Despite its high stance, getting into a Grand Vitara is easier than climbing into a bigger sport-utility. And once there, the driver enjoys a commanding view of the road, clouded by only a couple of minor quirks. The steering wheel offers a good range of tilt adjustment, but is always angled slightly upward from the bottom. The front seats are a bit narrow, with better bolstering for the thighs than torso. They are still reasonably comfortable.
Passenger and cargo space in the Grand Vitara abounds, with enough front-seat headroom for a cowboy hat. Rear-seat legroom is good, considering the Suzuki's small proportions, and the rear seats seem to work better than do their counterparts up front. For 2002, Suzuki has added standardized LATCH anchors and tethers for child safety seats.
A sizable cargo area lies behind the rear seats; flip the seats forward and Vitara's carrying capacity is huge. The rear door swings out to the right, like a Toyota RAV4's, which is not ideal for curbside loading. A new-for-2002 cargo cover hides packages from roving eyes.
You can order the interior of your Vitara or Grand Vitara in any color you like, as long as you like gray. Still, warm plastics and tweedy fabrics look both durable and pleasing, while the leather hides in the Limited, while definitely plush, seem to make a small truck look overdressed.
Grand Vitara's 2.5-liter V6 responds instantly to the throttle; just a small tip of pedal sends the little truck lunging forward. With 165 horsepower, the Grand Vitara offers more power than the Honda CR-V (146 horsepower) and Toyota RAV4 (148 horsepower). At the top of the power class is the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute (200).
While brick-like aerodynamics and a hefty curb weight take the edge off as speed increases, the Grand Vitara's V6 delivers snappy acceleration in city traffic. The V6 revs smoothly and builds power quickly. Peak torque of 162 pounds-feet arrives at 4000 rpm, peak horsepower is 165 hp at 6500 rpm. Yet the Grand Vitara JLX gets an EPA-rated 19/21 mpg City/Highway. This 24-valve V6 really is an overachiever. It also powers the Chevrolet Tracker, which is a little lighter. So it has to work a little harder in the Grand Vitara.
The five-speed manual gearbox shifts smoothly with a light and direct feel. The tall shift lever with its rubber accordion boot is one of the few reminders that you're driving a truck. The clutch pedal engages high in its travel, but the effort is light, so it works well in stop-and-go traffic.
The four-speed automatic transmission features a separate Sport mode. Frankly, we couldn't see a need for a Sport program in a tall truck whose strength was clearly not its cornering ability. Even in the Normal mode, full-throttle upshifts arrive at a nice and smooth 6000 rpm, comfortably short of the 6800-rpm redline. All that the Sport mode does is sharpen the upshifts and bring on the downshifts earlier, so what could be wrong with that? But floor the Grand Vitara at 55 in either mode, and the engine screams as the transmission kicks down from its overdrive fourth to its much-shorter third gear. The closer ratios of the five-speed manual make a big difference here.
The Grand Vitara's body-on-frame construction is made plenty strong to take serious off-road punishment. The extra-stiff structure also contributes to a quiet ride on the highway, with little rolling noise from the drivetrain or suspension. The manual transmission whines with increasing speed, but barely enough to make the driver speak up. We detected a light buzz in our leather-lined Limited, possibly from an air leak around the sunroof.
Yet while the Grand Vitara's highway ride is quiet, it is far from smooth. The stiff, truck-like suspension doesn't so much jar you as toss you. Even the Chevy Tracker swallows bumps better, although it is in most ways the Vitara's mechanical twin. So does the more car-like Honda CR-V. Vitara drivers will learn to avoid sharp, slow bumps entirely, to steer around potholes, and to be prepared for a jolt when turning into city gas stations from the street. We may have been torturing the Grand Vitara when we charged up a bumpy road littered with switchbacks. The tires certainly screamed about it, as the rear end tried to swing wide (a condition auto engineers call oversteer).
But if we could change one thing about the Grand Vitara, it would be its
steering gear. Off-roaders need some on-center play to absorb kickback from large bumps, but we think perhaps that in this case the Suzuki engineers overdid it a bit. The steering slack is noticeable on the road, where the Grand Vitara floats and wanders, demanding close attention just to keep it pointed straight. Crosswinds push the little Suzuki around considerably. Worse still, the power steering tends to bind near full lock. The steering doesn't want to let you out of a slow donut, or even a tight turn into a parking space. Again, both the Tracker and the CR-V offer sharper handling.
On a dirt road, however, the same Grand Vitara put a surprised smile on our face. The suspension handles washboard gravel in four-wheel drive a whole lot better than ripply pavement with only the rear wheels engaged. Good traction, good anti-lock braking action, and not too much understeer (less than in the Tracker) add up to a satisfying off-road experience. Seven and a half inches of ground clearance keep the Vitara's vitals safely out of the way.
The Grand Vitara's transfer case includes a low range for extremely heavy muck, something lacking in the full-time all-wheel drive systems from Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Subaru. The transfer case theoretically allows shifting into 4WD on the fly, although it didn't always connect on the first try. Once, we had to stop and put the transmission in neutral before we could engage the four-wheel mode.
We could feel the Grand Vitara's front corners dip when we used the brakes hard on a bumpy surface. Not surprisingly, the nose took a big dive during our 60-mph panic stop. The ABS seemed to work progressively harder as the Vitara's speed decreased. At 45 mph, the brakes increased their grabbing power; at 25 they felt stronger still, and then the tires made four sharp squeals before we stopped. Brake pedal feel was fine.
Suzuki streamlined the Vitara lineup for 2002. All models are available with two-wheel drive or part-time four-wheel drive.
Vitara models are powered by a 127-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.
Vitara Two-Door models come with air conditioning and a soft canvas convertible top with a plastic rear window. Vitara Two-Door models are short overall (152 inches) and are built on a short wheelbase (86.6 inches). The entry-level model is now the Vitara Two-Door 2WD JLS ($15,599). The two-door 4WD JLX retails for $16,999. (Throughout the Suzuki lineup, an X in the nameplate means four-wheel drive and an extra $1,200-$1,400 to the bottom line.)
Vitara Four-Door models are 10 inches longer (163 inches) and are built on a longer wheelbase (97.6 inches). Four-door models have a wagon-style body with a permanent steel top and are available in one trim level, the JLS ($16,799) and 4WD JLX ($18,199). Vitara Four-Door models are powered by the same 127-horsepower four-cylinder engine.
Options are limited primarily to an automatic transmission ($1,000) and alloy wheels ($500) for both Vitara and Grand Vitara.
Grand Vitaras are powered by a 2.5-liter all-aluminum V6 producing 165 horsepower. They are built on the same 97.6-inch wheelbase as the Vitara Four-Door and are essentially the same length (164.5 inches).
Grand Vitaras are available in two trim levels: the 2WD JLS ($18,599) and 4WD JLS ($19,799), and the Limited models. ABS is an extra-cost option ($500) for the Grand Vitara JLS and JLX.
Limited ($21,799) and Limited 4WD ($22,999) models comprise the top of the Grand Vitara lineup. Limited models come standard with leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a tilt-and-slide sunroof, fog lamps, ABS, and alloy wheels. They come in Polar White or Black Pearl paintwork enhanced by gold badging. The automatic transmission is standard. Heated seats ($300) are available for the Grand Vitara Limited 4WD.
Suzuki also builds a similar, but longer-wheelbase (110.2 inches) model called the XL-7 that offers three rows of seats. (See separate review of the Suzuki XL-7 at newcartestdrive.com.)