The Grand Vitara makes a comeback to the Maruti Suzuki stable, as the automaker launched its new mid-sized hybrid SUV in India.
The new Grand Vitara comes as Maruti Suzuki’s first all-wheel drive vehicle, as well as the first to employ a strong hybrid powertrain under the hood. Developed in collaboration with Toyota Kirloskar India, the Grand Vitara is essentially a rebadge of the Urban Cruiser, but very much different car in its own right.
Read along to see what comes with the new Grand Vitara.
Design of the Grand Vitara:
The new Grand Vitara gets the usual mid-size SUV stance. A gloss black grille dominates the front with a considerate splash of chrome all around. Split headlamps come with LED DRLs and projectors. There is even a variant wise trim for the front grille; Fervent Dark and Rich Dark.
New 17-inch alloy wheels dominate the side profile of the car. Muscular wheel arches and sweeping shoulders aid well in its SUV appeal.
At the rear, a red LED strip runs across the width with only a middle split for the Suzuki logo. The Grand Vitara of course has LED tail lamps, with a very prominent name badging at the middle and a “Hybrid” badge to the right.
Interior:
On the inside the Vitara gets a ton of faux leather treatment; separate kinds for the separate variants. The most important (and awaited) feature in the car is the addition of ventilated front seats. Oh not to mention, the gigantic panoramic sunroof! A first for Maruti Suzuki as well.
A new 9-inch infotainment system comes integrated with Suzuki’s own voice assistant, along with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The Grand Vitara gets MS’s “Suzuki connect” connected car array of features with 360-degree camera and wireless charging. A fully digital instrument cluster is now also on the Vitara as well as a heads-up display.
Powertrain of the Grand Vitara:
The Grand Vitara will be available in two different powerplant options, a 1.5L Intelligent Electric hybrid and a 1.5L K-series engine with Progressive Smart Hybrid technology.
The Intelligent Electric Hybrids will get a 1.5L Toyota-sourced internal combustion engine and an electric motor. The engine churns out 90bhp in itself with the total powertrain output coming up to a respectable 113bhp. Maximum torque output of the system stands at 141Nm. The Grand Vitara drives in pure EV mode at low speeds but turns on the ICE at higher loads for the extra pull. There is of course no conventional gearbox but an e-CVT for the conjunction of electric and petrol power. All of these hybrid tech give these variants a class-leading 27.97 km/l of mileage!
Other than that, 1.5L naturally aspirated K-series petrol engine producing a measly 100bhp and 135Nm of torque is also on offer. This engine gets hybrid tech in the form of brake energy regeneration and torque assist. Paired to a 5-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmissions, this engine even has a claimed mileage of 21.11kmpl. The drivetrain will be available in both 2WD and AWD “AllGrip” configurations, a first for Maruti Suzuki in India. Drivers get the options for Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock drive modes. Do not expect it to be as off-road capable though, as say, the Thar.
Safety:
The new Grand Vitara comes with its fair share of safety features. Built on the Suzuki TECT platform, higher variants get 6 airbags. ESP, hill hold assist and Rear Disc brakes come standard across all variants. Top of the line AllGrip iterations get Hill Descent control and while the hybrids get a tire pressure monitoring system.
Available in 6 monotone colour options and 3 Dual-tone colour options, the Grand Vitara will be sold through the NEXA brand-line. For what it’s worth, customers can even book the Grand Vitara in a VR environment, called the NEXAVerse. To be launched in September, the Grand Vitara goes up against the Korean SUV stronghold of Seltos and Creta, and of course the upcoming Urban Cruiser Hyryder. Bookings are already underway here.
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