Built in Japan, the compact, five-seat Suzuki Grand Vitara competes in an uber-popular segment, but offers enough unique distinctions to stand apart. Compact sport utility vehicles attract a following thanks to good fuel economy, utility and a higher seating position than conventional sedans. A majority are front-wheel drive, built off car platforms (unibody frame) and designed primarily for on-road, pavement travel.
A scant few including the long-running Jeep Wrangler and Nissan Xterra incorporate enhanced off-roading characteristics and truck-like latter-on-frame construction. The five-door Grand Vitara mixes and matches the best of both worlds with unibody construction combined with ladder-frame reinforcements. Grand Vitara also bucks the cute-ute trend with standard rear drive and enough nuances to qualify for light off roading, especially trims equipped with the optional four-wheel-drive low range setting.
Larger, off-road sport utilities generally incorporate rear-drive because of superior front/rear balance contributing to better towing abilities. Grand Vitara's design provides a 3,000 pound towing capacity when properly equipped, significantly better than many front-drive rivals.
Suzuki backs its products with one of the more comprehensive no-deductible powertrain warranties; seven years or 100,000 miles whichever comes first. A key attribute of Suzuki's warranty is it's transferability to the next owner, enhancing trade-in value during the first seven years; not all rivals offer this perk.
As one of the smaller automotive participants from Japan, Suzuki currently offers no gas-electric hybrids or all-electric plug-in offerings in its 2012 lineup, focusing instead on attractively-priced, compact-sized, gasoline-driven products. In addition to Grand Vitara, Suzuki's 2012 lineup includes the underappreciated mid-size Kizashi sedan and compact SX4 available in sedan, five-door hatchback and five-door sportback body styles. Since 2009, a mid-size pickup truck, the Suzuki Equator has been available. Equator shares underpinnings with the Nissan-built Frontier. Grand Vitara is by far the longest tenured Suzuki offering, in the lineup since the late 1990s. The last major redesign for the Grand Vitara was back in the 2006 model year. Honda's CR-V and Toyota's RAV4, the segment sales leaders, both underwent extensive redesigns in 2012.
Total U.S. Suzuki sales in the 2011 calendar year totaled a mere 26,619 units; one of the teeny tiniest totals among established automotive players. This figure is down significantly from a pre-financial melt-down high in 2007 of 101,884 units. The good news? Sales were up 11 percent compared with 2010. Grand Vitara sales accounted for about 5,000 units in 2011. By comparison, Japan's largest automaker, Toyota, sold 1,644,661 vehicles in the U.S. in 2011 including Lexus and Scion Divisions. Worldwide, Suzuki makes its mark in emerging markets including China and South America. Total worldwide Suzuki sales in 2011 checked in just a shade over 2.5 million units. Suzuki began selling cars here in the U.S. in 1985 after two decades of successful marine engine sales.
New for 2012 (and this week's tester) is a Grand Vitara 'Ultimate Adventure Edition,' serving as the hipster trim. This edition includes three-toned, water resistant seats and comfy leather wrapped steering wheel inside along with standard fog lights, black chrome finished 18-inch wheels and side-view mirror blinker bands outside. This new kid joins three returning trim levels from 2011: Base, Premium and top-tier Limited.
The sole powertrain in all trims also returning from 2011 is a 2.4-liter, naturally aspirated four-cylinder pumping out a decent, but far-from-class leading 166 horsepower. An optional V-6 was dropped two years ago. This engine gets mixed and matched with two transmissions and three drivetrains. Our new-for-2012 Adventure Edition came with four-wheel-drive (requiring no driver input) and four-speed automatic transmission. The four-speed automatic is a bit old school when compared to most competitors featuring more advanced and fuel friendly five and six-speed automatic transmissions or infinite rage continuously variable transmissions (CVT). Full-time four-wheel drive is available in all trims. On top-level Limited editions, a low-range gear is available with full-time four-wheel drive.
Fuel mileage, when compared to on-road intended compact crossovers, is underwhelming with city mileage not making it out of the teens. With four-wheel-drive, our tester averaged 19 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. Best numbers rate with a rear-drive five-speed manuals at 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway, well below the redesigned (but higher-priced) 2012 Honda CR-V at 23 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. Regular unleaded fuel fills Grand Vitara's relatively large 17.4 gallon tank.
Standard in all Grand Vitaras is an above-dash, compact-sized, flip-up navigation system designed by Garmin, a leader in aftermarket in-vehicle nav systems. It's a touch-screen, stand-alone system, operating with no secondary dash or steering wheel controls. Grand Vitara is one of the few in the compact SUV segment with this nicety standard, although not the in-dash variety. Black hued dashboards and doors with spot hints of brushed aluminum, offer a utilitarian approach, lacking soft-touch nuances many rivals deem necessary. The large instrument panel includes three deep-set gauges with a center, circular analog speedometer (with red, white and blue backlighting and rectangular digital message window below) flanked by two three-quarter-circle gauges (tachometer left, fuel and temperature gauge right). The three-spoke steering wheel tilts, but lacks a telescoping out movement. Cruise control and secondary audio functions are built into the face of the wheel. A hand-operated parking brake and in-line beverage holders situate between front bucket seats.
Below the navigation screen atop the center dash column is the rectangular stereo which situates above the dual-dial ventilation system with a left dial monitoring temperature and right dial controlling fan speed. Fan direction is summoned through push buttons inside the fan speed dial. Towards the bottom, the column morphs seamlessly into the floor-mounted transmission shifter. Power window, door and mirror controls are built into the 90-degree driver's armrest.
Pricing for the 'Ultimate Adventure Edition' starts at $23,949. Our tester included some non-factory extras including $125 floor mats, $115 first aid kit, $130 metallic paint and $250 Bluetooth connectivity for a bottom line of $24,569 (excluding destination charge). The lowest priced base trim (with five-speed manual transmission) sneaks in under $20,000 at $19,499, qualifying GV as a low-cost option with a nice array of standard equipment.
Grand Vitara incorporates a more traditional SUV silhouette with a squared cargo area rather than a rounded design. The rear door, hinged at the right, opens out with a 'refrigerator door' motion. The cargo area sports a relatively functional 28.4 cubic feet of room with second-row seatbacks prone (seat backs also fold onto cushions with a 60/40 split). While our tester sported hard-shelled spare tire housing, this nuance is being dropped on latter-arriving 2012 models except on up-market Limited trims where it will remain a fixture. Large side-view mirrors are a welcome sight especially in smaller crossovers. Narrow band-like headlight housing surrounds a honeycomb grille while taillights are more horizontally driven with three-tiers of bar lights.
Grand Vitara's high-pitched four-cylinder engine is a hard worker, but at times seems overburdened. The old-school four-speed automatic was not as smooth shifting as a majority of its compact rivals. Braking calibration was very aggressive, requiring minimal foot throw before being called to action. Attractive pricing combined with lots of standard features and decent towing numbers are Grand Vitara's calling cards.
At a Glance
2012 Suzuki Grand Vitara Price as tested: $24,560
Wheelbase: 103.9 inches
Length: 177.2
Width: 71.3
Engine: 2.4-liter, DOHC four cylinder
Horsepower: 166
Curb weight: 3,610 pounds
Powertrain warranty: Seven years/100,000 miles
City/Highway economy: 19 mpg/23 mpg
Assembly: Japan