Suzuki Grand Vitara (05 on) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 26 May 2011
Whether you love them or loath them, 'soft-roaders' are here to stay and it's Suzuki who's partly responsible for them. It launched one of the first - the Vitara - back in 1988 and set the soft-roader trend that other manufacturers followed. This third generation model is major step up from the model it replaces. It's stylish, better to drive, and is great value for money, comparing well on price and specification to models offered by Kia, Hyundai and Nissan. It's available as a shortened three-door or the more popular five-door, but both offer impressive off road ability, as well as safe and reassuring handling on road. Between 2008 and 2009 the model was revised with subtle changes to the exterior and a more upmarket cabin. ESP stability control was also made standard on all models.
4 out of 5

Other Suzuki reviews

3 out of 5

Running costs

Insurance groups start at group 12 and rise to 14, which are rather high compared to similarly-sized rivals. Depreciation won't be as steep as the old car and fuel economy is acceptable. Servicing at Suzuki dealers is good value and parts are reasonably priced too.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,805 - £2,116 *

Diesel

£1,526 - £1,732 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Every 9,000 miles.

Warranty

Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£195.00 - £460.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

2.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
    174
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
    228
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The Grand Vitara isn't particularly environmentally friendly in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, but there is a diesel in the line-up, and the 2.4-litre petrol engine (launched late in 2008) offers similar performance to V6 rivals, but with much lower emissions.

Find the exact engine and CO2