2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara First Steer
28 Aug, 2008
31 Comments 
2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara First Steer
- by Alborz Fallah
It’s not very often that I am willing to get up at 6:00am to go for a drive, in fact it’s not often that I am willing to get up at 6:00am for anything. But Suzuki’s invitation to central and northern Australia to drive the new Grand Vitara was an offer worth waking up early for.
Our journey took three days and involved everything from private jets at a cost of $4000 an hour to helicopters, a camel (more on the dromedary later) and of course, driving Suzuki’s flagship model across hundreds of kilometres of desert and four-wheel drive tracks in the Northern Territory.
Day 1:
Whoever invented the snooze button on alarms was obviously an extreme optimist, ‘another 10 minutes won’t kill …’
Sure enough as I arrived at Suzuki headquarters near Brisbane airport, my fellow motoring journalists (all three of them) and Suzuki staff were all ready to roll.
Ten minutes later a taxicab arrived and rushed us to a private hanger on the outskirts of Brisbane airport. Secretly, I was hoping what ever plane Suzuki had acquired for the trip had at least two engines and that they weren’t the BMW emblem kind.
Thankfully Suzuki had full intentions of getting us to Ayers Rock/Ularu in one piece, which meant we had a Cessna Citation Bravo, the world’s most popular midsize business jet.
Despite the two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW530 engines strapped on for good measure, a headwind plagued us, which meant a two-and-a-half hour flight to Charleton, stop and refuel and then another two hour flight to Ayers Rock.
At a cost of $4000 an hour flying time plus $600 a day for each crew member, this wasn’t a cheap flight by any means. Eventually though, we arrived at Ayers Rock airstrip and headed for the Desert Gardens hotel.
Here we were greeted by a few other journalists from Australia and New Zealand, plus a large team of Suzuki engineers and designers and to our surprise, Mr Toshihiro (Ted) Suzuki, the son of the current Suzuki boss and a descendent of company founder Michio Suzuki.
Having met the local wildlife - everything from small lizards to big lizards and even a few Dingos - it was time to get serious.
Suzuki may be a relatively small brand in Australia, with only about two per cent market share, but in total, the Japanese manufacturer sold 2,405,000 units globally last year and in terms of volume, sits fourth in the Japanese rankings, behind Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Putting it ahead of the likes of Mitsubishi and Subaru.
The release of the third generation Grand Vitara marks 20 years of production for the popular SUV. Suzuki lays claim to the Vitara having invented the compact SUV segment, as it had no direct rivals back in 1988.
The biggest changes to the new model are by no means visible from the outside, design-wise, a new grille and wider fog lamps are about the most noticeable upgrades, as well as LED turn signal lamps.
Location: Home / 4x4, 4WD, Suzuki, First Steer, Behind the Wheel / ...
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August 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Well Done Guys, great coverage of the updated Suzuki Grand Vitara, looks and sounds like it was a great trip. The Grand Vitaras’ looked like they were in their element in the middle of the Outback. I’m Glad Suzuki Japan finally realised that the 3 Door, and 5 Door - 4 Cylinder GVs needed a performance boost. I was convinced that they were going to replace the 1.6L in the 3 Door with the 2.0L from the 5 Door, but they simply bypassed it (the 2.0L) and went straight for 2.4L, smart thinking and obviously should go great with the new 2.4L given that the 3 Door weights less than the 5 Door. Question: Is the new 2.4L Manual 3 Door GV still a constant 4WD like the 1.6L version? If so it’s stacking up as a serious contender for my New Car buying considerations…….The Grand Vitara always looked more rugged than the flotilla of other compact SUVs on the market, you wouldn’t be so worried to take it off-road, at least you can still term the Grand Vitara a 4WD.
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August 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Well i\’m jealous! I think we will sell every 3 door we can get. There is a big market for a sexy three door \”mini suv\” with good performance.
Hmmm might have to get my media credentials up to date..
That looked like fun!
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August 28th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I totally agree that Suzuki builds top notch vehicles and more people should take your advice and drive one before making a decision……these things look a lot better than the quite ugly Rav4 and X Trail and are just as well built if not better!
The only thing that i would criticise Suzuki for is the choice of diesel motor, This Renault motor is not good enough to entice me to buy one……it is just too old, loud, low on power and torque. A real shame coz the vehicle deserves a better diesel than this!!!!
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August 28th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Cool trip! awesome amount of work the Suzuki guys put together for that trip…not as easy to organise an event like this as some may think.
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August 28th, 2008 at 11:32 am
My brother will be miffed. He bought a 2.7V6 not long ago.
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August 28th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Gift-Ed, your poor brother was obviously enticed by Suzuki’s sales campaign on the current V6 Grand Vitara. He probably should have done some research on net before he was lured by their sales pitch into buying one. However, there wasn’t much info around on the net or through the dealers to suggest there was an updated model coming out soon. Suzuki are always tight-lipped on new model or updated model releases. I guess it just helps them to get rid of current stock, although it’s only fair to say that most manufacturers do that. I found info relating to the updated Grand Vitaras some time ago on the net, but I had to do some hard searching. I was also informed by my brother a few months ago that there was an updated model(s) on the way when he got to unload a couple of Grand Vitaras off a Plane at Sydney Airport - Freight. These were probably flown in for model testing or inspection, or ‘new product’ information for Suzuki Australia. He had a good look over them and noticed that the V6 GV stated in big numbers on the engine cover - 3.2L, and that they had updated interiors and updated allow wheels, as per Car Advices’ story suggests other than those obvious updates to the vehicle it’s really hard to tell the difference body wise, if any.
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August 28th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Another great review CarAdvice.
It is a bit of a shame that more people don’t consider the GV, they are a great car.
Unfortunately for me the diesel still wasn’t out when I made my purchase otherwise it may have been one.
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August 28th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Now i know why new vehicles are so expensive! :-)
They take all you guys on these junkets at our expense.
Would/nt it be better to offer the BUYERS a prize and that could be attending a trip.
Must have cost Suzuki a pretty-penny!
Cheers
F-0 [Jealous!]
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August 28th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
rallyx,
Well at least he got a very good deal. I think in every day terms the biggest difference will be fuel economy. The 2.7 is pretty thirsty for a smallish motor. The 3.2 sounds great - more power and cheaper to run.
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Gift-Ed, no doubt your brother is happy and he got a great deal, that’s what matters in the end. ThE 2.7L is still a great engine. Happy motoring to him.
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
What is this, AirplaneAdvice?
Whats wrong with BMW powered airplanes?
Cheers
F-0
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
F-O, I believe he was referring to the BMW badge which represents propellers (he wanted a jet…and he gets one)
Suzuki have been in this section long before many of the other pretenders have arrived but have always struggled due to their slowness to keep up with market trends. I think that every time they get the Swift right, the Vitara suffers (maybe allocation of R&D funds? who knows). But they have them both right this time, excepting for the 4 speed auto and like F-O says in his first post, If they ghad have put the money used for Jets and helicopters etc towards maybe a smarter advertising campaign or a better Auto, we may see suzuki in the future ranked here in Australia like they are in Japan. (As long as they sort out the rest of their line-up).
Alborz, I may have missed it but is the Vitara a full chassis or Monocoque.
BTW, you have a new friend from Iran…(see above)
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
“Suzuki lays claim to the Vitara having invented the compact SUV segment, as it had no direct rivals back in 1988.”
Errr, Mitsubishi and Isuzu would probably beg to differ on that claim. The Jackaroo had been around in 2.0 litre form for 7 years or so.
But at least the GV is still around and true to class, ie it has low range and is therefore not comparable to Xtrail, Rav, and so on.
Shame about the poxy diesel engine and no auto for the diesel either - that puts the Sorento diesel way ahead of the GV.
But the petrol GV with 5 speed auto would be quite nice - economical now.
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Fenno,
Vitara is a full chassis, that’s partly why it’s so heavy, uses so much fuel and is ponderous on the road. But it’s OK as a bush-basher (if that sort of activity’s still socially acceptable).
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
A Nice review from CarAdvice…
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Great write up guys. The Graqnd Vitara is certainly a quiet achiever out there and worthy of more success.
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August 28th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Another great read on what I must say is an under-rated SUV. Keep ‘em coming guys, these big treks make for a nice change of pace. Well done.
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August 28th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Reckless1, would have to agree with you on disputing Suzuki’s claim to have invented the compact SUV market in 1988. The Daihatsu Feroza which was almost identical many areas was actually first manufactured in 1987. Not to mention SWB Pajero’s, Rocky’s, Subaru L series ect. Arguably Suzuki already had a presence in this “new” segment in their own Sierra anyway.
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August 28th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
A good first up review of the updated Vitara. Glad to see the old 2.7 has been replaced and a 2.4 petrol is now standard. Suzuki now have all the engine options covered. Yes its a shame the 4spd auto is still in the mix. At least it now has disks on 4 wheels. Is it true that the 3.2 gets better fuel consumption than the 2.7? I also wonder if the bigger V6 will sell with the price of fuel always being problematic these days. Time will tell.
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August 28th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Wow i should have been a motoring journalist.
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August 29th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
If that 3-door has finally been given the same low range transfer case as the 5 door models then I’ll be in the Suzuki showroom as soon as they get them!
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August 30th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I agree Suzuki is definitely under rated.
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August 31st, 2008 at 10:32 am
This is very good news. I’ve used zukes (not vitara’s) as shooting platforms after pigs in the past and have been mightly impressed. I know I bang-on about LR’s but the upgrade of the GVP to a bigger v6 donk, hdc etc has definetely changed my perspective, not sure if the upgrade has traction control (question on that). I’ll admit that in considering purchasing a 4bie the F2 now has a very serious contender. Doing the comparisons yesterday there’s not much separating the two apart from $10k and the GVP having a less GVM, and note that the GVP has standard what be an expensive option on the F2. Then there’s petrol versus diesel etc. Good work Suzuki San.
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August 31st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
This thread is probably dead and buried by now, but what the Hell’s ‘all new’ about a vehicle that’s externally identical to the old one and all that’s new is the increased cc of the petrol engines?
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September 8th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I bought a 2.7 V6 GV Trekker in July 07 and absolutely love it.
My only gripe would be the fuel economy, generally around 11 litres/100kms
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October 15th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Great to read some positive stuff about a great vehicle, I recently purchased my 8th Grand Vitara the outdated 2.7 4spd Auto. I love it as much as all the previous and by the sounds of the new 3.2lt….I have completed great sections of the Canning and Tanami tracks with the only modification being some well fabricated and placed 6mm plates (Mainly over the Transfer Case)”What were you thinking Suzuki to leave it hanging so low?” and a fairly standard Pedders after market suspension kit +25mm body lift.
The 2.7 does everything I ask of it, with a bit of noise and average economy, a bit of clunking from the engine always makes me think it’s a bearing, but dealers advise it’s induction noise only?
Appart from minor issues, if you can call them that, she is a great vehicle and a very capable 4×4 although not everybody will suport that, just ask the next Patrol driver you see going nowhere in a hury, as he digs himself out of soft sand due to weight, the Vitara seems to glide over these obstacles with little fuss.
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October 20th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Does anyone know where the V6 is from, is it in house or did Suzuki buy it from GM, ie is it a version of the alloytec, like the 3.2 in the Captiva.
I’d love to know as to whether it comes from OZ or Suzuki build it.
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October 25th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Does this 3 door have low range like the 5 door or is it the same as the 2005 3-door model which was a watered down 4wd with limited ability.
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October 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Jim,
Same system on all models. very good it is too.
3.2 blows away the 2.7 in every area, power, economy, etc.
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October 26th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Don’t know what you guys have got against the Renault diesel.
It’s the best 1.9l turbo I’ve ever driven, (in a Renault Trafic van) got it all over the VW diesels.
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November 13th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Totally Suzy designed and built, probably why it’s not really as efficient as it could be
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