Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara vs rivals: price, specifications comparison

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara vs rivals: dimensions

The Grand Vitara is 4,345mm long, 1,795mm wide, and 1,645mm tall, which makes it the third longest SUV in the segment, trailing the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Nissan Kicks by 20mm and 38mm, respectively.

The Grand Vitara is a midfielder when it comes to comparing its width and height with that of its rivals. While the hybrid cousins – Grand Vitara and Hyryder – are wider than the Creta, Taigun and Kushaq, they are narrower than the Seltos, Astor and Kicks. The height of the Maruti SUV is on par with the Seltos, but the Astor and Kicks are taller than it by 5mm and 24mm, respectively. All SUVs here ride on 17-inch wheels.

Also See: Toyota Hyryder prices start from Rs 10.48 lakh; full price list revealed

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara vs rivals: engine and gearbox

Where every other SUV’s base powertrain is a naturally aspirated petrol engine, the Volkswagen and Skoda get a turbo-petrol unit.

In the high-spec petrol powertrains, the Grand Vitara and Hyryder are the only ones to use a hybrid powertrain. Overall, the Grand Vitara and the Hyryder develop the least amount of power and torque, while the 1.5-litre Taigun and Kushaq make the most torque, at 250Nm, and the 1.3-litre Kicks makes the most power, at 156hp. While the Taigun and Kushaq produce 150hp and 250Nm from their 1.5-litre TSI unit, the 1.4-litre Creta and Seltos, as well as the 1.3-litre Astor, make 140hp from their turbocharged units.

The Grand Vitara and Hyryder get a strong-hybrid system with their higher-spec petrol engine, where the 1.5-litre, three-cylinder, naturally aspirated unit produces 92hp and 122Nm of torque and the hybrid motor produces 79hp and 141Nm. Combined, the strong-hybrid powertrain makes 115hp. The Maruti and Toyota strong hybrids also get an electric-only range of 25km, thanks to the 177.6V lithium-ion battery.

Most SUVs here get a 6-speed manual gearbox, while the Grand Vitara, Hyryder and Astor make do with a 5-speed unit. Remarkably, for the automatic gearbox, all SUVs employ a mix of torque converters, DCT and CVT transmissions. On the other hand, the Grand Vitara and Hyryder use an e-drive gearbox for the strong-hybrid powertrains.

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara vs rivals: fuel efficiency

Maruti Suzuki and Toyota claim that their strong-hybrid SUVs return a fuel efficiency figure of 27.97kpl. However, this claim is yet to be certified by ARAI. And if the ARAI figures do turn out to match the official ones, the Grand Vitara and Hyryder would become the most fuel-efficient SUVs in the segment. Similarly, the mild-hybrid powertrains in the Grand Vitara and Hyryder have the highest claimed fuel efficiency figures compared to its rivals, returning up to 21.12kpl. The MG Astor’s ARAI-certified figures were unavailable, making it a bit difficult to judge where it stands amongst its rivals. On the other hand, the Nissan Kicks is the least fuel efficient of the lot. 

Here, we have only considered the petrol powertrains of all SUVs and it is worth noting that the Creta and Seltos also have a diesel powertrain. 

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara vs rivals: price 

Comparing first with its cousin, strong-hybrid variants of the Grand Vitara cost Rs 50,000 more than equivalent Hyryder variants. The latter still has a much lower starting price as it’s offered on a lower trim. Meanwhile, the Hyryder's mild-hybrid variants are pricier by Rs 3,000-50,000 for the manual versions and by Rs 8,000-20,000 for the automatic versions. These pricing variations are due to the brands taking advantage of their own tech, with the mild-hybrid system coming from Suzuki and the strong-hybrid from Toyota.

When it comes to the rest of the segment, the mild-hybrid variants of the Grand Vitara are priced at par with naturally aspirated petrol or base turbo-petrol variants of its rivals. However, the strong hybrid variants, offered on the top two trims, are at the pricier end of the segment. The top-spec Alpha+ variant is now the most expensive one in its segment. For a detailed analysis of the Grand Vitara's prices with all its rivals, click here.