News

Got a Grand Vitara mild hybrid: Booking, delivery & initial impressions

27th January 2024, 11:04 by Dev Shah

I considered the Honda Elevate as it got launched around the time when I started looking for a new car.

BHPian Gedaliah recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This write up is to provide information and updates to the esteemed members of this forum on my experience with the booking, delivery and maintenance of a Grand Vitara Mild Hybrid (Manual) edition.

Prologue:

Coming from a middle-class background, a car sometimes felt not really a necessity. However, growing up during the Knight Rider, Street Hawk era, Cars and Bikes were always a part of our childhood fantasies. My childhood car experiences were in the usual Ambassador, Maruti-800 progressing to the Maruti 1000, Zen, Esteem and a rare journey here and there in the Omni. I believe most middle-class population in that era would have experienced the same. We personally owned an Ambassador, 800 and an Esteem (over varying time-periods). These were usually for long distance travels, vacation tours and some weekend trips. For our day-to-day travel and luggage carrying purposes we had the good old Mahindra Jeep. I remember gawking at the rarely visible imported cars such as Toyota Celica, Toyota Corona, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Estima and a rare Honda Civic or Accord as I grew up and travelled to few cities for higher education.

First Car:

Once I found a job, the thoughts of buying a car somehow started. It was not a necessity that time. However, once the colleagues started talking about the new car launches the materialistic instinct pushed me into thinking about buying one. So, it was the already famous and reliable Alto-800 that was bought in 2006. It was super reliable car with the gem of an engine. The maintenance costs never crossed 5-6000 per year during the entire 11 years that I kept it. The running too was not much averaging about 6000 KM per year. The point to note is that I was never stranded anywhere with it other than few punctures that I faced. It served me well and I have only fond memories about it.

Second Car:

Even though the Alto did not show any signs of aging, and the paintwork never yellowed due to the constant pampering, the itch to buy a new card started in 2017. As a loyal Maruti person, I did not even look at the other brands. So, the Baleno it was. Very enthusiastically went to the Popular Nexa, Kozhikode and there was this premium feel all about. The vehicle too felt premium at that time compared to the other Maruti's we had experienced till then. The sales team agreed to exchange my Alto and quoted some low figure. Anyway, after some bargaining, the price offered came to a reasonable amount and the car was handed over to the dealer. The amount was accepted as the initial payment towards the Baleno. Now the waiting game started. Initially they had promised delivery in three months. Patiently waited or three months not even calling them once in between. After three months went to the dealership and the sales team started their smug behavior. Baleno was flying off the shelves at that time. They requested to wait for another month and I agreed. This happened once more and I was fed up with their attitude. I took the exchange value of my previous vehicle from them and opted for a Ford Ecosport.

The Ecosport is one of the best driver's cars I have ever driven. It is really not that great for the passengers. The back seat comfort is not that great maybe due to the hard suspension setup. However, the steering, the engine, ground clearance, body strength and overall quality were just a level above its competition at that time. If Ford had not left the shores, I would not even have thought about a replacement for it. As the second-hand market value started moving downhill, I had only two options either to keep it till it merges with nature or to sell it and go for a new car.

So, the question was whether to go for a new one or to get a used car. Unfortunately, the used car market is seeing very high demand and the prices are staying high for reliable models. I did look at some used Creta, Innova, Brezza and even Fortuner. The decision making thought process was really not that clear that time. So, you see all sort of vehicles went through the shortlisting process. Later, I sat down and thought what I really need. I loved Diesel in my EcoSport. The torque and fuel economy it provides is just too good. However, the government policies are not really clear regarding the future of Diesel. I am of the opinion that Diesel cannot be completely done away with at least for couple more decades. Moving goods via electric trucks in mountainous areas does not seem to be feasible right now. Therefore, Diesel slowly moved out of consideration. And petrol it was.

There are a lot of options currently in the Indian market for a small-SUV buyer. However, none of them are really there a 100% with respect to quality, features, engine, reliability and economy.

I considered the Honda Elevate as it got launched around the time when I started looking for a new car. I test drove it. The whole experience with the Honda dealer was fantastic. They brought the car home for test drives multiple times and kept following up. Out of all the cars I test drove, I liked the elevate engine-wise. It is absolutely a breeze to drive, and you do feel the quality of the engine and gearbox. I rejected it just because of sub-standard interiors and the question about Honda's survival in India. I didn't want to end up in a similar situation which I experienced with Ford. I would suggest the Elevate next refresh version to anyone looking for a small SUV. By the next refresh all problems would have been ironed out and you get an absolute gem of a car. That is if you are ok with Honda leaving India anytime.

I was never a fan of Hyundai with their gimmicky interiors. I did look at the Creta and I liked it. The only factors against it were that the lower trims were kind of bare bones and there were absolutely no bargaining margin and no free accessories. Compared to the lower trims of other cars, Creta had almost nothing. So, Hyundai was out.

Next was Kia Carens and Seltos. They are similar to Hyundai in terms of the interior pricing and trims. I did not opt for one due to the fact that the nearest service center was a 100KM away. I did not take a test drive of the Kia cars.

It was then that the Brezza, Grand Vitara options were looked at. Grand Vitara made more sense as it is a newer model available via Nexa. Also, there is bit more leg room and a general feeling of better ambiance. I am not sure about part sharing between the two. Friends and family gave the go ahead and it was time to book the car.

Back to Maruti for a second innings:

The Grand Vitara:

Variant : Grand Vitara Delta Manual Mild Hybrid

Booking, PDI Experience:

My booking was done via Popular Vehicles, Kozhikode. The booking experience was smooth unlike the earlier Baleno booking fiasco. This time I was given almost daily updates, pictures, receipts without me having to follow-up with the sales team. The accessories team also didn't push me much to opt for the Nexa accessories. At that time there were no cash discounts available due to the high demand for Grand Vitara. I was allotted a vehicle which was in transit on the condition that it would be accepted only after a PDI. I was allowed a PDI for which they brought the car to the dealer building. They were considerate that the rains had made the yard muddy and against their initial request to visit the yard, the car was brought to the dealership building. They also performed a wash before the PDI. I made a selection of couple of accessories to be fitted before delivery. The accessories selected were primarily the Window rain visors, side step, headlamp, tail lamp garnishes and door molding. I did not opt for the TPMS, vacuum cleaner and the air purifier.

Delivery Experience:

Since my home is around 100 KM from the dealership, I requested them to home deliver. They accepted the request without any fuss. The delivery was given on time without any unnecessary delays.

Dealer Feedback:

Overall, for someone looking for a Nexa dealer in Kozhikode, I would recommend Popular. The sales team is professional, and I didn't see any malpractices performed.

Post-Delivery First Week:

I was little apprehensive driving a Petrol car after having consistently driven a Diesel for many years. I was most worried about starting from a complete stop in the steep hilly areas. I knew that the engine didn't have enough grunt or torque for an easy pull from the slopes. However, the hill-hold-assist function provided with the car helps a lot. This is not much advertised by Suzuki and should have been given prominence as it is a real help.

I tried to keep it slow for the initial 500 or so KMs. It is not as if the car is eager to fly! Overtaking have to be planned a little and going down to at least 3rd gear is required in most circumstances. It does not provide complete confidence in overtaking maneuvers.

The lack of torque and the lethargic engine are the only negatives I felt in the first week and of course for the rest of my ownership. I also have to highlight that there were no squeaks or niggles during the first week.

Second Week and on:

This is a car for sedate drivers. As long as you drive below 70 KMs, the car is obedient to throttle input and you get instant acceleration. However, post 70, reaching 80 Kmph is a small task in itself. And above 80 is almost like kicking the horse's sides and whipping it. It might be the terrain I drive that is contributing to some of these experiences. Still no squeaks and no niggles. The fuel economy is hovering around 16 and I guess it would stay that way.

I had not opted for PPF, ceramic, graphene and not even a Teflon coat. The first things I did on getting the car was applying a coat of Nanolex nanoone and later a coat of GTechniq C2V3 liquid crystal. The water beading is perfect and lasting and no micro-scratches yet. I would advise owners who do not want to spend a lot on cermaic etc.. to go the DIY route by investing in some good microfiber clothes and decent hybrid waxes. Applying coats once in 3 months would surely keep your paint from getting faded.

The car is a bit tough to maintain. The reason being so many nooks and corners where water gets retained. This accumulated water plus dust might lead to corrosion in the longer term. I would suggest owners to keep an eye on this specifically in the back door below the glass area and around the LED setup.

First Free Service:

I completed the first free service when the vehicle had run around 800 KM. There were no issues to report except the chrome headlight garnish had slightly come off. I requested the SA to change the oil and he was apprehensive about it. The SA wanted to get advice and approval from Suzuki Engineer before doing oil change. The engineer did approve and the oil change was done. I was not charged any sort of labor. The overall bill came to 1755 Rs. I did make sure that they refilled with 0w16 oil. I opted not to get the car washed at the dealership when I saw the huge line of cars waiting to get washed.

Overall I am happy with the service at Popular and the only grouch I have is that the SA tried to get my sign on the feedback form without getting me to fill in my feedback. I think it is the usual tricks you find at any service center.

Vehicle Feedback Summary:

Some of the detail mentioned in this section might repeat in likes/dislikes section. Sorry for that.

Alternatives considered - Creta, Seltos, Carens, Elevate.

On-road price & discounts - 15,13,349 Rs. after a cash discount of 7K. Breakdown as follows:

Ex showroom - 12,10,000
Insurance - 31,963
Road Tax - 1,81,700
Registration Fee - 955
Fastag - 500
Accessories - 50,289
MSR - 885 (Rewards program charge I guess)
Extended Warranty - 20,567
CCP - 4,460 (Customer convenience package)
TCS - 12,030
Extended warranties & service packages - Opted for the extended warranty 4th and 5th years. The customer convenience pack protecting against water caused issues and fuel quality issues was also taken.
Engine type & variant - Delta variant with manual transmission
Safety & related equipment - Two front airbags, ESP, ABS, rear camera and parking sensors (rear).
Number of kms at the time of writing this review - 1,700
My usage pattern - Weekly average of around 100 KMs. The drive is primarily in two-lane highways and well-paved village roads with moderate to high traffic in between.
Wheels & tyres - 17-inch steel wheels come as standard. The tires are 215/60. The tires fill in the wheel well properly and gives a good stance to the car.
Interior design & quality - The interior is well put together. There is an abundance of hard plastics. No soft touch premium feel here. The color choice is not that great for me personally. The mix of black and burgundy does not look good. However, when you consider the interiors overall it is ok.
Driving position, ergonomics, controls & MID - It is easy to find a comfortable driving position due to seat height adjustment, seat fore-aft adjustment and the steering reach and rake adjustments available in this variant. The MID provided is the old school analogue type. However, it does provide all the required information in a legible and clear manner. The only grouch regarding the MID is the control stalks that jut out from the MID and definitely from couple of decades ago.
Visibility & size of mirrors - The overall visibility is not bad. However, the A-pillar is intrusive and creates blind-spots. One should be very careful in turns. The A-pillar can cause you to miss a small vehicle or a pedestrian.
Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness - This variant comes with ACC. No complaints about the cooling and the ACC functionality. It is a very user-friendly module. The rear AC vents also provides a decent amount of air throw. The cabin gets cooled in no time.
Audio system & sound quality - The Delta variant comes with the 7 inch screen. Touch functionality is provided and the system is very intuitive to use. Apple CarPlay works flawlessly and map integration is awesome. The sound quality from the inbuilt speakers is above average but nothing to write home about.
Interior storage, practicality & boot space - The bottle holders are one size too small and cannot hold one litre bottles. You will have to use half litre bottles all around. The glove box is of decent size and the under-armrest storage is also of decent capacity.
Engine performance & driveability - The mild-hybrid 1.5 litre engine option does not provide outright performance. It is for practical everyday usage and you cannot win any races with it. The engine is ideal for city driving. In the highways it shows its weakness. The performance starts going downhill post 70 Kmph and above 80 it is a struggle.
Gearshift & clutch - This time Suzuki has given a sure-slotting gearbox. The clutch is light and easy to use. Once is a while the reverse gear refuses to slot and you need to move to a different gear and try again to slot reverse properly.
Overall NVH levels - It is a super-silent cabin with very low wind noise and engine noise at below 70 Kmph. Above 70, the engine noise does creep in. All who travelled with me noted the silent cabin.

Fuel efficiency:

City - 9-12 Kmpl
Highway - 16-17 Kmpl

Suspension & ride quality - The suspension is well tuned and this contributes to great ride quality. You dont have to slow down for small potholes and humps. Even the bigger crater sized-potholes do not negatively affect the posture of the car.

The turning radius at 5.4 meters is bit on the higher side and taking u-turns in city limits is a huge nuisance. You would be doing multiple forward-reverse maneuvers most of the time to get out of situations. Braking is satisfactory and confidence inspiring. Remember Suzuki provided all disc brakes in this car that too for all variants.

Likes:

Design - The car has a modern design. There are no quirky or weird body areas. The front looks a bit soft compared to proper SUVs.
Legroom - Legroom at both front and rear is just great, and I think even 6feet plus folks are not going to complain.
Tires - Those 17-inch tires eat up the potholes, small humps and undulations. It lends to a very comfortable ride to the passengers. The Apollo tires provided is neither too soft nor too hard. Full marks to Suzuki for providing a full-size spare wheel as well.
Hill hold assist - There is a 2 second delay before brake release on slopes. This helps in controlling backward roll and hilly area rides are comfortable and tension free.
Electrically foldable mirrors - While it is not auto-fold/open during stops and starts, there is a button provided in Delta variant using which you can fold, open the outside rear-view mirrors.
Paint quality - Unlike some earlier models like Swift where the paint quality was pathetic to say the least, this time it looks like Suzuki got it right. Though there is slight orange peel effect, the overall paint quality seems to be hard and lustrous.
Seats - The seats are very comfortable and have adequate bolstering provided. They might not be that great for very heavily built people though.
Disc brakes - All variants of the GV gets disc brakes all around. It adds to the looks for sure if an allow wheel is used.

Dislikes:

Headlights - The Delta variant that I have is installed with the Halogen projector version and not the LED. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst headlamp setups that I have experienced. You can equate the light throw to the Ambassador, Premier era. It is so bad that driving in utter darkness is risky and dangerous. You might miss a parked vehicle or a human walking on the kerb.
Headroom - Due to the design of the car, headroom seems to be lacking. Taller folks might find their head rubbing against the roofline fabric.
Boot space - The designers again seem to have missed an opportunity to design the car with proper boot. The external dimensions do not translate into proper boot space internally. A design flaw I believe.
Gear ratios - I believe that this 1.5 engine should have been mated to a 6-speed transmission. For plain-dwellers, a 6-speed might make sense.
Body design - To make the car appear smart, a lot of nooks and corners have been introduced. These places retain water and dust. It is a pain to clean and might lead to corrosion later on.
Horn - It is the typical Suzuki horn that is simply ignored by most in traffic-dense scenarios.
Chrome usage - The car is bit over-chromed at the front. Even though it does not look tacky, it is not to my taste.

Am I happy with the car: Yes

Would I recommend the car to a fellow BHPian: Yes

As many reviewers suggested, the car is a typical Suzuki which would tick most of the boxes and never all the boxes. It does not give any sort of premium feel. But, being a Suzuki in India, you are assured of somewhat reasonable service, parts availability, cheaper parts, spread of service centers, good reliability, somewhat good fuel economy and a good resale value when you decide to part with it.

Some pics: