Suzuki Grand Vitara Diesel 2008 Review

What we liked
>> Typical gutsy Suzuki offroad determination
>> Style, equipment and value
>> Nice size and general ease of use

Not so much
>> Rear drum brakes
>> Moderately heavy steering
>> Diesel lethargy around town

About our ratings

OVERVIEW
Suzuki's new Grand Vitara Diesel has arrived in the country without all the usual media hoopla that goes with a new model. Distanced from the petrol models by just variant-specific equipment and the Renault-sourced turbodiesel, it is nonetheless, an important model for the Japanese marque.

In the collective view of the staff at the Carsales Network, we felt it deserved the proper respect. Consider this then a launch review for a vehicle that has not been formally launched in the first place. See our launch review of the petrol Grand Vitara here.

Suzuki expects the diesel GV to be a favourite with people living in rural areas and has had dealers in those areas tripping all over themselves to grab enough stock from the 100 units wholesaled in the first week of February. There's a strong chance that the new Suzuki will pull in the punters, being one of just a few compact SUVs that offer a diesel variant -- and the Suzy is probably the most capable offroad.

According to Suzuki, the vehicle most likely to compete with the turbodiesel Grand Vitara is Jeep's Patriot diesel (more here) and possibly, the Kia Sportage EX (more here). Both the Jeep and the Kia offer similar packaging, specification and pricing, but we're inclined to the view that the Suzuki is more focused for offroad work. In a sense, the Suzuki is more like a mini Grand Cherokee than the Patriot.

Consequently, that means it's a little rough around the edges for the type of driving to which most owners subject their soft-roaders.

Suzuki tells us that there are no plans to offer this engine with an automatic transmission or in the smaller Jimny -- despite the level of enquiry being there -- since Suzuki is working on its own in-house diesels and the Renault engine is a stop-gap solution.

Priced at $34,990, the Grand Vitara Diesel is well equipped, boasting standard 17-inch alloys, a leather-bound steering wheel, climate control, an MP3-capable CD audio system with remote controls on the steering wheel, ESP with a disable function, three 12-Volt auxiliary power outlets, dual front airbags, curtain airbags for the head and side-impact airbags for the thorax.

Metallic paint is a $300 option and the vehicle, as tested, was finished in Azure Grey metallic.

MECHANICAL
As already mentioned, the turbodiesel engine under the Grand Vitara Diesel's bonnet is supplied by Renault and develops 95kW at 3750rpm and 300Nm at 2000rpm. Fuel delivery is taken care of by a common-rail direct injection system.

That torque figure is probably about par for the course, for 2.0-litre turbodiesel engines in passenger-car applications, but driving a 4WD weighing 1612kg, the engine occasionally struggles on-road.

It drives through a five-speed manual transmission and the GV's full-time 4WD system, which features an electronically controlled dual-range transfer case with a lockable centre coupling for heavy slogging offroad. At the rear, the differential is of the limited-slip type, providing some drive to both wheels in slippery conditions, without locking altogether.

If the engine is a little underwhelming for the GV's power-to-weight ratio, it makes up for it by posting a 7.6L/100km combined cycle fuel consumption figure.

Suspension is MacPherson struts at the front and -- unlike the previous model -- a multi-link IRS system aft. Rack and pinion steering is power-assisted and the brakes are a combination of ventilated discs at the front and drums at the rear.

ON THE ROAD
Initially, the Grand Vitara Diesel proved disappointing. It's noisy around town and fairly slow.

That said, the engine itself thrives on a heavy right foot and needs a good poke to kick the turbo into life. There's significant turbo lag and even humble shopping trolleys will get the drop on the diesel GV from traffic lights. It can overtake slower cars on the open road, if given enough room.

The gearshift is agricultural, which suggests that the transmission should be robust and durable enough, but the shifter is also heavy and sludgy to use. As a consequence, the shift from second to third is invariably slow and ponderous, with the turbodiesel engine dropping off the boil by the time the driver has disengaged the clutch.

Steering is also a little on the heavy side, but the vehicle's on-road manners -- if not exactly impeccable -- are at least on a par with some of the better offroaders that straddle both roles (on and offroad).

As far as safety is concerned, the Suzuki is fitted with Brake Assist, ABS and ESP (which is disabled when 4WD-Low is selected) but only drum brakes at the rear. What is it with Suzuki and rear drum brakes? [Ed; the SX4 sedan gets drums too!] All the same, the brakes worked well and never gave any cause for concern.

Inside, the safety equipment extends to front, side and curtain airbags, front seatbelt pre-tensioners, rear-seat centre position three-point belt and automatic locking retractors for the two outboard seats.

There's welcome interior space in the cabin, with full, adult-scale legroom and headroom in the rear seat. The Grand Vitara's seats are very much in the bespoke 4WD mould, comfy and enveloping, but well shaped for lateral support. They're positioned upright, with space underneath to optimise rear-seat legroom.

The interior is attractively presented and the controls are quite easy to use. Suzuki has integrated ticket-holders within the cover for the vanity mirror on the reverse side of the sunvisor -- while not one of history's great innovations, it's clever nonetheless. The cupholders in the centre console have a cover and there are bottle-holders built into the map pocket in the doors.

The climate control in the Grand Vitara must rate as one of the hardest-working units around. There's no shortage of airflow and it quickly reduces heat in the cabin. In fact, it can get downright chilly on a hot day if set at 20 degrees and left there.

Rear-seat passengers are well treated, with two cupholders that fold down out of the rear of the centre console and a folding centre armrest.

Both the rear seat sections (in a 60/40 split-folding ratio) fold forward for an almost flat floor and -- to liberate up to 758 litres of luggage space, measured up to the window line -- the bases will fold forward, taking the backrests with them. With the rear seats raised, the Grand Vitara still provides accommodation for 398 litres of luggage. Plenty of luggage tie-down points in the rear are handy to have also.

For those who are considering the Grand Vitara as an escape vehicle for camping weekends, the Suzuki is nothing if not blessed with auxiliary power outlets -- two located in the centre fascia and one in the luggage compartment.

In the face of flagging enthusiasm, the Grand Vitara Diesel made a point of proving its worth out in the country. No fireball on the road, the engine has the right sort of power delivery for the low-range permanent 4WD system and the fuel economy was impressive, never exceeding 9.0L/100km during the week the car was in our possession. That translates to better than a 700km range from the 66-litre tank, without pussy-footing around.

We tried the GVD out around the Kinglake National Park to the north-east of Melbourne. The testing was conducted during warm weather on mostly dry tracks, so the Suzuki would have a tougher time of it on its road tyres if the rain starts to bucket down. On balance though, the Grand Vitara made a pretty decent fist of the offroad excursion.

At no point during the test did the Grand Vitara exceed its approach and departure angles (29 and 27 degrees, respectively). A couple of water run-offs (colloquially 'mud moguls') did find the limits of the Suzuki's ramp-over angle, but even with the vehicle lightly scraping the top of one mogul, it pushed itself over without fuss.

4WD-Low with the centre coupling locked engorges the Suzuki's otherwise reasonably tight turning circle (11.0m), but the car still proved agile enough to negotiate a tight bend with a hefty fence post on the left and a steep bank on the right.

As the car turned downhill at one point, it teetered and tottered on the left rear and right front wheels as the descent tested the Suzuki's wheel articulation. This really was a test for a heavier duty 4WD with live axles at both ends -- rather than the Grand Vitara's fully independent set-up -- yet the Suzuki continued, once gravity had decided in favour of the left front wheel and some semblance of normalcy was restored.

Backing up a moderate grade during a turning manoeuvre, the weight transfer worked against the Suzuki and the limited slip differential was no help. Traction was lost and the vehicle ground to a halt, although to its credit the engine didn't stall. Trying the same grade in a forward gear presented no problem and the Suzuki went up full steam ahead -- 'ahead' being the operative word.

Overall, the Grand Vitara left us impressed with its ability off the bitumen, but that offroad competence marks it as perhaps a less refined choice for the suburbs.

Thus, you're left with the question, do you want a cream puff or a hairy goat? The Grand Vitara Diesel treads a path somewhere in between, perhaps tending more towards Billy Goat than Billy Bunter.

To comment on this article click