[pannags]

I have been following up on my booking for the Zeta+ with NEXA, but was told that the allocation can take as long as 6 months. I escalated this to the branch head at the dealership - which is incidentally the same place from which the first car to roll out was my S-Cross - and things seemed to move at blazing speeds. I received a call in the afternoon saying that the car of my choice (variant and colour) is ready for allocation and that they need to invoice it immediately owing to the month end. Appears to me that there seems to have been a cancellation or just the pressure to close invoicing of all available cars in stock.

Nevertheless, I decided to pass this one to another customer in queue as the price difference, despite the 60k package coming free, was still coming to 50k compared to the Hyryder.

Apart from understanding the confusing pricing details better, I obviously also wanted to carry out a PDI before they allocate the car to me. They have agreed to keep me posted a bit more in advance, but I do get the feeling that wait times are likely to considerably reduce in the coming weeks.

Just for reference, the price quoted for the Grand Vitara Zeta+ Single Tone, including the introductory extended warranty & pristine accessories package (which they claim are discounted from the price), and a mandatory 19k worth basic accessories kit, was INR 22.33 L

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by XRoader_001

Autocarindia has now corrected the typo-error !!

hahaha. This is funny. They couldn't secure 1L booking for the Grand Vitara so they clubbed the Brezza and put it as 2L bookings

The whole idea to push the launch date of the Grand Vitara and price reveal was to get 1L bookings like Mahindra did with ScorpioN

[Safari-Surfer]

As my Tata Safari has been hanging in the hangar for three months due to a fuel injector issue, I am searching for a replacement. This time, I don't want to drive a big vehicle as I am the only pilot in my home and tired of searching for parking in India.

So, I checked many cars, including the Thar. I liked everything, and my family hated everything I would have even waited for the 5-door Thar as it may sort out two of the biggest complaints, i.e. comfortable driving and luggage space.

Someone shared news about the launch of the Grand Vitara, aka Toyota Hyryder. With a twinkle in my eye, I called the Nexa showrooms in Nerul and Kharghar. The phone was on IVRS, and after juggling with it, I decided to visit the showroom even without any intel in hand & gotcha! The car was there; however, after going near, I found it was a damned XL6. The staff told me Lord Vitara (sorry, Grand Vitara) would visit only on certain days; I was wondering if I had come here to see a car or some deity.

Gulping my guilt, I went back again after some ten days at Nerul Nexa, and by the grace of God, we got the Darshan of the car. This time, we got a good response along with tea and were allowed to inspect the vehicle inside and out. However, the testing was still 15 days away. Then I went to Toyota Sanpada Navi Mumbai, but the executive there was more eager to push us out than explain the car (probably he was in the middle of dream 11). Rejected and dejected, I complained, but nothing much happened. Still, I kept hearing good things and again decided to try my luck with Wasan Toyota Panvel. I liked the Blue colour AWD model, and I was ready to forgo some part of my ego (which had outgrown my head). But after reaching, they again directed me to Sanpada, saying that the test drive car was available for the day. Anyhow, I went there and luckily got a test drive of the hybrid, as no manual was available; but the test drive was such a short one (hardly 10 minutes), and it seemed like they were in a hurry and in no mood to explain anything about the car.

Finally, writing off Toyota, I headed back to Nexa one more time, booked a test drive online, and even got a call. They assured me someone would bring the car to my home the next day. I was a happy guy again.

The next day, forget about the home test drive; even when I went to Nexa Nerul, they politely told me, "Sir, test drives have not started as yet as cars were unavailable. I was like, "then how are you delivering cars? Hope Suzuki has not goofed up sending cars to buyers instead to dealers."

Furious, I called their customer support to complain and guess what? After explaining for half an hour, the fellow on the other side told me rather flatly, "Sir, I will look into this. But would you like to book this car?" This means that the fellow was getting confused between booking the car and booking a test drive.

I never faced such issues, even with Tata. Maybe I am an unlucky guy when it comes to these Japanese cars, but bad luck can't strike all the time. I am searching for people who vouch for their customer support. I mean, if this is a level of service before you book the car, what will be the post-sales service? I am scared to even think about it.

Secondly, how do they have cars to deliver but not for test drives? It means they feel their cars are so good that no test drive is required, AND they have reasons to think like that.

Last I heard, they had got 2 lakh bookings!

Who are those people who book a 23 Lakh Rupees car without a test drive?


I can't comment much on cars, as plenty of that is written, but I wonder if this is an exception or the new norm. Please share if anyone has had a similar experience recently with Suzuki/Toyota.

[volkman10]

Grand Vitara bookings cross 77,000. Dispatches 13,000 and retails are at around 10,000 units.

In October alone, the company received 17,865 orders. Helps to increase its Mid-SUV market share.

It was 7% in September and are expecting it to be around 12.5% in October

Link

[anubhav7286]

Originally Posted by Safari-Surfer

Secondly, how do they have cars to deliver, but not for test drives? It means they feel their cars are so good that no test drive is required, AND they have reasons to think like that.

Last I heard they had got 2 lakh bookings?

I can't comment much on cars as plenty of that is written, but I am still wondering if this is just an exception or the new norm? This is my first write up, so excuse me if I have overused emojis, Also please share if anyone has similar experience recently with Suzuki/Toyota.

I was in the same boat as you when it comes to booking a car without a test drive. With the Hyundai Tucson, I waited to see and test drive the car before booking. In that wait, my waiting period to get the car went upwards of 8 months. With the GV, I forced myself to go ahead and book the vehicle without even looking at it. If I didn't book, I realised I wont get the vehicle in 6 months. The caveat being, you can cancel the booking at anytime, even after the car comes to the showroom. My car came to the showroom, I looked at it, liked it and purchased it. The sales manager did offer a test drive on the same vehicle at the yard, but i let it pass and bought the vehicle without a TD. With vehicles having such long wait periods, you can either plan a vehicle 1 year in advance and have a test drive or buy a vehicle as soon as it launches without a TD.

[volkman10]

With Grand Vitara raking in more numbers the Grand Vitara and Hyryder duo sells 11.4k units in October.

The dispatches for Grand Vitara and Hyryder were in full swing and both models combined sold over 11.4k units.

Link

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Safari-Surfer

The staff told me Lord Vitara (sorry, Grand Vitara) would visit only on certain days; I was wondering if I had come here to see a car or some deity.

This problem is not specific to Suzuki or Toyota. This is across the board. I was car shopping in September. The only OEM that gave a ready test drive was Kia. Maybe our stars were aligned that day. All other dealers (Hyundai, Nexa, MG) fixed up an appointment and brought the test drive car home.

Heck there are showrooms without display models.

[buntee90]

We brought our Grand Vitara Zeta MT in blue Color home on 12th October. I have driven it just below 1100 (800km highway:300km City) Kms over the past two weeks.

What i like:

* Good safety package; 6 Airbags, Disc Brakes all round, ESC, Hill Hold Assist, Safe Global C platform.
* Looks handsome from the back and sides, okayish front.
* Big car feel, commanding driving position, good ergonomics;everything essential falls in reach easily.
* Consistent build quality and nice looking interiors. No rattles and squeaks till now.
* Very refined and silent engine. Top Class NVH; almost at par with 1.5P NA creta.
* Very tractable engine in the city; 20Kmph in 3rd gear no problem, press the accelerator lightly and torque boost from from 48V mild hybrid system ensures there is no lag. We can easily potter around town in 3rd and 4th gear. Part throttle response is good enough for the city speeds.
* Comfortable and sorted suspension; small speed breakers at speed; no problem, flyover joints; no problem. The ample ground clearance of ~210mm ensures there are no under body scrapes on rural roads which I frequent regularly in south western part of Haryana.
* Responsive and glare free 9" infotainment system. Wireless CarPlay and Android auto works flawlessly with iPhone 13 Pro and Oneplus 9 Pro.
* Mileage is very good; 19-20Kmpl on highways at speeds of 90-100 with AC on and 2 occupants on board. 14-15 in city is easily manageable with AC.

What i don't like:

* Front end of the car could have been better; Toyota Hyryder has better looking front end in my opinion.
* Engine performance is just okay for my needs; nothing exciting like the 1.5NA of Honda City. Further compounded by the fact while i was waiting for delivery formalities, I drove the Grand Vitara Hybrid variant for a short distance and I was blown away by the the initial acceleration of the Hybrid ! I don't think any car below 25L(non- electric) can touch it till 80Kmph. Afterward it tapers off.
* Engine noise creeps in after 3000RPM. But in don’t drive over 3000RPM either way.
* Light doors; they don't close in one attempt 5 out of 10 times- very irritating.
* Sound quality of 'Arkymys Tuned' infotainment. It is acceptable after a few tweaks.
* Creta has plusher ride at low speeds.
* Okayish Headlight performance; good at low beam but struggles at high beam on undivided roads with vehicles coming from opposite direction. I believe Brezza has better headlight throw and brightness.



Initial Shortlist :
1. Brezza Zxi AT: Reliable, Spacious, Efficient, Good AT GearBox, No head room problem for my 6’2” Dad, Looks Okay. Booked in 1st Week of September. Was offered a Silver Dual Tone Zxi AT by a SA from Pasco Gurgaon but I was in two minds at that point. When I called the SA a day later after consulting my family, the car was sold already. Otherwise this post would have been about the Brezza AT!

2. Sonet HTX D AT: Great Engine Gearbox Combo, Cramped cabin , Stiff Suspension Bouncy Ride. Ruled Out

3. Seltos HTK Plus Petrol MT: Overall a good car with 6 Airbags, all wheel discs, ESP as standard. Ruled out because of Poorer looks as compared to HTX variant which was overpriced by a good margin despite not offering many upgrades over HTK plus. The questionable safety rating of almost 3 Stars and unstable shell finalized the decision.

4. Creta S Plus Knight Edition P MT: Same as Seltos but Plusher ride and panoramic sunroof. Ruled out due to Safety issue.

5. Taigun and Kushaq were ruled out due to less than normal AC performance which i experienced during a TD. The 1.5L variants were going out of budget. Road presence was an issue too. They look like Nexon, XuV 300 Competitors.



While waiting for the Brezza Zxi AT the I was thinking that the Grand Vitara Zeta AT variant should not cost more than 1.5-1.8L than Brezza Zxi AT but Maruti had other plans. The GV Zeta AT was around 3.2L dearer than Brezza Zxi AT. Thought of going with Grand Vitara Delta AT for a short while; it was costing around 1L more than Brezza Zxi AT. But that idea was dropped due to too many misses as compared to Zeta variant.

Meanwhile I was calling all the dealers in Delhi NCR about a lucky Brezza Zxi AT cancellation. Some dealers were pushing 20-30k additional accessories to which I said a firm NO. The wait continued.

Test Drive Experience;

In the meantime Grand Vitara deliveries commenced before the Test drives started! and I inquired about TD of MT version just out of curiosity. Got a call from Rana Nexa Gurgaon and immediately I jumped at the TD. The location was 25Km from my residence. The TD car was a Blue Alpha MT. First thing i noticed that the interiors were so much nicer than the Brezza. We were 4, 80Kg plus Persons in the car and I took a long Test Drive from Rajiv Chowk to Kherki Toll Plaza and back(~20Kms). The gear shift was precise and easy. The car had good low end response. It was calm and composed at 100Kmph when it went over undulations on the highway. The engine response was fine as I was upgrading from a 2014 wagon-R. The Grand Vitara has confidence inspiring brakes. I found them superior to a friends' Seltos.

Came back to home and started calculations: Zeta MT variant was perfect for us. 6 airbags, Alloy wheels, rear wash and wipe, All wheels disc brakes, ESC, Hill Hold, Great headroom for my 6’2 father, 9” responsive infotainment among various little other things like thoughtful cabin lights at inside door handles. For 1.6L over Brezza AT I was getting a far better looking car, 6 Airbags, 17” wheels, 9” Infotainment. Misses were Sunroof which my father was already against(he was pushing me towards Brezza Vxi AT) and AT gearbox. Since the use case was 30:70 City:Highway running a decision was made in favor of MT Grand Vitara.

Booking and delivery experience:

My ongoing booking of Brezza AT at Pasco Gurgaon was coverted to Grand Vitara Delta AT and later to Zeta MT at Pasco Nexa Gurgaon. Further, I had a feeling that Grand Vitara will be available easily because of the ‘High’ price And I was right ! Magic Auto Dwarka, Delhi called me a week later about a Blue Zeta MT available for immediate delivery. No accessories were pushed, insurance matched to my quote, overall a very good experience at Magic Nexa Dwarka.
For loan I went with SBI; minimum documents and best deal at 7.85% , the Branch Manager even sent the documents to my office for signing. Overall a great experience with SBI.

Delivery date was finalized and after a little drama with the Dealership accounts people( over the Loan payment not coming through) finally got the car a 7:15 PM on 12th October with all Family members.



With Mom, Dad with Daughter and Niece taking delivery!

Cost breakup:
*1389000₹ Ex showroom
*103500₹ Registration and road tax Haryana (with 10% Roadtax rebate for mild hybrid in Haryana)
*40500₹ Insurance SBI General with RTI, Zero Dep, Engine and Gearbox Protection and lock and key replacement
*885₹ Maruti rewards:
* 5070₹: Accessories: Nexa branded 3D doormats , Visors, Mudflaps:
* 13890₹ :TCS
* 23600 Extended Warranty up to 5th Year.

Total ₹15.76L On road Gurgaon.

Here are my initial impressions after driving just shy of 1100Km.



Rear 3 quarters


Side view

Looks:
The car looks great! It looks like Range Rover from behind and from side it looks like Jeep Meridian. It looks big from the outside. Looks was the primary reason I went for the Vitara over Brezza Zxi AT. Other reason was Brezza AT were nowhere to be found after a month of booking.

Comfort and NVH:
I am upgrading from a 2014 wagon R; first thing I noticed was how eerily silent the Vitara is! No outside noise, you can just cruise at 90-100KMph all day and talk to each other without any disturbance. Second is ability to soak up bumps and undulations on highways. The Wagon R was wobbly and unstable over 70 on uneven roads. The Vitara is planted and unfazed by potholed marred Delhi-Jaipur NH-48.

AC performance: With UV cut glass and rear AC vents the cabin should cool down quickly. Can't comment on the AC performance much as temperatures have mellowed down in NCR in past couple of weeks.

Ergonomics and interiors:
The driver's seat is very comfortable. I have completed two 300 Km round trips and there was no sign of any fatigue. Good seat quality and silent cabin goes a long way ! The view from the driver's seat is just great. It has good seat adjustment range and with Tilt and Telescopic steering driving position is also very comfortable. Coming from Wagon R, I found interiors to be well appointed, but the large grain hard plastic on the top part of dash board and door trims could have been better. There are plenty of storage spaces, doors can hold 1L Water bottles. Place to keep key and misc stuff is also there.

Engine gearbox and mileage:
The engine has good low end response and you can easily potter around town in 3rd-4th Gear at speeds above 20KMPH. The Gear shift is precise and clutch travel is just right. You will have no problem with gearbox in the city with light traffic. The boost from 48V battery does help with the part throttle response.
On highway the car is very comfortable at speeds of 90-100. As already mentioned in the review the car maintains 100Kmph with Engine spinning at 2900rpm. The instantaneous mileage on MID hovers between 19-20 Kmpl. I was sceptical about the mileage and engine noise at such high cruising rpms earlier, but after driving over 200Km on the awesome NH 152D Trans Haryana Highway that doubt was laid to rest. Some amount of engine noise does creep inside after 3000rpm but nothing some good music can't handle. I believe 19-20Kmpl on highways at speeds of 90-100 and 14-15 in city is easily manageable with AC on. In the first tankful over 550Kms the average was 16.9 Kmpl with 500KM of highway and 50 Km of dense traffic with lot of Idling.

Infotainment and Sound Quality:
Wireless CarPlay and Android auto works flawlessly with IPhone 13 Pro and Oneplus 9 pro. The 9” Infotainment is smooth and responsive. No problems there. Sound quality is nothing to write about. It does the job after a few tweaks to the equaliser.

Tyres and Brakes:
The Vitara Zeta comes with 215/60 R17 Apollo Apterra Cross. They rated for Mud and Snow. I found them better in terms of comfort and road noise than Yokohama Earth 1’s shod on my cousin’s Swift and a friend’s Brio. Braking is excellent all round. Got an opportunity to test brakes once on the highway when a stray dog appeared from nowhere, the car shed speed quickly without any drama and was planted throughout. Credit to the tyres too. I think the Apollo Apterras are underrated.



First service done at 1080 Kms ! No issues.
Will try to keep updating the thread.

Cheers!!

[pannags]

Originally Posted by buntee90

We brought our Grand Vitara Zeta MT in blue Color home on 12th October. I have driven it just below 1100 (800km highway:300km City) Kms over the past two weeks.

For 1.6L over Brezza AT I was getting a far better looking car, 6 Airbags, 17” wheels, 9” Infotainment. Misses were Sunroof which my father was already against(he was pushing me towards Brezza Vxi AT) and AT gearbox. Since the use case was 30:70 City:Highway running a decision was made in favor of MT Grand Vitara.

Many congratulations on your smashing blue, new ride

If one were to choose the best VFM offering in the mild hybrid configuration, it has to be the Zeta. In fact, I believe this is true for the AT as well despite the 3L premium over the Brezza. The icing on the cake is that there is no sunroof forced on you.

[volkman10]

Grand Vitara shows robust demand as the company dispatches 8052 cars in October.

Maruti Grand Vitara has made an entry into the Top 25 at the 16th spot.

Link

[autobahnjpr]

Grand Vitara at number 16 in top 25 list is a big achievement for a pricy car from MSIL. It is very surprising to see Innova absent from the list as it used to clock 6k+ sales month on month till August/September. Stopping the booking of Innova diesel seems to have hit Innova sales numbers badly. And Hyryder is not able to achieve same sales as sibling Grand Vitara which might negatively impact revenues of Toyota as Innova was bread and butter model for it.

Looks like MSIL is again climbing back to capturing 50% of market share which is not healthy for long term competition.

[d-g-p]

Originally Posted by autobahnjpr

Grand Vitara at number 16 in top 25 list is a big achievement for a pricy car from MSIL.

At the same time Brezza despatches has gone down below 10K mark. This is for a car which has 3-4 months waiting as per most sources and numbers for which was 15K+ in last few months. Bad inventory management or Semiconductor shortage or Transportation issues ? Maruti ain't bad at any of them. Brezza made a scapegoat for Grand Vitara ? Something fishy here !
It will be interesting to see the data breakdown between smart hybrid and Full Hybrid.

[PreludeSH]

I am seeing so many of these Maruti/Toyota twins mostly with Hybrid badge behind. Still not able to differentiate without looking at the front !

Its sure looks handsome with tall stance and the gap between wheels and fender adds to the stance. Only the dash looks little busy with all the cuts and creases.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

I am seeing so many of these Maruti/Toyota twins mostly with Hybrid badge behind. Still not able to differentiate without looking at the front !
.

Maruti- Light bar connects the two rear lights.
Toyota- Chrome bar connects the two rear lights.
Easy.

That said, the Toyota logo is huge as to not miss.

[buntee90]

Originally Posted by d-g-p

Maruti ain't bad at any of them. Brezza made a scapegoat for Grand Vitara ? Something fishy here !
It will be interesting to see the data breakdown between smart hybrid and Full Hybrid.

I am 100% sure that Maruti is prioritising production of the Grand Vitara as it comes with greater profits! I waited for Brezza AT and then decided to go for Grand Vitara as Brezza AT was no where in sight and every other dealer was quoting 26-32 Weeks waiting.