Nestled in the green heartland of Haryana, near the town of Rohtak, is a 5.9 km banked oval test-track with an impeccable surface. And a couple of days ago, I was driving the upcoming Maruti-Suzuki Grand Vitara at a fair rate of knots at this track, an integral part of Maruti-Suzuki’s Research and Development centre in India. It is just a small part of a whole host of roads that range from the oval, meant to test ultimate speeds, uneven surfaces to test ride quality and others to test both high-speed and low-speed handling. There are also gradient climbs and descents designed to test new Maruti-Suzuki vehicles to the limit. In fact, this test track facility is considered one of the best manufacturer-owned facilities on this side of the planet. Indeed, it is bigger and more extensive that Maruti’s parent Suzuki Motor Company’s test-track in Japan. But then again, what would Suzuki be without Maruti.
But in the rah-rah of describing the track, you might have just missed the line where I said that I drove the new Grand Vitara.
This Sports Utility Vehicle is based on a Suzuki platform but will be manufactured at the Toyota-Kirloskar Motor (TKM) facilities in Bidadi outside Bengaluru. TKM will be selling their own version of the car, calling it the ‘Urban Cruiser Hyryder’. This will be the first venture by either carmaker into the rapidly growing mid-sized SUV segment dominated by the Korean twins, the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.
But before I give you my thoughts on the car I would like to make several qualifications.
This was not a proper test drive, as we drove in a controlled environment on a test track. The vehicles were also pre-production models and the final trim levels could see changes. Although mechanically, there will be no changes. We were also not allowed to carry our mobiles or any electronic devices for that matter inside the R&D centre. So you’ll have to take my word that I and fifteen other automotive journalists drove the car.
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Maruti wants the pie
This is possibly the most critical launch for Maruti-Suzuki in 2022, a year in which they have launched the second-generations of the Baleno and the Brezza and have the latest iteration of the Alto on its way in a week or so. Why is that? Well, those two Korean cars I mentioned earlier, they’ve been printing money for their manufacturers. The Creta has been such a runaway success for Hyundai over two generations that it still has a six-eight month waiting period, and Hyundai officials claim that there have never been discounts on the car. I’d go so far as to argue that a first-generation Creta in white became the car that symbolised the NCR’s auto culture in the late-2010s much like a silver WagonR did in the late-2000s.
Sales of small hatchbacks may have stagnated, but they still provide large volumes for Maruti-Suzuki. The country’s largest carmaker has watched with alarm the ‘SUV Fever’ spread faster than the coronavirus in India. From 23 per cent of total volumes in 2018-19, SUVs accounted for 40 per cent of sales volume in 2021-22. And with only the Brezza in the sub-4 metre category, Maruti needed something to match up to Hyundai and Kia. Thus the Grand Vitara, which is, in essence, an extensively reworked and extended Brezza. But, and this is important, it will be the first SUV in India to offer a strong hybrid powertrain.
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Hybrid, the difference it makes
As I wrote in my review of the Honda City e:HEV Hybrid a few months ago, strong hybrids offer the opportunity for massive fuel savings while also adding to performance. In fact, I spent six weeks driving the Honda hybrid around the NCR recently and got a fuel economy of almost 22 km per litre. This was without any long-distance highway driving whatsoever. Will the Grand Vitara match that? Well, Maruti engineers claim that fuel efficiency will be improved by a third thanks to the strong hybrid system. And while the versions with the hybrid will likely cost at least a quarter more than the regular ones, or so one expects, they shall serve the dual purpose of achieving a higher fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions. Both characteristics will come handy as stricter emission and average fuel efficiency norms are around the corner for carmakers. Unlike the Honda car though, Maruti will not be offering Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS on this vehicle. But they will offer a panoramic sunroof. After all, Indians love their sunroofs even if they make the air-conditioner less effective.
As I said, this was not the final trim level on the Grand Vitara, because I certainly wasn’t a fan of the faux wood trim. But that is me, because plastic wood just seems wrong.
The Grand Vitara handled very well at higher speeds, even through the turns of the highway section of the test track. We drove fairly fast. After all these were private roads. Rear legroom is pretty good. As was the luggage space. Although I did feel that the Grand Vitara, by virtue of sharing its platform with the Brezza, was narrower than the competition. Of course, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. And as I said, the vehicles we drove may not be the final versions that go on sale. So maybe the plastic wood might give way, as would some of the piano black elements on the car. And the steering could be slightly better calibrated.
But this is the first time that a big player in India has decided to stand up to the might of the Creta and the Seltos. I expect to drive the Grand Vitara in real-world conditions in a proper test-drive sometime next month. But the first taste of the car was impressive.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)