[crazydave]

Originally Posted by Gopal Jaidka

Hey guys, I am looking for a 2.4 lt manual GV.Any leads would be appreciated.

There are quite a few of us looking for this mythical beast. Do let us know if you find any good specimens for our inspection too!

[crazydave]

On a more serious note, would like to understand from the long-term or experienced GV owners, what the real-world difference between the 2.0 and 2.4 GV is?

I've come across a couple of 2.4s that are commanding a 4-5 lakh premium over an equivalent mileage 2.0 - is the premium worth it? An alternate view in my mind is - 4-5 lakh premium can instead be put towards an extra 50K of fuel and a lakh or so in a FD for major repairs?

[aditbelw]

Two days back, I picked a pre-owned GV 2.0! Thanks to Sudev & Samurai, for the valuable inputs they gave in their respective threads which helped a lot.

Will be filling up the pages with more information during the weekend!

[crazydave]

Since this seems to be the premier thread for the GV in India, thought I'd add a post about my first inspection experience with a 2nd-hand GV. It's a 2.0, done 55K kms. My thoughts on the car were:

Positives:

1. In very good cosmetic condition (external and internal - and on internal, a detailer can make it look near new anyways, so not too worried about this)
2. Engine bay looks clean - not artificially done up to look clean. No obvious leakage of fluids anywhere
3. Good clutch feel
4. No rattles/squeaks anywhere, despite going over some really bad roads
5. Sales executive was forthcoming, offered on his accord to accompany me to any MASS of my choice to have the car inspected and service record verified
6. Put a smile on my face in my short test drive of 10 mins

Cons:

1. Car is going out of insurance this weekend - so thats an immediate expense of 20K. Will have to negotiate hard with the dealer on this
2. OEM tyres are reaching the end of their life - maybe have another 5-10K odd in them at most. So full replacement is needed soon
3. A/c performance was The compressor was working fine, because I could feel my fingers get numb when pressed against the vents, but the volume of air being put out by the blower was so low! Something to check at MASS
4. Think it is easily overpriced by 50-75K at the least, even if its a so-called 'certified' second-hand car
5. I drove it for 4-5 minutes till I realized that the 4WD warning lights were flashing. Checked and it was on 'N' mode! Salesman had absolutely no clue about what that meant. Said that it had just been driven 20-odd kms since it got to them. Instant regret about considering 2nd hand cars!
6. I am having nightmares about the previous owner driving all 55K kms on 'N' mode! Does anyone know how the quality of the transmission/4WD system can be verified at MASS?

Now while it does seem that the cons easily outweigh the pros, the biggest pro of this first test-drive was that my decision to get a GV has strengthened. I just loved the feel that I got driving it and I think it will be perfect for my needs (than a Skoda Yeti - because Skoda scares me!). So am going back tomorrow for a longer test-drive of 20-30 kms and for a MASS visit for this particular car, and am setting up TDs for the other 2nd hand GVs I've found in the city so far! Wish me luck!

[anandpadhye]

You can quickly check the cabin air filter - it may be clogged.
Why don't you consider the 2.4L version? It will be even more awesome to drive.

Second had definitely saves a lot of money upfront, though one has to inherit previous owner's sins - like I have to with my Tucson.

BTW, correct me if I am wrong, isn't N mode used for towing (transfer case neutral)? I hope nobody drove it in 4WD lock mode for long in the past - that would be detrimental...

Good luck.

[sudev]

If the car was moving in N mode then it can only mean that N mode was not "engaged". IN N mode the car should not move on its own power. Generally when shifting modes you need to press the clutch and keep vehicle in neutral.

As Anand said it get the A/C filter cleaned out.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by sudev

IN N mode the car should not move on its own power.

That's what I have been thinking. Isn't something wrong then?
Tucson does not have a central diff, it has a multi-plate clutch instead and one thing that bothers me is that the user manual says Tucson can not be towed, it has to be put on a flat bed if need arises. I wonder why. Can you help explain the reason?

EDIT: Understood from a few forums that this is because the rear wheels will end up driving the transmission and there will be lubrication issues. The AWDs like Tucson do not have any factory installed way to decouple the rear driveshaft. So 4WDs with central diff like GV have an advatange here as the central diff can be decoupled. Isn't that the "N" mode?

[crazydave]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

You can quickly check the cabin air filter - it may be clogged.
Why don't you consider the 2.4L version? It will be even more awesome to drive.

Second had definitely saves a lot of money upfront, though one has to inherit previous owner's sins - like I have to with my Tucson.

BTW, correct me if I am wrong, isn't N mode used for towing (transfer case neutral)? I hope nobody drove it in 4WD lock mode for long in the past - that would be detrimental...

Good luck.

Thanks Anand. I'd love to get the 2.4 but there are few in the market and at a significant premium to the 2.0, which is why I asked a little earlier if the real world driving experience was significantly better.

On the N mode, after reading the 200mb servicing manual for the GV that I downloaded yesterday, what I understand is that turning the mode dial to N is not enough to select it. You need to hold it there for over 10 seconds till the N mode flashes on the dash. You also need to depress both clutch and brake. If this is not done, even if the mode dial is in N, the automatic transfer case will select the previous driven mode

This is why I guess I was able to drive in the N mode because it was not selected. As I said, the dash kept flashing errors making it obvious that the drive mode was in error. I hope that any self respecting owner would not have driven the car for too long on seeing the dash light up.

GV gurus, please do point out if my understanding is faulty

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by crazydave

I'd love to get the 2.4 but there are few in the market and at a significant premium to the 2.0, which is why I asked a little earlier if the real world driving experience was significantly better.

2.4L, 166 BHP, 225 Nm
IMO, this is what the GV deserved from day 1.
I will say you won't regret paying the premium.

[Samurai]

The AC filter has not been cleaned, since most owners and service stations are not aware of its existence.

That GV is in N mode because it was engaged while another BHPian was test driving it. He called me after the TD, that's how I know.

[crazydave]

Went back today for a longer test drive, on the Jaipur highway. Was very impressed by the car handling, the only 2 concerns were that the wheel alignment needs checking because the car was pulling to the right, and second, the view from the IRVM is really limited. Something to get used in a big SUV I guess.

This was a 2.0 GV and to be honest, while I understand the brouhaha about the 2.4 and 165BHP etc., I never felt like it was gasping for breath when I took it to 100~ kmph/3000 rpm/5th gear. It felt like I could easily take it up another 20-30 kmph and to be honest, thats about as fast as I would ever take such a car (except maybe on the Agra or Mumbai Expressways!). So this was useful, because as I had asked earlier, I was wondering whether the 4-5 lakh price difference between the 2.4 and 2.0 was worth it, given my needs. The answer was a definite no.

The next step was to take it to a MASS to get the service records verified and also get their mechanic to take a short TD and check the 4x4 mechanism. This was an infuriating experience. The so-called inspection done by Apra Gurgaon and its resident idiot/aka service manager, was to gun the GV in all the modes (excepting N) in 1st gear at 40-50 kmph. Thankfully, this was only 5 mins because I was getting livid in the back of the car!

Anyways, quickly put that to a close, went in and checked the service record which was very regular - every year on the dot and/or every 10K, and the only red flag was some gear leakage, that was corrected earlier. Otherwise, it was all regular wear and tear stuff.

This buoyed my confidence immensely. Went back to the dealer's and quickly quoted a fair price, which to my surprise, was quickly agreed upon by them. Im guessing that it was primarily because this is a petrol GV + a 2.0 and had been with them for 2 months (based on their online listing) and they just wanted to move it asap and get on to some other faster moving inventory. Anyways, paid them a token amount as booking fee.

I'm planning to take the car upto Motorcraft Noida, based on Sudev-ji's thread, where it seems that there are mechanics who have seen a GV more than once a year, for a full servicing and checkup. (Sudev-ji, any latest recommendations on service centre and manager to speak to?) Will then return the car to the dealer who's promised a full detailing on the car. Time to start a new thread, outlining my 5-6 month long process to get till here!!!!!!

[sudev]

Originally Posted by crazydave

(Sudev-ji, any latest recommendations on service centre and manager to speak to?)

Rahul Sharma head the Service Centre of MotorCraft Sahibabad. He is also the build and support team head for Team Maruti in Desert Storm and Raid.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by crazydave

This was a 2.0 GV and to be honest, while I understand the brouhaha about the 2.4 and 165BHP etc., I never felt like it was gasping for breath when I took it to 100~ kmph/3000 rpm/5th gear.

Brouhaha? 100kmph needs 3000 RPM in 5'th? Interesting.

BTW, Sudev ji said the car can not move on it's own in N whereas Samurai said some bhp-ean had put it in N and was driving it! Very interesting.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

BTW, Sudev ji said the car can not move on it's own in N whereas Samurai said some bhp-ean had put it in N and was driving it! Very interesting.

Not that interesting. Only the knob is in N mode, not the transmission.

Lots of people make this mistake: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post2876593

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Not that interesting. Only the knob is in N mode, not the transmission.

Oh OK, then not so interesting. My understand of N mode was the same, so I was a bit puzzled that he drove in "N".

BTW, does GV come with factory fitted high running breather tubes for the diffs and transmission?