Suzuki Auto SA has launched an all-new flagship Grand Vitara range, offering three derivative options, high specification levels and competitive pricing.
To put it into perspective, this new Grand Vitara is not an update of the old model and does not have a full-blown four-wheel drive system with low range as an option. It somewhat takes on the flagship role in the Suzuki stable.
The introduction of the new Grand Vitara will see previous models - Vitara and Vitara Brezza discontinued - and the gap will be filled by the FronX.
The 5-door Jimny will absorb any family-size off-road requirements. The model is designed and developed by Suzuki and manufactured in the Toyota Kirloskar factory in India.
The new Grand Vitara has been completely redesigned from the ground up, with a focus on style, technology, and ride comfort. The K15B, a naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, and the K15C petrol engine with mild hybrid electric power, named SHVS or Smart Hybrid Vehicle, are two versions of Suzuki’s K15 engine on offer.
Suzuki claims it lowers the average fuel consumption from 6 l/100 km to 5,6 l/100 km, despite the additional 125 kg of the all-wheel drive system.
The hybrid system is an integrated starter generator (ISG) that supports the petrol engine under load or hard acceleration.
The same ISG system will harvest kinetic energy when the vehicle is slowed down and push it back into the standard vehicle battery and the additional 12V lithium-ion hybrid battery. This version of the Grand Vitara gains the sixth generation of Suzuki’s AllGrip Select system.
All models have four-disc brakes (vented in front), with MacPherson front struts and a torsion beam rear suspension system. The interior has newly designed seats and a dashboard with multiple layers. Further interior modifications include a 7-inch touch-sensitive display on the GL models and a 9-inch screen on the GLX models.
