2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara

First introduced in the 1999 model year, the five-passenger Grand Vitara is now Suzuki's longest running vehicle. It's one of two SUVs in the Japanese automaker's lineup joining the larger XL-7, which is available with three rows of seats.  Grand Vitara received its last major redesign in the 2006 model year when Suzuki reworked it from a truck platform to a more civil, unibody, car-like structure. Suzuki cars have been on sale in the U.S. since 1985.

Grand Vitara competes in the very crowded compact sport utility segment, but has carved out a nice little niche.  Think of it as a refined off-road-capable SUV. For hearty off-road enthusiasts, there are the venerable Jeep Wrangler and Nissan Xterra.  Just about all other compact SUVs have a unibody car-based under structure (as does the Grand Vitara) which is great for pavement cruising. Most are front wheel-drive based. Grand Vitara, however, is built for lighter-style off-roading thanks to an eight-inch ground clearance, rear wheel drive and a unibody design with integrated ladder frame.  The full-size spare tire is mounted on the back door, not under the vehicle, also optimizing ground clearance. Also now standard in upper trims are hill decent control and hill hold control, useful when slow decents on rugged terrain are in the cards.

Still, the major upgrade for Grand Vitara is what's under the hood.  A rather sluggish 2.7-liter V-6 (delivering 185 horsepower) in use for the past several years has been replaced by a more potent 3.2-liter V-6 delivering 230 horsepower.  Besides 24 percent better horsepower, this engine cuts tailpipe emissions 20 percent. In addition, a more fuel efficient 2.4-liter four cylinder engine generating 166 horses is now available for the first time in Grand Vitara's 10 year history.  Also new for 2009 is a rear vision camera with display in the rear view mirror. It's optional in all editions.

The five-door Grand Vitara can be mixed and matched in several variants. The four-cylinder engine is available in four trim levels:  Base, Premium,  XSport and Luxury. Base and Premium four cylinders come with the choice of manual or four-speed automatic transmission. More potent V-6 editions come only in XSport and Luxury with standard five-speed automatic transmission.   A full-time, four-mode four wheel drive system is optional in Luxury and XSport models with both engines. This system includes a limited slip differential and a low locking gear for heavy mud or sand travel.  Hill decent control and hill hold control are standard (and only available) in V-6 four-wheel-drive XSport and Luxury models.  Anti-lock brakes, traction control, brake assist and brake assist are standard in all models.

The lowest priced Grand Vitara, a manual transmission Base edition starts at $18,499 without destination charge. Suzuki supplied a well equipped Luxury V-6 edition.  Starting price was $26,799. No factory options were added and the bottom line totaled $27,169 including destination charge.  All models feature cruise control, rear defroster, air conditioning, steering wheel audio controls, compact disc player along with power doors, windows and locks.

The industry's best-selling compact SUV, the front-wheel-drive 2009 Honda CR-V starts at $21,245 while the off-road-capable 2009 Nissan Xterra with rear wheel drive starts at $22,318.

With second row seats prone, 24.4 cubic feet of cargo space is available behind the seats, and a low load floor helps with stowing heavier items.  Lots of windows provide good perception in all directions for drivers.

On the outside a new grille and front bumper design set it apart from earlier models. The hatch door, hinged at the right side, swings open from the left.  A rear wiper comes standard.  The spare tire and its hard casing are positioned low enough as not to interfere with rear view perception. The front sports a honeycomb grille with large "S" front and center.

Suzuki  gets  plenty of ink and publicity for the motorcycles and the all-terrain vehicles it sells; so Grand Vitara is capable of hauling its corporate cousins around.  It boasts a 3,000-pound towing capacity; double that of many compact cars and some compact SUVs. For those owning large recreation vehicles, Grand Vitara is designed to be flat towed behind the RV (without a trailer carrier).

Inside, a newly designed instrument panel with three large, deep set tube-like structures greet drivers. Also updated is the layout of the radio, although circular pre-set buttons are a bit small. Standard steering wheel audio controls come in handy. Leatherette seating is standard in Luxury trims while fabric seats are standard in all other models. Front passenger air bags, side mounted air bags for the front bucket seats and side curtain air bags are standard in all trims. Second row 60/40 split backs fold down and the entire unit than tilts forward for increased cargo area. It's easiest to unlatch seat bottoms from the cargo area before flipping forward.  Two adults fit comfortably in back.  Three would be a crowd. Headroom is generous.  Back seat leg room is average.

The parking brake is hand operated, not foot operated and found in between of the front bucket seats. The transmission shifter is floor mounted.  Four-wheel drive editions have a dashboard dial to transfer from neutral to 4-high to 4-low when desired. The standard speed sensitive volume control automatically raises the radio volume as the vehicle gains speed.

Fuel economy is average at best.  In six-cylinder models, figures check in at 17 miles per gallon city and 23 mpg highway.  Four cylinder engines with automatic transmissions average 19 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. No gas-electric hybrids or diesel engines are found in Suzuki's lineup...yet. Besides Grand Vitara and the XL7, the 2009 lineup includes the compact SX4 (sedan and wagen) and all new Equator pickup. Expect a mid-size sedan to debut later in 2009. Grand Vitara is assembled in Japan.

Japanese automaker Suzuki has one of the better limited powertrain warranties; seven years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first) that's fully transferable from one owner to the next.  Not all powertrain warranties include this feature.

Grand Vitara offers a number of trims and engines to appeal to many budgets. When comparing apples to apples, it's priced very aggressively with the large volume of other SUVs in the compact segment. The number of standard features is impressive. Coupled with a better-than-average warranty, Grand Vitara is a good buy for the value conscious. It also offers a competent on-road ride for an off-road capable vehicle; not easy to find in this segment. Mid-cycle improvements in Grand Vitara are impressive to say the least.