The first-generation Grand Vitara was a slightly larger, pricier and more powerful version of the Suzuki Vitara 4-door.
It was facelifted in 2002 and again in 2004. A rebadged version was sold in North America by General Motors as the Chevrolet Tracker. The Tracker is sold in Latin America, but Mexico, as Chevrolet Grand Vitara. In Mexico, Grand Vitara and Tracker are different vehicles, sold by Suzuki and Chevrolet respectively. In Chile, 5-door Grand Vitara is known as Grand Nomade.
2002-2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara (North America)
As of 2003, the smaller Suzuki Vitara has been withdrawn from the North American market. Sales were slow, with just 4,860 sold in 2004 for the United States. In Canada, sales were strong. All North American Vitaras were built at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, while the North American Grand Vitaras were built in Japan, where it is the Suzuki Escudo. The 2006 model has had a structural redesign with a new ladder-boxed chassis integrated into a unibody construction. In India, it is sold by Suzuki's Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki.
The 2001 model Suzuki Grand Vitara comes standard as a 2.0 Liter 4WD vehicle in New Zealand. The 2005 and onwards Grand Vitara is sold in Ecuador by Chevrolet, yet it still retains its Suzuki badges.
The vehicle is also mass produced in Iran by Iran Khodro Manufacturing Co.
The Grand Vitara was replaced in the fall of 2005 by a new vehicle using some components of the GM Theta platform, and is built in Japan. The 2006 Grand Vitara was developed independently by many of the same Suzuki engineers who developed the Theta. Although it uses some Theta componentry, especially in the suspension, it is quite different and should not be considered a Theta vehicle. Notably, it uses a longitudinally-mounted engine and is rear-wheel drive with a 103.9in (2639mm) wheelbase, while all other Theta vehicles are transverse engined with front-wheel drive as the default. All can also be ordered with all-wheel drive as well, however. The contemporary generation Suzuki XL7 (starting in model year 2007) is a true Theta vehicle, and is built alongside the Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada.
The standard chassis is a 5 door version, but in many countries there is also available a 3 door version called "Vitara" (in some countries, as Chile, 5-door version is named "Grand Nomade"). The standard gasoline engine for the 5 door version is an updated J20A (4 cyl. 2.0L 140hp); and a more powerful option is the Suzuki H engine H27A (V6 2.7l 181hp). Pre 2001 turbo diesel models were fitted with Mazda's type RF engine, with later models fitted with a turbo diesel engine (4 cyl. 1.9L 129hp (96kW) manufactured by Renault). The only engine for the 3 door version is an M16A (4 cyl. 1.6L 105hp).
2008
2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara Premium (US)
In the second half of 2008, the Suzuki Grand Vitara was given a face-lift and two new engines. A 2.4L in-line four is offered producing 122kW (166PS; 164hp) of power and 225Nm (166lbft) of torque. The new V6 is only offered in the flagship prestige model which produces 165kW (224PS; 221hp) of power and 284Nm (209lbft) of torque. Fuel economy has also been improved with the addition of VVT to both engines and the 1.9L Turbo-Diesel has also received some mechanic work improving its economy. Safety has also been improved with more air-bags and traction control standard on all models. The four mode four-wheel drive system is also available on all models. It features a lockable central differential along with low ratio gears.
Motorsport
A heavily modified Grand Vitara participated in the 1996 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. This racing model was equipped with two mid-mounted twin-turbo V6 engines which together delivered a total of 985 hp. It also sported a massive wing to keep the tires on the ground.
External links
2007 Grand Vitara Official Site (US)
Maruti Grand Vitara Official site
Grand Vitara Owners Club The original Owners Club for the Grand Vitara family of SUV's
NewGrandVitara.net - First and Foremost New Grand Vitara Community (US)
vde
Suzuki road vehicle timeline, North America market, 1985resent
Type
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
Subcompact
Forsa
Swift
Swift
Swift
Compact
Esteem
Aerio
SX4
Forenza/Reno
Mid-size
Verona
Kizashi
Mini SUV
Jimny / Samurai
X-90
Sidekick
Vitara
Compact SUV
Grand Vitara
Grand Vitara
Mid-size SUV
XL-7
Crossover
XL7
Pickup
Equator
Engines
G H M
vde
Cars in India
Manufacturers
Audi BMW Fiat Ford India General Motors Hindustan Motors Honda Hyundai Jaguar Cars Mahindra Maruti Suzuki Mercedes-Benz koda Auto Tata Motors Toyota Volkswagen Land Rover Nissan Renault
Hatchbacks
Maruti 800 Maruti Alto Maruti A-Star Maruti Suzuki Ritz Maruti Suzuki Swift Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R Maruti Suzuki Estilo koda Fabia Hyundai Santro Hyundai Getz Hyundai i10 Hyundai i20 Tata Indica Tata Nano Honda Jazz Chevrolet Optra SRV Chevrolet Spark Chevrolet Aveo U-VA Chevrolet Beat Volkswagen Polo Ford Figo
Sedans
Ford Ikon Ford Fiesta Tata Indigo Maruti Swift Dzire Suzuki SX4 HM Ambassador Chevrolet Aveo Honda City Honda Civic Toyota Corolla koda Octavia Mercedes-Benz C-Class BMW 3 Series BMW 5 Series Toyota Camry Honda Accord
SUVs
Tata Safari Mahindra Scorpio Honda CR-V Chevrolet Captiva Maruti Gypsy Suzuki Grand Vitara Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Volkswagen Touareg Nissan X-Trail Mitsubishi Outlander Mitsubishi Pajero Hyundai Tucson Ford Endeavour Mitsubishi Montero BMW X3 BMW X5 BMW X6 Audi Q7 Audi Q5
Vans, MPVs and MUVs
Chevrolet Tavera Maruti Eeco Maruti Omni Maruti Versa Tata Sumo Tata Magic Toyota Qualis Toyota Innova Mahindra Xylo
Hindustan Contessa Standard 2000 Premier 118NE Premier Padmini Maruti Zen Maruti 1000 Maruti Esteem Maruti Baleno Tata Sierra Tata Estate Opel Astra Opel Corsa Opel Corsa Swing Ford Escort Ford Fusion
See also
Transport in India Indian Automobile Industry Registration plates
Categories: Suzuki vehicles | Compact SUVs | All wheel drive vehicles | Rear wheel drive vehicles | 1990s automobiles | 2000s automobiles | Vehicles introduced in 1999Hidden categories: Automobiles articles needing expert attention | Articles needing expert attention from February 2009 | All articles needing expert attention | Articles lacking sources from January 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from February 2009
