[suman]

Wow, a lac & forty, Congrats Sudev! The only thing that keeps me from turning to this vehicle as the replacement for my Safari is the fact that its a Petrol vehicle with a lower FE.

Otherwise, you've shown us what a GV is capable of

[sudev]

Suman the petrol and FE issues are heavy on the pocket but on the other hand the uptime has been fabulous and R&R is reasonable.

[sudev]

A longish trip over extended weekend.


The last oil change was at 135000 so decided to get car serviced on return. Car was in garage only for wheel alignment check and to pick up tow strap as I was likely to be doing lots of off road sections.

Started 20th evening by 1900hrs from Delhi and back by 2300hrs on 22nd. In between just the petrol expense was Rs17000+!!!!


Bad issue:
1. Low FE. Combination of very high speed drives and lots of driving off road in sandy areas. Chocked air filter could be the culprit.
2. Slight "hum" from differential at constant 120kmph speeds. Disappears when de-accelerating. Looks like diff needs a oil change and may be more.
3. Left hand low beam bulb is needing replacement or connector needs checking. Light works randomly.
4. Wipers are lousy. Even after market Bosch have disappointed.
Attachment 459173

Good issues:
1. Excellent lumbar and thigh support from seats. Guzzled fuel worth Rs18000 in four days covering lots and lots of kilometres. ;-)
2. In the event hardly needed "low" range selector as it had rained in last few days so the sand was firm.
3. Good grip and firm handling continues.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by sudev

Guzzled fuel worth Rs18000 in four days covering lots and lots of kilometres. ;-)

18k Fuel in 4 days . Considering Rs 9/Km You covered 2k in 4 days. Or is the Per km cost higher than that

[sudev]

No per KM fuel cost is lower but the kilometres covered are higher. Slightly more than 2500kms in four days. And another correction - fuel for GV was Rs16000. Another Rs2000 was for "Jeep" taxi that accompanied us for the day around Jaisalmer. He was supposed to be the local who would guide us through the interiors. It ened up us guiding him with our GPS and track repository built over last few years of recce's.

"That hum" from differential is more than just oil change. The front diff bearing is needing change. I am only hoping that long distance high speed driving with "play" in the thrust bearing has not had more impact than that. At worst the crown gear could also be worn. Will know when we open the diff. Keeping finger crossed.

The bulb low light was not due to anything but a "carbonised" bulb holder. replaced the same and now head lights are back to normal.

Another problem that appeared on return was the battery went dead. Since it was two months short of warranty expiry have got a new battery as replacement.

@MODS: Title change needed. "Suzuki Grand Vitara: 145000kms in 40 months"

[sudev]

Update at 155000kms:

Did the duty for Desert Storm 2011 in between. A simple 4000kms job in seven days of madness. No rest and lots of driving at crazy hours and lots of off the road driving.

Felt a bit loss of power and got very low FE. Dusty environment leading to chocked air filter was one contributing factor.

But where as I was getting fuel efficiency of ~9kmpl in city conditions earlier this has dropped to < 8kmpl. On highways where I would get ~11kmpl I am never getting more than 9kmpl at very moderate speeds. High speed dash drop this figure further. And during the storm this was abysmal < 7kmpl.

Also I have been noticing about 500ml of mobile oil being consumed every oil change for last few times. However when we had done a compression test but the readings were within norms. So the conclusion was that some valve seat leakage is occurring. The likely cause is over heat suffered due to

I hated the idea of opening up the head for top overhaul so had let things lie for last 30000kms. Now with average also going down we again did the compression check. Again the results were within limits.

So at 155000 the following have been started:
1. Clean/replace all sensors
2. Open the head to check on the valves
3. Since head is going to be opened also follow "groove" theory and see the results

Will post pictures later and once the above is done also post a review of changes felt - for better or worse.

[nilanjanray]

Sudev, what's the latest km score?

Are you thinking of moving to a diesel vehicle, or planning to keep the GV around for a few more years?

[sudev]

@Nilanjanray: ~165000Kms. Keeping the GV for now. Still enjoyable drive and composed. Also the cost differential of letting go and buying a new diesel SUV gives less return than keeping the GV running 8-)

[sridhar-v]

Hi!

Since you have also test driven the Yeti I have a few questions:-

1. How would you rate the yeti for pure 4wd activity like your Dune Bashing & Route surveys?
2. How do the 2 compare in terms of handling & manuverability?
3. In almost all yeti demos they show one test where it goes over a staggered ramp and one wheel is in the air for a considerable time without spinning - the effect of the electronic Limited slip diff effect. Is this really effective in real world situations? And how does the GV perform in such conditions?

I am actually looking to buy, next year, a "BADROADER" (tough car for our bad roads) and estimate that 4wd capability will be required only for 5-10% of the total distance travelled. So need to accumulate more Vitamin M. Other wise I may have to fall back on the SX4.

[sudev]

@sridahr-v : Will try my best to answer the queries:

#1 : As long as the question is of need for grip and not torque the Yeti should do fine. So for instance simple driving on sand should not be a problem but if you are looking at slow speed crawls there is o way this can be done.

#2 : Yeti would is very agile. GV runs very "taut" on all surfaces. Have not experienced Yeti over fast undulating surfaces.

#3 : The "ramp" can be done in many ways. The trouble spot is when you are going down right side one and climbing the other on left side. That is where one wheel in front and one at back looses traction. This "spot" has to be over come with momentum in both vehicles as there is no LSD. Have gone through "ramp" in a two wheel drive Bolero also. So essentially there is also question of technique here. Both Yeti and GV can do stop and go, with Diff in Lock position for GV.

Vitamin M dictates Yeti flavor because of fuel - diesel vs petrol - costs. That being not in equation I would pick GV any day.

[barcode]

Sudev, what a comprehensive discussion.

I see the last post was several months ago, and would like to give it a bump.

I came across a fantastically maintained Vitara the other day. Actually a friend saw it for himself, but he settled for a auto CRV.

This sample is a manual and done 40k in a little over 3 years. Its available for 6.5L plus transfer etc. I thought might as well just pick it up for fun. I have been a big fan of the vehicle and the test drive in this particular sample was quite good. The only thing it needs replacing is the tyres (badly). All the services upto date. The trunk lever has a slight niggle to it, but I am sure its fixable eventually.

My question is the ability to find spares - how difficult is it to find them in NCR in 2012

[Jaggu]

1.65 lakhs in 2 years GULP! That's some major kms clocked! But goes on to show how good this vehicle is and the care that you give her.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by barcode

This sample is a manual and done 40k in a little over 3 years. Its available for 6.5L plus transfer etc.
My question is the ability to find spares - how difficult is it to find them in NCR in 2012

That is a bloody bargain! Mine has done 48K in ~4.5 years. What do you mean find spares? Why can't you order via MASS like I do in my small town?

Originally Posted by Jaggu

1.65 lakhs in 2 years GULP! That's some major kms clocked! But goes on to show how good this vehicle is and the care that you give her.

No... that 1.65 lakhs in 4 years. He must have crossed 2 lakhs by now.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Samurai

No... that 1.65 lakhs in 4 years. He must have crossed 2 lakhs by now.

I think he has slowed down, he's clocking more kms in i20 and Thar these days.
Won't be surprised if he still has managed to reach the 2lac mark

[Jaggu]

My bad 4 years, still its <eye popping> my swift is at 60k at 5 years and yes there is a definite slow down with the Thor and i20 in garage.