'm getting at is the longevity of the clutch and towards this end,

Same question here about the clutch life ?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by binz

Two days later my uncle tries some off-roading and manages to get the car stuck.

A week later,my dad is driving on the highway with 4 colleagues at about 140 when he sees a wheel and tire roll past him.Balanced the thing on 3 wheels till it came to a halt.

Obviously both situations aren't realated,.. but ... ... you never know!

You are right, they are absolutely not related. Running-in is not an exact science. Some say take it easy, some say push it to every level (including extremes), some say drive it like normal. When I took delivery of 2001 Acura 3.2TL seven years back, I asked about running-in, the service manager blinked and said drive however you want. Still you got to understand that GV was not under any stress during this whole exercise. I didn't rev beyond 3K, I was doing below 20Kmph during the entire off-road duration. And there is nothing to say I can't use 4L lock during running-in, after all even the diff locks need some running-in, don't they?

Originally Posted by akroy

Samurai, That is some serious off-roading on this few days old SUV...The pics were amazing !! Now make a drive to Bangalore via SHiradi Ghat

I might go to Sakleshpur and back , but I am scared of getting stuck in some traffic jam which is a daily thing there.

Originally Posted by theMAG

How does the clutch feel? Is it the same featherlight type from the Swift/SX4 (assuming you've driven one). Basically, what I'm getting at is the longevity of the clutch and towards this end,

I haven't driven Swift/SX4, but the GV clutch is not really featherlight, it is more like Baleno clutch. But aren't all-time 4x4 clutches quite different from 2WD clutches?

I am hoping some hard-core off-roader on the forum would comment about the degree of difficulty of the off-roading I did. Although initially it looked difficult, it looked quite easy once I took off from the top, the slope surface was quite level with only a occasional crevice which I could easily avoid. I didn't have to deal with slush or water, no holes to fall into, and GV was hardly put into any stress in the whole exercise, it looked like kid stuff for GV.

As the 4x4review site says, GV is more of an off-roader than on-roader. Source: 4X4REVIEW.COM - 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara XSport They also say 2.7L V6 (185hp) is an anemic engine (Mine is 2L, 120hp), those boys are really spoilt brats. Still they are awed by GV's off-road abilities.