2006 Vitara solid proof Suzuki can finally make a grand SUV
The 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara V-6 was much better than I expected — surprisingly improved, in fact. I was driving the XSport version.
I’d last driven a Grand Vitara about five years ago. I recollect it was an awful ride — heavy and unwieldy on the front end, bumpy and completely uncertain of itself in the rear.
The interior of that early Grand Vitara was equally disappointing. It was a cut-rate, compact sport-utility vehicle with a passionately plastic cabin, the motorized version of a super-low-end discount store.
The people at American Suzuki, the stateside purveyor of Japanese-made Suzuki auto products, vowed that their latest Grand Vitara was indeed grand, easily on par with the likes of the Toyota RAV-4 and the Honda CR-V compact sport-utility models. That is why this time I listened to Suzuki, the least prestigious of the Japanese car companies.
People change. Companies can change, too. It’s a matter of pride, of deciding that yesterday’s failure won’t be allowed to summarize your life’s work or to undermine tomorrow’s potential for success.
Clearly, the people at Suzuki have made such a decision. The 2006 Grand Vitara, offered with rear-wheel drive or with one of two tested four-wheel-drive systems, is proof. The RAV-4 and CR-V have nothing on this one. Instead, the new Grand Vitara, with its less expensive pricing, has an edge.
Step inside the most comfortable, ergonomically thoughtful Grand Vitara cabin ever made. The controls and displays on the elegantly flowing center-stack console are easy to use and read.
Clustered circle gauges on the left of the instrument panel are both attractive and instantly informative. Interior material quality is high, competitive with the best in any other compact sport-utility model. It all makes you want to be in this vehicle.
There has been much confusing chatter lately about economical, compact, carlike sport-utility models such as the Grand Vitara not having enough power.
That talk is confusing because it does not make a lot of sense in an era of constantly escalating gasoline prices and of increased difficulty and cost in producing oil.
What is enough power? The 2006 Grand Vitara has a standard 2.7-liter V-6 engine that produces 185 horsepower. It provides enough to carry five people and their stuff fast enough to get speeding tickets.
To me, that’s “enough power.” And the latest edition of the Grand Vitara shows that Suzuki has enough spunk to give anybody a run for the money.
