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2022 Maruti Grand Vitara AT: Real-world mileage post a 350 km road trip

I chose the mild hybrid over the strong hybrid & here's the justification.

BHPian DImPo recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I took delivery of my Grand Vitara Zeta AT on 13/10/22. The Odometer was showing 50 KM. Filled fuel up to auto cut-off and parked at home.

Had to go on an office trip and returned a couple of days back. I had a chance to take my car for about 350 km (Chennai to Venkatagiri and back). The distance is represented in the car log as below 3 trips:

1) Trip 3: Chennai to Venkatagiri - (route OMR - Guindy - Ashoknagar-Annanagar- Redhills-Tada-Kalahasti - Venkatagiri) Early morning start from Chennai and hence not much city traffic. Stopped at 3 to 4 locations en route for photos.

  • Distance covered: 170 km
  • Time taken: 3.5 hours
  • Speed Range: 40 to 60 km/h in City and 70-90 km/h up to TADA (Toll Road) and 60-70 km/h in balance distance with frequent slowing down due to speed breakers, villages, photos

Mileage as per MID 21.5 km/l

2) Trip 4 - Venkatagiri to Chennai (Padi) - (route Venkatagiri-Nayudupeta-Sullurpeta-Tada-Redhills-Annanagar(Padi) - Started at 6.30 pm and Reached at around 9.30 pm. Lower than usual traffic (due to Eclipse?)

  • Distance covered: 155 km
  • Time taken: 3 hours
  • Speed range: 40 to 70 km/h up to Nayudupeta due to broken roads and speed breakers, 70 to 90 km/h in balance distance

Mileage as per MID 23.8 km/l

3) Trip 5: Chennai Padi to Residence - (Annanagar - Ashoknagar - Guindy - Tidel Park - OMR)

  • Distance covered: 27 km
  • Time taken: 45 minutes
  • Speed range: 40 to 60 km/h (It was around 10 PM, lower than usual traffic)

Mileage as per MID - 22.1 km/l

In order to confirm the MID figures, towards the end of the trip, I filled fuel up to the first cut off and the car took in 19.41-litres giving a mileage of 19.22 km/l (when refilling ODO reading was 430 km, when last refilled ODO reading was 57 km, so distance travelled is 373 km).

Before the trip, the ODO was at 80 km with an average economy of around 8 km/l. After the trip, the ODO is at 439 km and has a cumulative average economy of 21.2 km/l.

I am quite happy with the fuel economy as I would get around 15.5 km/l in my earlier drive (Etios Liva Petrol MT) on the same route. As this included around 25 km of running before the trip and lots of idling at home to explore the car media system, I feel mileage of 22 km/l on highways can be easily achieved by driving in the speed range of 70 to 90 km/h. My decision to go for Mild Hybrid over Strong Hybrid is justified considering that 80% of my travel would be on highways.

My decision-making process:

I started evaluating the options for upgrading my 2011 Etios Liva G (Petrol) for the last 1 year.

  1. Booked the MG Astor base variant in Jan'22 as it was priced below 10 Lac and had all essential and desired features. But, I was not very happy with my test drive due to sluggish pickup. Cancelled it immediately after a price increase.
  2. Booked Kia Carens Prestige 1.5 NA (ex-showroom price was below Rs. 10 lac) on the first day of the opening of booking and was allotted the vehicle in mid-March 2022. However, did not take delivery expecting implementation of BH Series registration in Tamil Nadu. Cancelled it after the price increase in April'22.
  3. Booked Ertiga 2022, XL6 2022 and Brezza 2022 and all were cancelled as by that time it was clear that Toyota cum Maruti compact SUV is about to be launched. Booked Hyryder and Grand Vitara on the very first day of the opening of bookings. I was not able to make up my mind between Hybrid and mild Hybrid. After the price announcement, changed my Hyryder booking to the Hybrid S variant and Grand Vitara to the Zeta Manual variant (mild Hybrid). I was allotted the Grand Vitara Manual variant. Immediately I took action to sell my Liva and registered with Spinny, Cars 24 and OLX Auto. All 3 made their assessments and the offered price was Rs 2.25 lakh by the first two and Rs 2.60 lakh by OLX Auto. NEXA was offering Rs 2.25 lakhs towards exchange. Finalised the deal with OLX and handed over possession. For my office commute, I had to take my co-brother's Grand i10 AMT variant and travelled around 1000 km. The ease of driving an automatic car influenced me to request for change of variant from Manual to Automatic. NEXA sought some time and then confirmed that Zeta AT was available in Blue colour whereas my preferred colour was Grey. I agreed and the allotment was changed. Overall, the experience with OMR Nexa was great and they were really accommodating, responsive and eager to convert my booking. I could not see that eagerness with Toyota Dealer.

I also ordered some Maruti accessories online and within 24 hours, the dealer took the car to their showroom and fitted the accessories - Premium floor mat, Window Visors, Headlamp garnish, car cover etc.

Some Cons Observed:

  1. The indicator/headlamp stalk is not as tactile as was in my Liva
  2. There is no safety lock provision for the driver-side mat to prevent messing up with the pedals.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
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