2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

The 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara gains some new available features. This compact SUV seats five and has a side-hinged rear cargo door. Grand Vitara is offered with two engines. The first is a 166-hp 2.4-liter 4-cylinder that teams with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. The other option is a 230-hp 3.2-liter V6 that has a 5-speed automatic. Rear-wheel drive and two all-wheel drive systems are available. Single-mode AWD and Suzuki's "Four-Mode" AWD that includes a locking differential and hill ascent and descent control. Grand Vitara comes in Base, Premium, XSport, and Limited trim levels. Base and Premium come only with the 4-cylinder. Rear-wheel drive is standard on all. Single-mode AWD is available on the Premium. XSport and Limited offer Four-Mode AWD. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain side airbags, and front side airbags. Newly standard on all models is a navigation system. All but the Base have a wireless cell-phone link. A sunroof and real-time traffic information for the navigation system are standard on the XSport and Limited. Leather upholstery and heated front seats are standard only on the Limited. This report is based on evaluations of the 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara.

COMPETITION

Consumer Guide Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. Among utility vehicles, Compact SUVs are typically the least costly and offer the best fuel economy. Most utilize a car-type chassis and are not designed for heavy-duty, off-road use. Nearly all are five-passenger vehicles; some offer seating for seven.

Our Best Buys are the Honda CR-V and Volkswagen Tiguan. Our Recommended picks are the Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Mercury Mariner, Subaru Forester, Suzuki Grand Vitara, and Toyota RAV4.

New or significantly redesigned models include the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, and Mitsubishi Outlander.