Suzuki GRAND VITARA 1600 3-DOOR ESTATE and SOFT TOP
Can Suzukis Grand Vitara 1600 Still Win Over Loyal Owners Of The Old Vitara - and Others? Jonathan Crouch Decides
The Vitara was the car that made
Suzuki. Over 63,000 were sold in the UK alone and it kept on selling well into 2001. Which was surprising given how dated it was beginning to feel, particularly on the tarmac where most of them were used. The Grand Vitara was the car that was supposed to replace this original though it took its time about doing so.
First we had a five-door version that, though good value, was well above what most Vitara buyers could trade up to. The three-door GV2000 model Soft-Top and Estate model that followed in 1999 was better but still too expensive for people used to paying around £11,000 for a Vitara 4U2, the last of the old models. So Suzuki decided to bring out a car that would make traditional Vitara buyers feel a little more valued - a three-door Grand Vitara fitted with a smaller, more Vitara-like engine and offered at £11,995 , a more Vitara-like price. The Grand Vitara 1600 3-door may appear a slight throwback in a range of increasingly sophisticated Vitara variants, but whether in three-door Estate or Soft Top form it offers sparkling value for money.
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Either way, power comes from a 92bhp 1.6-litre 16-valve petrol engine, tuned, its fair to say, for fuel economy rather than performance. As a result, your local
Suzuki salesperson will be extremely shy about talking 0-60mph or top speed figures for this car, though the importers do talk of "excellent low and mid-range torque as well as spirited overall performance". Probably, it depends on what youre comparing it against. Still, a overall combined fuel consumption figure of 35mpg is worth having on a car of this kind.
"The soft-tops canvas roof enables open-top motoring targa-style..."
Although they are identically priced and specified, the two three-door models are built in different factories. The Soft-Top is made in Suzukis Canadian plant (a joint venture with General Motors) while the Estate comes from Japan. Both however, like the five-door Grand Vitara, are based on a separate, ladder-frame chassis which, in Suzukis eyes, makes them real 4x4s. Rivals like the RAV 4, the company points out, are based on passenger car underpinnings, which makes them less than ideal when it comes to heavy 4x4 work.
That would be quite a useful selling point if cars like this were ever used for heavy 4x4 work. The reality is, however, that theyre not. The closest most potential buyers come to getting their vehicles dirty is when theyre parked on the grass verge. Tarmac is the real home turf for these Suzukis an area where, as already suggested, their predecessors struggled badly.
Driving an original Vitara at speed along a bumpy country lane was an experience akin to sitting astride a bucking bronco. In comparison, the GV1600s ride is a revelation, thanks to a five-link rigid axle with movement controlled by separate springs and low-pressure gas shock absorbers. Its still not great to drive and you wouldnt want to undertake too long a journey but even so, this is now something you really could use as an everyday car. Of course, it wont handle quite like an everyday car; youre too high off the ground for that.
Its not bad however, providing you dont fling the Grand Vitara around too much; the addition of a front stabiliser bar has done little to control body movement. Where the Grand Vitara Soft-Top doesnt feel quite as happy is on the motorway. Its susceptible to side winds and the fabric hood reminds you all the time what youve bought. In the wet, thanks to the PVC rear window, you can hardly see anything behind.
Still, this isnt a motorway car and in any case, there are plenty of compensations. The Estate is quieter, of course, with better visibility through the tailgate glass, but it too gets buffeted about. The front section of the Soft-Tops canvas hood above the front seats can be folded back or removed separately if required, enabling the driver and front
seat passenger to enjoy open-top motoring targa-style. If you want to go the whole hog, the rear section has been designed to be unzipped and folded down to create a full Cabriolet-style 4x4.
Be warned though: its not a quick job. Once youre roofless however, the car does become a very flexible load carrier thanks to 50/50 split rear seats that can be independently folded for loading versatility or `somersaulted forward to provide maximum storage. The Estates load area is equally flexible. The rest of the 3-door interior is described by Suzuki as fashionable yet functional. Functional would be the word we would use; grey plastic abounds but it all works well enough.
Given the asking price, theres a reasonable amount fitted as standard; power steering, front electric windows, power mirrors, central locking, twin front airbags and an immobiliser. If you do go off road, this car shouldnt disappoint. Ground clearance is a generous 7.7 inches, whilst approach and departure angles are 34 and 31 degrees respectively.
As with other 4WD Suzukis, youve only to move the second gear lever by the handbrake forward out of two-wheel drive into either 4 High or 4 Low, depending on the conditions ahead. Alternatively, for easier conditions in the Sainsburys car park, you can have a four-speed automatic transmission. The Grand Vitara estate range has been treated to a thorough working over in order to keep the value proposition looking fresh. The focus of these improvements has been a comprehensive reworking of the Vitara interiors and not before time as the cabins were starting to look a little tired.
The controls, instrumentation and specifications have been uprated and trim quality is far better. Still, this is a car youll see and probably hire every time you go to the Caribbean (where its already a best seller in Soft Top form). In Britain, sales success for Suzuki has depended to date upon tapping into those 63,000 previous Vitara owners and its a formula that appears to work.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Suzuki Grand Vitara 1600 3-door range
PRICES: £11,995 - £12,745 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 10
CO2 EMISSIONS: 193g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 90 mph / 0-60mph 13s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (Urban) 28.2 mpg/ (extra urban) 41.5 mpg/ (combined) 35.3 mpg
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: ?: [Soft-Top] Length/Width/Height, 3875/1710/1690mm
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