Brought home a Grand Vitara Hybrid: Observations in the first 24 hours

My previous car was a Swift, owned in 2011, and I completed more than a lakh km on it before deciding to move on.

BHPian anubhav7286 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I brought home the Grand Vitara Hybrid Zeta+ yesterday. I had been in the car buying zone for almost a year and finally settled on this one. I wanted a SUV in the near 30L price bracket. One thing I was clear on was that I want a newly launched vehicle, I didn't want to buy something that was due to a upgrade in about a year. I wanted something with low maintenance and a running cost that didn't put a frown on my face. For me the ownership experience had to be hassle free. My previous car was a Swift, owned in 2011 when the face lift had just got launched. I completed more than a lakh km on the Swift before deciding to move on from it.

The vehicles I considered during the process:

• Skoda/VW Kodiaq/Tiguan - I liked the test drive on both the vehicles, but the service stories kept me away.
• Hyundai Tucson - I really wanted this car but with delivery timelines exceeding a year, I had to move on from this. Also, the car did seem about 5 lakhs overpriced.
• Mahindra XUV700 - I never considered this knowing the extremely long timelines.
• Tata Harrier - The interiors of this car wowed me. However, my mental block on the Tata brand name made me a little apprehensive.

With the Tuscon, I waited to take a test drive before making a booking. By the time I could manage a TD, the booking lines were long, and my wait period was nearly a year. I wasnt keen on waiting that long. When the Grand Vitara bookings opened, I was at the showroom ready to book.

My booking was at number 1 for the Intelligent Hybrid version. The showroom told me that they will not be able to get me a test drive of the Hybrid vehicle and the first vehicle that comes will be mine. I could cancel if I don't like it after it reaches the showroom.

Last week, the vehicle reached the showroom and I went to have a look at it. At one glance, I loved the colour I had chosen - Chestnut Brown. I was a little apprehensive about the interiors suiting a 20L+ car. The interiors in the Hybrid Zeta + variant looked loaded and very modern. I knew I am getting this one home. Finished all formalities and took delivery of the vehicle on Friday.

The delivery experience was smooth and had a personal touch with this being our 5th Maruti vehicle. The showroom folks had kept the car ready with all accessories fitted and we finished the delivery formalities in less than 30 minutes.

It has been less than 24 hours since the Grand Vitara came home and I damn delighted with it. The hybrid motor is punchy and gives that added acceleration when needed. In the city, the electric motor silently comes on and it takes a while to notice that the car is on. The instrument cluster has loads of information and looks futuristic.

Here are a few photos of the car:

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