[rangaraj]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Hi

I have been reading Sudev's and Samurai's Grand Vitara threads with keen interest.

Have been thinking of going for a Grand Vitara, but I haven't been able to get much information about the cargo space with 5 people sitting in the car. I looked at the Maruti site, and the cargo space seemed too small however, when I looked at the global Suzuki site, the cargo space seemed decent. I have a big, exuberant Irish Setter - and we love going for long drives. We recently had a baby, so that means that the dog can't be on the back seat like before. I have a few newbie questions:

1. Can he fit in the cargo and be comfortable during long drives - if there are 5 people in the car? Or will he be able to fit in only if I fold the back seat?
=

This might help - figures are in Lts.
Boot Space HondaCRV GM Captiva Vitara
3'rd row in place N/A 85 N/A
2'nd row in place 556 465 398
2'row folded 955 930 758

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

1. Can he fit in the cargo and be comfortable during long drives - if there are 5 people in the car? Or will he be able to fit in only if I fold the back seat?

Tough question, the dog might get claustrophobic. Best thing to do is visit the local Maruti dealer and check of the vehicle yourself.

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

2. Is there an option to fit an original equipment luggage carrier on top of a Vitara? I am thinking that luggage + dog might be a tight fit.

It is a Suzuki luggage carrier available internationally for GV, but not in India. Here they sell only vanity accessories for GV, but nothing useful.

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

3. What is the water fording capability of a GV (e.g. a Pajero claims 60 cm i.e. 2 feet)?

The air intake is placed quite high, above the Suzuki logo on the grill. But with petrol engine, you never know. The fording height of GV is not a published data.

[nilanjanray]

Thanks Samurai - planning to visit the showroom soon.

Your signature: is that Musashi or Sun Tzu? I used to be a serious martial arts practitioner (mixed martial arts). Ironic that in spite of all the tradition and marketing done by the Japanese and the Americans, the heavy weight greatest of all times is from Russia, and that the best kickboxers come from Holland.

[Samurai]

It is more Musashi than Sun Tzu, since it mentions sword. But I don't remember reading it in Go Rin No Sho either. I think it is a very old saying, no definite source.

[TheOne®]

Wow sudev,

I have just stumbled across your thread by coincidence, started reading and looking at the pics and couldn't stop anymore until I finished everything!

Great travelogue, awesome pictures - please post more. I enjoyed every bit of it so far, and it is a lot of fun seeing how you actually live those experiences.

[JayD]

Wonderful pics sudev, nice to see 4X4's being utilized to their full potential.

[sudev]

Last pictures from Desert for a while.
Here is crossing a largish sand dune ...
http://lh4.google.co.in/sbarar/R-ThT...0_1493.JPG.jpg

I found that GV rides over sand effortlessly. Time and again where other vehicles were hopelessly stuck we were able to skirt them with ease and approach over the sand drift without feeling least bit put out.

http://lh4.google.co.in/sbarar/R-ThT...0_1493.JPG.jpg

Just a happy picture of GV by the milestone. During the Desert Storm I was up and out early morning much before sun up and day ended late. Daily driving average 500kilometers for six days. But not once I felt fatigued or lost the sense of pleasure while driving. Good machine to go on long trips...
http://lh4.google.co.in/sbarar/R-ThT...0_1504.JPG.jpg

Mod Edit: Please note the newer and the only way to upload photos to Team-BHP here. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-team-bhp.html

[FlyingSpur]

Man, sudev, you're totally living the life I'd love to !! And driving that car the way it's meant to be, and where it's meant to be. Fantastic. But sudev and samurai, what sort of FE figures do you guys get? I know it's a crime to ask but that engine is thirsty as hell from what I've heard. The best looking SUV IMHO.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Man, sudev, you're totally living the life I'd love to !! And driving that car the way it's meant to be, and where it's meant to be. Fantastic. But sudev and samurai, what sort of FE figures do you guys get? I know it's a crime to ask but that engine is thirsty as hell from what I've heard. The best looking SUV IMHO.

"door ke dhol suhane" or the grass is greener on other side....
I get FE of 9.5~10 in local driving. If I do long drives with a light foot keeping within 100~110kmph I can get 12 and if I just use the foot as I please generally the worst is 8.5. This trip was 8.8 overall including jungle drive and hills.

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by sudev

"door ke dhol suhane" or the grass is greener on other side....
I get FE of 9.5~10 in local driving. If I do long drives with a light foot keeping within 100~110kmph I can get 12 and if I just use the foot as I please generally the worst is 8.5. This trip was 8.8 overall including jungle drive and hills.

WOW

Thanks sudev. Then why do I keep hearing about GV's, even the M/T, giving no more than 7kmpl ?!?!?! Or are you naturally a very restrained/calm driver? I'd have my dad buy one tomorrow if I was convinced about that 9kmpl+ figure !! Hey Samurai put in a word here regarding your FE ?

[sudev]

Last week end I had planned to visit Corbett and was looking forward to some interesting driving in my GV but the weather gods had some other ideas. The place where I was to stay was closed since it could be reached only after crossing the Ramganga river couple of times and rains had meant that river was not crossable. So here we are wondering where to go.



We finally stayed at Pangot (if you are interested in knowing more about that read here However since we had plenty of time at hand we decided to take a drive through forest road from Powalgarh to Sitavani. Powalgarh has been immortalized in true story about man eater by Jim Corbett. Sitavani is reputedly the place where Sita spent her life after leaving Ram to raise Luv and Kush.



The forest guard at Powalgarh barrier did not quite get it when I still insisted in paying for the entry permit despite being informed that the road is full of slush due to rains. The road is gravel and mud and crosses local rain drains that are prone to flash floods. However it also passes through dense and lovely forest.



One reason I was interested in this drive is that unlike in Corbett you do not have the mandatory guide tagging along. This has a flip side too if you get lost. But with my GPS recording the track that was not a valid fear. Plus I wanted to let both my sons also get their hands wet on off road driving.



Lovely forest road with through dense forest and snaking around trees and rivulets was very inviting.



Plus being on our own gave us chance to be a little more free in getting out and taking pictures. While one or the other guy tried a little slush riding.



Rocky inclines shook us to the bone even though we were crawling up these being very very careful not to ground the sump. Getting a vehicle stuck in middle of this 12 km drive was last thing one wanted.



Although overall the track was clean and smooth once in a while you went over some big rocks or a trough that had potential to be lethal if not driven carefully.



All of a sudden we emerged from the forest canopy to a wide open valley that stretched for almost a kilometer. Surrounded by lush greenery the rocky river bed was to be traversed as the track went across.



Small slush pits were no less daunting and both guys had great fun in getting stuck and then trying out the techniques drilled in by their old man (me) on how to get going without yet touching 4x4 lock......



and not forgetting the huge splashes made when passing through water logged areas.



Lest you feel we did not see anything. We spotted many variety of birds, wild boars and flora that was simply amazing. Parasite creepers were every where and so was north facing algae that grows on the trees.....



and this fox that was trying to hide itself in the rocks in hopes that we will not notice it eating a jungle cock that it had killed.



Well wait on and I will post more.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Thanks sudev. Then why do I keep hearing about GV's, even the M/T, giving no more than 7kmpl ?!?!?!

Confusion about the old Vitara and the new one perhaps. The old beast was a V6 with oodles of power.

[Samurai]

Well, my GV has never been to a 4 lane highway yet. Therefore, all my driving has been in 2-lane roads, mostly bad roads. On long trips I have got around 9.8kmpl with a various mix of roads. When I drove continuously on NH-17 with less traffic, I have noticed maximum of 11.2kmpl on the display. BTW, the average FE display on the GV is very very accurate, almost 0.1 accuracy, so you can believe the display.

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Well, my GV has never been to a 4 lane highway yet. Therefore, all my driving has been in 2-lane roads, mostly bad roads. On long trips I have got around 9.8kmpl with a various mix of roads. When I drove continuously on NH-17 with less traffic, I have noticed maximum of 11.2kmpl on the display. BTW, the average FE display on the GV is very very accurate, almost 0.1 accuracy, so you can believe the display.

So in-city, say Mumbai (traffic as bad as Bangalore) one can expect a 9kmpl figure with, errr, un-tBHP driving? That's fantastic. Now I wish they could throw in some leather and spruce up the interior.

[maddy42]

Great writeup and lovely pictures sudev. Pretty impressive vehicle.