[Raosaheb Desai]

If you are OK with Petrol, then there is no alternative to GV. Its handling is way better than fortuner. Ride is OK, though not as Pajero.
Overall its good package for long term use.
unfortunately its difficult to find one in used market.
Those who buy GV, will never sell it as its reliable machine for both on road as well as off road usage.

I drove older one (V6) couple of times and it was fantastic car.

Except for low economy,its desirable vehicle at this price.

[sridhar-v]

I have short listed the GV - Vitamin M is the only problem. It is very difficult to get a 2.4L AT version in the second hand market.

Have done a lot of comparisons in terms of GC, ramp angles size etc & it come out tops. Have aslo done static legroom & headroom trials and it comes out tops. Do not want to take a test drive till I have the funds in hand.

Whenever I drive in the interiors of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra & Tamil Nadu - there are Maruti MASS at every small town.This is the greatest advantage of a Maruti. You are not more than 40-50 kms away from some emergency help of a Maruti mechanic.

My 2 bits - go with ur heart & buy one.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

What is the basis of this statement?

Call it more faith in Honda and Toyota than Suzuki. Globally the rav 4 and crv are reckoned to be the best soft roaders by many people. Also many cognocosenti say that Honda produce the most bullet proof and the best petrol engines in the world. Just my two cents

[vineethvazhayil]

The GV videos were an eye opener for me on its capabilities! I always thought it is a softroader that can take a little bit of abuse, but it turns out that It is much more than that.. That climb up to the road video was brilliant!

Found this on Carwale - http://www.carwale.com/used/cardetails.aspx?car=D319797

But was the GV in 2.4 form in 2007? I'm pretty sure you can bring that price down even more with the 47000kms the vehicle has done.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

My bad. I've always considered the GV as a soft-roader/crossover because it isn't a true-blue off-roader. Or is it?

The presence of low-ratio makes it at least a moderate offroader, just like Fortuner or Endy.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

How does one define a soft-roader? Something that's small, light, lacks some off-road centric features and is predominantly meant for city-driving and the occasional bad road. NOT for serious off-road trails. I always thought the GV fell under this category.

Softroader is just a SUV designed for highway driving. They usually have unibody (Monocoque) chassis and on-demand 4x4 to deal with slippery roads like snow or ice. But they are not capable of slow crawling, which also needs the massive torque enabled by low ratio.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

But the presence of a low-ratio, and the uni-body chassis construction set it apart from the regular crossovers. And that's what made it special.

Actually no. All crossovers have unibody (monocoque) chassis. And offroad SUVs usually have ladder chassis (body-on-frame) construction. But GV is a mutt, it has unibody(monocoque) integrated over a ladder chassis. Giving it the best of both worlds, toughness offroad and better handling in highway.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

EDIT: Also, since it had the ability to handle like a sedan (nearly) Generally cross-overs are built to be decent handlers and true-blue off-road cars aren't. With a few exceptions of course.

Just because it can handle better, you can't call it softroader.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Call it more faith in Honda and Toyota than Suzuki. Globally the rav 4 and crv are reckoned to be the best soft roaders by many people. Also many cognocosenti say that Honda produce the most bullet proof and the best petrol engines in the world. Just my two cents

Why are you comparing softroaders like RAV4 and CR-V to a moderate offroader like GV? RAV4/CR-V have only on-demand 4x4 without low-ratio and are merely cars on stilts. The OP has long mentioned decent offroad capability as a requirement. How bullet-proof is RAV4/CR-V on bad roads and rough mud trails? You are from Coorg, tell me how will RAV4/CR-V perform in estate trails? I don't have to tell you the importance of low ratio.

GV has been tested on such roads, it survived only because of low ratio. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...reen-dale.html

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

The GV videos were an eye opener for me on its capabilities!

GV is one of the most under appreciated SUV in India. All because it only has petrol model here. It is one of the quirks of being in a country where diesel price is artificially lower than petrol. In most countries petrol is cheaper than diesel. GV is quite popular in such countries. If Maruti had brought the DDiS 1.9L GV to India, it would have been a very popular model like Fortuner.

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

I always thought it is a softroader that can take a little bit of abuse, but it turns out that It is much more than that.. That climb up to the road video was brilliant!

That one was a diesel model. But GV also has 3.2L petrol model. But neither is available in India. But that climb could be done by any GV with the right tyre in low ratio. Traction appears to be good in that climb. And torque is a function of traction.

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

But was the GV in 2.4 form in 2007? I'm pretty sure you can bring that price down even more with the 47000kms the vehicle has done.

The GV 2.4L came out only in 2009. So don't fall for 2.4L from 2007.

[lapsi]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Yeti/XUV are not offroaders, there is no low-ratio.

I wonder why would Skoda say that they have an off-road assistant feature on the Yeti Elegance if it did not activate low ratio.

Maybe this link will help to clarify this Features Skoda Auto -

Cheers!

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by lapsi

I wonder why would Skoda say that they have an off-road assistant feature on the Yeti Elegance if it did not activate low ratio.

Maybe this link will help to clarify this Features Skoda Auto -

Cheers!

Off road assistant is nothing but a Electronic system where electronics such as ECU(affecting power delivery), ESP, ABS, TCS etc get a different setting slightly altering their behaviour for offroading use. Do not expect any miracles with this, even without this the Haldex AWD is pretty smart(in regards to power split to each individual wheel) for a softroader.

Yeti does not have a low range, though the first gear is pretty short but it's no match to full blown low range.It's no way a full fledged offroader, absence of low range, limited ground clearance and road spec tires being major limiters.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Why are you comparing softroaders like RAV4 and CR-V to a moderate offroader like GV? RAV4/CR-V have only on-demand 4x4 without low-ratio and are merely cars on stilts. The OP has long mentioned decent offroad capability as a requirement. How bullet-proof is RAV4/CR-V on bad roads and rough mud trails? You are from Coorg, tell me how will RAV4/CR-V perform in estate trails? I don't have to tell you the importance of low ratio.

GV has been tested on such roads, it survived only because of low ratio. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-ex...reen-dale.html

I agree that the GV will have better off roading capability because of its low ratio 4wd. However, as you know nobody in Coorg, Chikmaglur, the Nilgiris or any other such place actually uses their soft roader for off roading or estate work. We all use our Mahindra jeeps or Gypsy's for that. The most off road it sees is the mud road from the estate to the main tar road which generally looks like the surface of the moon anyway. If these are the conditions we are talking about then a soft roader will do. If more is needed then a GV or Fortuner will be needed.

Another suggestion for a brilliant off road vehicle is the Subaru Forester. I guess it was badged Chevy here though. The only thing with this is that the ground clearance is not as high as could be.

[nanu28]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

I agree that the GV will have better off roading capability because of its low ratio 4wd. However, as you know nobody in Coorg, Chikmaglur, the Nilgiris or any other such place actually uses their soft roader for off roading or estate work. We all use our Mahindra jeeps or Gypsy's for that. The most off road it sees is the mud road from the estate to the main tar road which generally looks like the surface of the moon anyway. If these are the conditions we are talking about then a soft roader will do. If more is needed then a GV or Fortuner will be needed.

Another suggestion for a brilliant off road vehicle is the Subaru Forester. I guess it was badged Chevy here though. The only thing with this is that the ground clearance is not as high as could be.

Yeah the forester is a brilliant car, 6 years ago when I got the skoda that was on my list, but it was expensive at the time, and I was not so keen on off-roading and at the time my usage was mainly the city and E-way, which is gonna change now drastically.

However, as you know nobody in Coorg, Chikmaglur, the Nilgiris or any other such place actually uses their soft roader for off roading or estate work. We all use our Mahindra jeeps or Gypsy's for that.

Yeah I know what you mean, having spent 7 years in the Nilgiri's and driving to Coorg etc. Yes, what I am looking for is indeed more of a Gypsy than a soft-roader. I know that none of the cars without the low 4x4 gear will do, I am talking about places where even at times the Gypsy needs experienced drivers to pull thru.

Samuri, got the point right, and realized instantly what I was mainly looking for, and explained it best.
Thank you.

Now the question is finding the 2.4 :( ...there are plenty of 2.0 but 2.4 are not so common for the price. I don't mind waiting a bit either. Some guys in Mumbai seem to have some 2.4 but I would have to go there and check up sometime with them. So the hunt begins.

[Abhinav667]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Yeti/XUV are not offroaders, there is no low-ratio.

Agreed that it isn't a full-fledged off-roader, but it seems nanu28's requirements are very flexible. A Yeti is obviously more capable than an Innova or anything of that sort. A Yeti will easily pull him out of slush, without a tractor coming into the scene. It drives well like his Octavia, its a diesel, handles well, touching 150+ is easy, is well equipped,is a Skoda and with that all his requirements are covered!

Now I know it will not be as hardcore as a Fortuner or an Endeavour! But since most of his requirements are covered, I think the Yeti at-least deserves a test-drive. Rest is obviously up to him.

[nanu28]

Originally Posted by Abhinav667

Agreed that it isn't a full-fledged off-roader, but it seems nanu28's requirements are very flexible. A Yeti is obviously more capable than an Innova or anything of that sort. A Yeti will easily pull him out of slush, without a tractor coming into the scene. It drives well like his Octavia, its a diesel, handles well, touching 150+ is easy, is well equipped,is a Skoda and with that all his requirements are covered!

Now I know it will not be as hardcore as a Fortuner or an Endeavour! But since most of his requirements are covered, I think the Yeti at-least deserves a test-drive. Rest is obviously up to him.

I am sorry I am not "Happy" either with Skoda, I would be happy to call this one my last skoda, just cause of the issues we have all discussed in these forums, No doubt I love the car, its not the car, but I can't stand Skoda's *** at all, been with them for like 6 years now and has been a nightmare, and I dont think she has seen Skoda's workshop in the last 2, I get everything done from a Mech. outside, and that has saved me a few lacs m sure.

And as far as Yeti's capabilities go, if you guys insist I will take a TD no harm, but I am damn sure,it is not the (Soft-Bad-Off-On)-roader whatever one wants to call 'em. Really you guys are missing the point by recommending the Yeti or the CRV,I am looking for more of a Fortuner, Endy, GV category when it comes to Off-Roading. Somethings on the lines of the pure old Gypsy...

[Guna]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Another suggestion for a brilliant off road vehicle is the Subaru Forester. I guess it was badged Chevy here though. The only thing with this is that the ground clearance is not as high as could be.

GC in the Forester is decent (at 190 mm). Short wheelbase, short overhangs, clean non protruding bottom, self leveling suspension (which maintains the same GC even when loaded) also make sure that you don't scrape the bottom.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by nanu28

Yeah the forester is a brilliant car, 6 years ago when I got the skoda that was on my list, but it was expensive at the time, and I was not so keen on off-roading and at the time my usage was mainly the city and E-way, which is gonna change now drastically.

Yeah I know what you mean, having spent 7 years in the Nilgiri's and driving to Coorg etc. Yes, what I am looking for is indeed more of a Gypsy than a soft-roader. I know that none of the cars without the low 4x4 gear will do, I am talking about places where even at times the Gypsy needs experienced drivers to pull thru.

Samuri, got the point right, and realized instantly what I was mainly looking for, and explained it best.
Thank you.

Now the question is finding the 2.4 :( ...there are plenty of 2.0 but 2.4 are not so common for the price. I don't mind waiting a bit either. Some guys in Mumbai seem to have some 2.4 but I would have to go there and check up sometime with them. So the hunt begins.

@Samurai - My bad. I see you got his requirements a lot quicker than I did. I bow down to you.

@Nanu28 - I don't know if you have considered the Bolero/Scorpio. They are not too bad off road though their on road behaviour is nowhere close to the GV and comfort also is not close.

@Guna - I see you feel the Forester will work for Nanu28.

@Nanu28 - Perhaps you should check if any decent Forester is available, given that you liked it when buying your Octy.

[lapsi]

Originally Posted by nanu28

I am sorry I am not "Happy" either with Skoda, I would be happy to call this one my last skoda, just cause of the issues we have all discussed in these forums, No doubt I love the car, its not the car, but I can't stand Skoda's *** at all, been with them for like 6 years now and has been a nightmare, and I dont think she has seen Skoda's workshop in the last 2, I get everything done from a Mech. outside, and that has saved me a few lacs m sure.

And as far as Yeti's capabilities go, if you guys insist I will take a TD no harm, but I am damn sure,it is not the (Soft-Bad-Off-On)-roader whatever one wants to call 'em. Really you guys are missing the point by recommending the Yeti or the CRV,I am looking for more of a Fortuner, Endy, GV category when it comes to Off-Roading. Somethings on the lines of the pure old Gypsy...

I can completely understand that while you are searching for one thing, say apples, everyone is suggesting oranges, grapes and what-have-you but they are not helping you with an apple. You must be in a completely mode by now. But please suffer us non-apple suggesters a bit more.

A few points to be considered about Skoda are:

1. Skoda is completely aware of the bad reputation they have acquired and when you ask them about it, they agree and promise that things are changing and it will not be an issue.

2. Earlier Skoda had very low volumes but with the Fabia and Rapid their volumes have jumped. Now the service station has enough volumes to cover their overheads without resorting to cheating which they should not have done, in any case.

3. They are pushing the Shoda shield which gives 4 years of warranty, so other than wear and tear, most probably, they will cover everything else that goes wrong.

4. Service interval is annual or 15000 kms and costs about 8 - 10K.

The Skoda Yeti may absolutely NOT be the car you need but what the heck, just take a TD for kicks. You can also check out the off-roading videos on the net.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Samurai

The presence of low-ratio makes it at least a moderate offroader, just like Fortuner or Endy.

Softroader is just a SUV designed for highway driving. They usually have unibody (Monocoque) chassis and on-demand 4x4 to deal with slippery roads like snow or ice. But they are not capable of slow crawling, which also needs the massive torque enabled by low ratio.

Actually no. All crossovers have unibody (monocoque) chassis. And offroad SUVs usually have ladder chassis (body-on-frame) construction. But GV is a mutt, it has unibody(monocoque) integrated over a ladder chassis. Giving it the best of both worlds, toughness offroad and better handling in highway.

Just because it can handle better, you can't call it softroader.

Was aware of the fact that crossovers are built on a monocoque platform, and the Endy, Fortuner are built on a ladder-frame chassis. The presence of a low-ratio will certainly make it a moderate off-roader and will make it more capable than other crossovers in the market. Was also aware of soft-roaders' limited off-road abilities.

I was confused about the term uni-body and did not know that it's a synonym for 'monocoque' and assumed that it's a mix of the two chassis(?) But then I though, "how could that be?" I'm a bit of an off-road noob, but I wish to learn.

I always thought crossovers generally handle better than 'other' SUVs built on ladder-frame chassis.