Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) is launched its most powerful sports utility vehicle (SUV) in India — an upgraded Grand Vitara XL-7. The new Grand Vitara XL-7, which will be bought in as a completely built-up unit from Japan, is equipped with a 2.7-litre V6 engine, which gives an output of 166 bhp making it more powerful than all other SUVs in the Indian market. Grand Vitara is being imported in the completely built unit form its parent company, Japan-based Suzuki Motor Corporation, in limited numbers.

 

The Grand Vitara XL-7, as the name indicates, is a stretched out version of the biggest car Suzuki has ever produced. It looks bulbous and featureless from some angles and far too long for comfort from some others. The bits like a moulded bull bar, chrome side runners and chrome alloy wheels are going to be on the expensive side, but they do make the Vitara look contemporary.

 

The Grand Vitara is a genuine seven-seater. The deluxe model gets leather upholstery and there is ample legroom in the first two rows. The instrument console is aimed to appeal to a very large audience over a long period of time - while the back-lit instruments are passable, the round knobs for climate control are awful and better suited for OTGs. Even the deluxe version does not try anything special to pamper the passengers and make them feel that they are traveling in a fairly expensive automobile.

 

The 154 bhp on tap means the Vitara is more powerful than almost all of its D-segment competitors. The Speedo rockets to 60 kph in 4.79 seconds and that means the Vitara is set to win a few traffic light races. The overall weight and slightly off gearing comes into play as the car continues its rapid run to 100 kph (11.20 seconds). But if you can keep the tacho needle hovering around the 2500-3000 rpm mark, there are few cars on our roads that will even come close, let alone pass, the Vitara. A decent stretch would take the Vitara to 175 kph, and as the Speedo climbs to that, the otherwise numb steering gets sharper. Cars’s ABS and EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) come standard, and that means sure-footed braking performance helps you squeeze out every bit of performance from the power train.

 

Fuel efficiency on the highway at a steady 80kmph with the air-con switched off has improved by 1.3kmpl to 12.5kmpl while the overall figure is now up to a respectable 8.2kmpl even though the worst figures that we got remain nearly the same. With a fuel tank capacity of 65 liters, the Grand Vitara has a range of 533km.

 

The unfortunate thing is since it is dependent on a chassis; it cannot beat the on-road handling of the Forester, for instance. Going around fast sweepers at a notch below 100 kph is fine, but at higher speeds, it is better to shift to 4WH mode (thus providing traction to all wheels). In case you are wondering, the gearbox also features a lower ratio for those extremely tough situations and it works brilliantly.

Filed under: Maruti Cars in India