The First Grand Vitara on Team-BHP

nitrous · 19th November 2007, 15:37

Mag, The GV is a Completely Built Unit from Japan.
The build quality is leagues ahead of the cheapskate Maruti.

Samurai · 25th November 2007, 19:31

Today I was driving on NH-17, for some unknown reason I looked down at the odometer. It was showing 1000, the initial run-in over!

I got so excited, I announced it to all the passengers in the car. My parents and aunt in the back seat didn't understand the excitement. But the old man in the front seat shared my joy. In the first 20 days of ownership, I have been driving very sedate, always shifting to higher gear as soon as possible, etc. In Baleno I always used to drive one gear low. But here with GV I was more concerned with FE, so I was shifting too soon. So I continued driving like that. Finally the old man told me to quit straining the engine and shift down and keep it in the right power band.

After dropping the old man to the airport, I decided to drive hard the way back. Since I was alone, I could fully focus on the road and not on conversation. I tend to drive slow whenever I have company to talk. So I drove hard in the twist, passing every car in the front, the FE be damned. Now that the NH-17 has been fixed, I could rip on the highway too. I took some curves in 100Kmph and it was solid as a rock, no bodyroll, the car was planted and sounded effortless. The 4th gear is very responsive. The old man rode shot gun in GV for 375Kms within 47 hours and his verdict: Very Compact, Not Sluggish. Expect lots of photos when he finishes his post-processing.

condor · 25th November 2007, 22:54

Samurai, so the GV is all set to be unleashed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

Finally the old man told me to quit straining the engine and shift down and keep it in the right power band.

OT: I feel that's the way a car should be driven. Letting it be in the power-band will mean that sufficient power is available at all times - at any speed / gear. Esp when one wants to acclerate suddenly. Also, the lesser strain on the engine would mean the engine will perform at it's optimal best for a much longer time.

tifosikrishna · 25th November 2007, 23:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

Expect lots of photos when he finishes his post-processing.

wow thats great news. just can't wait to see the photographs.

supercars · 25th November 2007, 23:55

Cool write-up and you sound more like a kid than a married man. In some ways it is good as it shows you love your new vehicle.

Samurai · 26th November 2007, 00:22

All the following were shot by Rudra using his Canon gear and my modest tripod which could barely hold the heavy equipment.

Parked in front of my office.

On the way to Agumbe ghat

Somewhere between Hebri and Karkala

Sunset reflection on the GV parked 40ft from my office room.

Meanwhile I decided to shoot the shooter. The hunter became the hunted. Ahem, I am talking photography here.

Rudra tracking a white rhino in the African grasslands....

skandyhere · 26th November 2007, 03:51

Had to chip in with my homage! lol... beautiful pictures, beautiful landscape. more grasslands are expected - keep shooting.

Jaggu · 26th November 2007, 10:27

ol man has done it again!! great car great images

best photographed GV !!

lohithrao · 26th November 2007, 11:57

Wow nice shots there!
and did i read "NH 17 is fixed" ??? if yes thats a very good news

rangaraj · 26th November 2007, 15:15

Rudra, the ad streak shows!

normally_crazy · 26th November 2007, 15:55

Samurai / Rudra,

No pics of the rear ? Please post some if you fellows have any ! I want to see the rear !

@ Samurai - you sure are lucky to live in a place where you can park the car on the road and then take your own sweet time shooting it - man thats awesome.

Samurai · 26th November 2007, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

No pics of the rear ? Please post some if you fellows have any ! I want to see the rear !

Look at the first post on this thread, there are many rear shots by me, but none from Rudra.

Quote:

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

@ Samurai - you sure are lucky to live in a place where you can park the car on the road and then take your own sweet time shooting it - man thats awesome.

At least in 3 locations Rudra sat on the road for 15-20 minutes as if it was a bed. The rare vehicles that passed by gave him a wide berth.

CrAzY dRiVeR · 27th November 2007, 07:55

Excellent pics once again. The best photographed GV in India!

Quote:

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

No pics of the rear ? Please post some if you fellows have any ! I want to see the rear !

http://samurai.smugmug.com/photos/225272990-L.jpg
This is from the off-roading thread.

akroy · 27th November 2007, 09:03

Excellent Pics Samurai San thanks to the great location and even greatest photographer.

Abhi

Samurai · 27th November 2007, 11:55

Ok, time for mileage report.

On Friday I filled 53 liter of regular petrol (full tank) since the needle was at E. Looks like GV retains 15lt of petrol when it hits E on the 65lt capacity petrol tank. The mileage meter showed 7.8kmpl and I got 8.2kmpl actual by dividing 435kms on the trip meter. This included mostly inner town roads, my 1Km commute to work and some highway driving. Looks like the mileage meter shows little less than the actual. I filled just before leaving my town for the airport to pickup Rudra, and reset the trip meter and mileage meter.

On Sunday when I reached home after dropping Rudra back to the airport, the trip meter read 513Kms. Today I filled again at 519kms, and it drank up to 52.7lts. The mileage meter showed 9.6kmpl, but I got 9.85kmpl. This time the driving was mostly two lane highway driving at 40-80kmph, some low gear driving in Agumbe ghat, some off-roading, some city drives, etc.

I still have no idea how much FE I can get in expressways and 4 lane highways. I haven't seen one in nearly two years, except in my US trip.

19th November 2007, 15:37	#151
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	Mag, The GV is a Completely Built Unit from Japan. The build quality is leagues ahead of the cheapskate Maruti.
	() Thanks

25th November 2007, 19:31	#152
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,831 Thanked: 45,585 Times View My Garage	Today I was driving on NH-17, for some unknown reason I looked down at the odometer. It was showing 1000, the initial run-in over! I got so excited, I announced it to all the passengers in the car. My parents and aunt in the back seat didn't understand the excitement. But the old man in the front seat shared my joy. In the first 20 days of ownership, I have been driving very sedate, always shifting to higher gear as soon as possible, etc. In Baleno I always used to drive one gear low. But here with GV I was more concerned with FE, so I was shifting too soon. So I continued driving like that. Finally the old man told me to quit straining the engine and shift down and keep it in the right power band. After dropping the old man to the airport, I decided to drive hard the way back. Since I was alone, I could fully focus on the road and not on conversation. I tend to drive slow whenever I have company to talk. So I drove hard in the twist, passing every car in the front, the FE be damned. Now that the NH-17 has been fixed, I could rip on the highway too. I took some curves in 100Kmph and it was solid as a rock, no bodyroll, the car was planted and sounded effortless. The 4th gear is very responsive. The old man rode shot gun in GV for 375Kms within 47 hours and his verdict: Very Compact, Not Sluggish. Expect lots of photos when he finishes his post-processing.
	() Thanks

25th November 2007, 23:55	#155
supercars BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 484 Thanked: 27 Times	Cool write-up and you sound more like a kid than a married man. In some ways it is good as it shows you love your new vehicle.
	() Thanks

26th November 2007, 00:22	#156
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,831 Thanked: 45,585 Times View My Garage	All the following were shot by Rudra using his Canon gear and my modest tripod which could barely hold the heavy equipment. Parked in front of my office. On the way to Agumbe ghat Somewhere between Hebri and Karkala Sunset reflection on the GV parked 40ft from my office room. Meanwhile I decided to shoot the shooter. The hunter became the hunted. Ahem, I am talking photography here. Rudra tracking a white rhino in the African grasslands....
	(2) Thanks

26th November 2007, 03:51	#157
skandyhere BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Charlotte/Blore Posts: 347 Thanked: 92 Times	Had to chip in with my homage! lol... beautiful pictures, beautiful landscape. more grasslands are expected - keep shooting.
	() Thanks

26th November 2007, 10:27	#158
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,215 Thanked: 15,907 Times	ol man has done it again!! great car great images best photographed GV !!
	() Thanks

26th November 2007, 11:57	#159
lohithrao Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kudla/Mangaluru Posts: 3,204 Thanked: 225 Times View My Garage	Wow nice shots there! and did i read "NH 17 is fixed" ??? if yes thats a very good news
	() Thanks

26th November 2007, 15:15	#160
rangaraj BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 570 Thanked: 10 Times	Rudra, the ad streak shows!
	() Thanks

26th November 2007, 15:55	#161
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 528 Times View My Garage	Samurai / Rudra, No pics of the rear ? Please post some if you fellows have any ! I want to see the rear ! @ Samurai - you sure are lucky to live in a place where you can park the car on the road and then take your own sweet time shooting it - man thats awesome.
	() Thanks

27th November 2007, 09:03	#164
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	Excellent Pics Samurai San thanks to the great location and even greatest photographer. Abhi
	() Thanks

27th November 2007, 11:55	#165
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,831 Thanked: 45,585 Times View My Garage	Ok, time for mileage report. On Friday I filled 53 liter of regular petrol (full tank) since the needle was at E. Looks like GV retains 15lt of petrol when it hits E on the 65lt capacity petrol tank. The mileage meter showed 7.8kmpl and I got 8.2kmpl actual by dividing 435kms on the trip meter. This included mostly inner town roads, my 1Km commute to work and some highway driving. Looks like the mileage meter shows little less than the actual. I filled just before leaving my town for the airport to pickup Rudra, and reset the trip meter and mileage meter. On Sunday when I reached home after dropping Rudra back to the airport, the trip meter read 513Kms. Today I filled again at 519kms, and it drank up to 52.7lts. The mileage meter showed 9.6kmpl, but I got 9.85kmpl. This time the driving was mostly two lane highway driving at 40-80kmph, some low gear driving in Agumbe ghat, some off-roading, some city drives, etc. I still have no idea how much FE I can get in expressways and 4 lane highways. I haven't seen one in nearly two years, except in my US trip.
	() Thanks