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Does anyone have experience with the Suzuki Grand Vitara? Are these reliable SUVs? There seem to be a lot of negative opinions about Suzuki on the internet.
The bad reviews are often of a few Suzuki models from a few years ago made in South Korea...the Reno, Forenza, and Verona. Real Suzukis are somewhat better. Also, the old Samurai got terrible reviews for its on-road performance. They also don't have that certain feeling of quality about them that Honda and Toyota have (lesser quality plastics and switchgear and thinner sheetmetal). I got trapped in a Swift once at the Detroit Auto Show when I slammed the door and something broke inside the door.
If you can get a good deal on one as they have lousy resale value (especially the passenger cars) it's interesting. I know if I were buying a new car I'd take a look, as long as the dealer will cut a fire sale deal. Their pickup, the Equator, is made by Nissan and is worth a look.
... the old Samurai got terrible reviews for its on-road performance....
Undeserved imho. We had one of the earliest Samurais. It was my wife's winter car, then each of my two kids drove it from ages 16-18. It was 5 years old with about 30K on it when we sold it. The only thing I had to replace on it was windshield wiper blades...
oh, and a wheel, but my son bought that so I wouldn't know about it. Years later told me he bent a wheel when it hit a curb sliding around a corner on a city street. He said if it was prone to roll it would have then. He also took out a garage door with it when he pushed the door opener remote to open the door but it was already open, so it closed and he backed through it! Likewise, my daughter ran it off the road, bounced over a curb and 30 feet up a 40 degree slope while digging between the seats looking for a cassette tape. She was pretty shook up about it -- took me to see where it was. Yup, it would have rolled there too if it was so inclined to do so. (no pun intended) Teenagers! It survived 4 years of the best testing ever invented and came through with flying colors.
Granted, it wasn't built to drive 80 mph down the interstate, but I can assure you that ours handled that too.
I don't know about the latest Suzukis, but those Samurais from '86 were bulletproof.
A few months ago my wife wife picked up a 2011 Grand Vitara. I wasn't very excited about it - until I drove it. 4 cyl. auto with full-time 4 wheel drive. I'd suspect it would be all wheel drive, but the manufacturer's sticker and owners manual both state 4 wheel drive. It takes sharp corners fine without the bump of a locked differential so there's got to be some slip built in there somewhere. The car actually has some zip and cruises at highway speed with very little wind noise and the engine is quiet. The gears can also be shifted manually. The seats are comfortable and the ride is much more car-like than I would have expected. Overall fuel economy is 23 mpg. I tried some light off-roading and had no complaints with traction. The climate control system is every bit as good as my Volvo. The stock radio delivers somewhat sub-par sound quality, but then I'm half deaf so who knows for sure...
The full-size spare is rear mounted and the back door swings open from the side. Works for me. It took me a while to find the oil filter. It can't be seen from above or below. (driver's side beneath the intake manifold) The rear windows go all the way down. Haven't had that in a vehicle for some time and our dog is most appreciative.
Two details from the sticker that I distinctly remember are the MSRP $24k and change and 90% Japanese sourced parts. As a compact SUV it's obviously not a people hauler. And not many bells and whistles with the given price tag. It does have cruise control and radio / CD controls on the steering wheel. The built-in Garmin GPS detaches and you can take it anywhere. I realize cell phones can provide the same positioning data, but I still think this was a cool idea.
Overall, it's too new to me to find many faults. I plan to get the underside oiled next week as we live in snow (and road salt) country. I'm not used to a 104" Wheel base, but I do appreciate the handling - so far. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it an 8. Not great fuel economy, but today's fill-up was at $2.09 for regular - so there's your savings. Sound system (and ears) not up to snuff. Such is life. Great little get around car for 6 months of snow. Build quality seems fine. Doors and windows are tight. 16" steel wheels with room for some plus sized tires. I wish it had alloys, but not complaining. The wife enjoys it, which has to give added points. Suzuki specific parts may be a problem as they're no longer sold in the US. Belts, hoses, brakes, exhaust shouldn't pose a problem. And that's about it. I like this ride.
My wife has a 2007 Suzuki Gran Vitara. She is not a car buff. She prefers straight ahead, not fancy controls. As an example, her favorite car was her Volvo 240.
I have a 2005 Ford Escape. My Escape is roomier, plusher interior, more options such as electric seats, etc. Her Suzuki is peppier (V6), tighter handling, and gets better gas mileage. Value for the dollar, the Gran Vitara is one fine automobile.
Suzuki has closed down their North American distribution so one cannot buy a Suzuki in North America thus the value of the existing ones have taken a drastic tumble. There are some manufactures/dealers that are maintaining the Suzukis.
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He also took out a garage door with it when he pushed the door opener remote to open the door but it was already open, so it closed and he backed through it! Likewise, my daughter ran it off the road, bounced over a curb and 30 feet up a 40 degree slope while digging between the seats looking for a cassette tape. She was pretty shook up about it -- took me to see where it was. Yup, it would have rolled there too if it was so inclined to do so. (no pun intended) Teenagers! It survived 4 years of the best testing ever invented and came through with flying colors.
