Why the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara won big at the Autocar India Awards.
Above and Beyond
Let’s have a big round of applause for an automobile that has taken the game forward – the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara.
It takes a truly special effort to win an Autocar India Award, which has been celebrating automotive excellence for over two decades. Contenders face intense competition once they put their hat into the ring for the country’s most coveted awards. And, then, there is the highly demanding jury that puts objectivity above all else. Some really stellar cars lined up on the starting grid in 2023, but despite their strengths, on the big night they lost out to the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, an automobile that has quite literally taken the game forward.
Team Maruti Suzuki is all smiles as it receives the trophy from chief guest Poonam Mahajan, MP, and actor John Abraham.
The Grand Vitara, which has received over 1,30,000 bookings since its launch in July last year, wore the coveted crown of the Autocar Car of the Year 2023 because of several reasons. It possesses distinctive styling and, with an upright stance, it looks like SUVs are meant to. Its plush, sophisticated interiors are studded with modern features such as ventilated front seats, wireless phone charging, Smart Play Pro+ Infotainment system and a panoramic sunroof with dual sliding panes, among others. Maruti Suzuki’s champion midsize SUV, built on the Suzuki TECT platform, also got the safety angle covered with a raft of active and passive safety features, including six airbags (front, side, and curtain); ESP with Hill-Hold Assist; 3-point ELR seat belts; Hill-Descent Control; Tyre Pressure Monitoring System; coloured Heads-Up Display and a 360-degree parking camera system. And its engine and powertrains take efficiency to another level.
Here was a capable suv that checked every box — from dynamic design to premium interiors and segment-leading features.
The Grand Vitara Intelligent Electric Hybrid features a dual powertrain set-up consisting of an electric motor and a 1.5-litre engine that not only delivers superior performance, but can also stretch a litre of petrol to an astounding 27.97 kilometres (ARAI-certified). Another sharp arrow in the Grand Vitara’s quiver is Suzuki’s ALLGRIP SELECT technology, an electronically controlled All-Wheel Drive system with selectable driving modes that grants the SUV the ability to reach places most others can’t. And then, you have the Grand Vitara Progressive Smart Hybrid, which is powered by Suzuki’s K-series 1.5-litre Dual Jet, Dual VVT engine that is capable of an excellent ARAI-certified fuel-efficiency of up to 21.11kpl, and is mated to either a 5-speed manual transmission and a 6-speed automatic.Â
The Grand Vitara’s victory gains special significance because they were other formidable contenders in the extremely popular and intensely competitive midsize SUV segment. But there clearly was no stopping the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, which was also Autocar’s Midsize SUV of the Year, from getting to the top of the pile. Here was an SUV that checked every box, from powertrain choices and dynamic design to sophisticated interiors and segment-leading features. To put it simply, it had winner written all over it.
Built to rule
The Grand Vitara’s Intelligent Electric Hybrid System switches automatically between pure electric and petrol modes – and a hybrid mode as well – delivering efficiency, smoothness, performance and lower CO2 emissions.
Get a grip
The Suzuki ALLGRIP SELECT electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system offers a choice of four modes: Auto, Sport, Snow and Lock. In Lock mode, torque is distributed to all four wheels equally to maximise traction.
Packed to the gills
The Grand Vitara’s plush cabin abounds in advanced features that make every journey comfortable, such as the ventilated seats that keep you cool no matter what.
Safe and smart
The Grand Vitara is big on safety, and besides six airbags, TPMS, Hill Descent Control and Hill-Hold Assist, it also comes with a 360 View Camera with multiple view modes that make getting out of sticky situations a cinch.
Jurors’ notes
Why did Autocar India’s experienced jury vote for the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara? Let’s find out
India’s most coveted automotive awards are decided by jurors who have been in the business of evaluating cars, and driving them for decades. Each year, the run-up to the awards sees the jurors reacquaint themselves with the contenders and put them through their paces, both on the tarmac, and, where applicable, off it. Vehicle evaluation is serious business, of course.
The Grand Vitara being put through its paces at the off-road track at the jury round; (bottom row) the jury reacquaints itself with the SUV.
To be eligible for the 2023 Car of the Year award, each car had to have been launched between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 and be commercially available for purchase; needed to have a new body style (or significant sheet metal changes), new or updated interiors and a new engine; had to be homologated in India and be in series production; and should have been tested by Autocar India and made available to the majority of the jury members for a test drive, sufficient enough to form an opinion.Â
The jury comprises Autocar India editor Hormazd Sorabjee, Autocar Show editor Renuka Kirpalani, Autocar India deputy editor Shapur Kotwal, automobile historian Manvendra Singh of Barwani, and ex-F1 racing driver Narain Karthikeyan.
These folks rely on cold, hard numbers and incontrovertible facts more than anything else, and evaluate the contenders on several parameters. Here is what they thought of the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Editor, Autocar India
When we look for a Car of the Year, we look for something game-changing. And that’s exactly what the Grand Vitara has done with the way it has democratised hybrid technology. It’s also a very well-conceived SUV. The Grand Vitara ticks a lot of the boxes which customers want, and above all, it has also set new benchmarks for fuel efficiency. It’s also the only one in its segment to have four-wheel drive, which caters to enthusiasts. These are just some of the unique attributes that make it stand out.
Shapur Kotwal
Deputy editor, Autocar India
Maruti has really put its shoulder to the wheel with the Grand Vitara, and it shows. The Grand Vitara Intelligent Electric Hybrid represents the very best of technology available for the internal combustion engine today in a relatively affordable package. The impressive fuel economy is just one of the many virtues it possesses. It’s also got a sense of fun about it. The electric boost comes in seamlessly. It drives in an extremely agile, sporty manner, not at all like a big, floppy SUV. And the suspension is phenomenal over bad roads.
Renuka Kirpalani
Executive editor, video, Autocar India
The Grand Vitara has introduced new technology into the segment in terms of hybrid tech and, at its price point, actually made it pretty accessible. It both looks and plays the part it’s meant to – it is a smart-looking, practical-sized SUV that is loaded with features. It offers a smooth drive, has a nice, flat ride and with the fuel economy the hybrid provides, it’s a solid package.
Narain Karthikeyan
Former F1 racer
This is a smart-looking SUV that has substance. It gets a lot of things right and there is a sense of premiumness about it. But what impressed me is the Intelligent Electric Hybrid powertrain. I also love the sharp throttle responses and the fact that the Grand Vitara offers all-wheel drive.
Manvendra Singh Barwani
Automotive historian
The Grand Vitara is both nicely designed and well-packaged. It’s a car that comes at just the right time for the Indian market. I’m impressed with the fit and finish, it is an all-rounder that will be hard to beat.Â
1779KM ON ONE TANK OF GAS
Earlier this year, the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Intelligent Electric Hybrid journeyed from Narkanda to Pushkar to Dwarka without a single fill-up. Here is a recap of the epic ‘Snow, Sand, Sea’ drive.
27.97kpl. That is the ARAI-certified mileage of the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Intelligent Electric Hybrid. It is, by all means, an epic figure, and it deserved an epic drive: to simply find out how much distance the Grand Vitara could cover on its 45-litre fuel tank. Would it achieve its range of 1,258km, or would it go further? If so, by how much? That is how our memorable cross-country drive, involving snow, sand, and finally, the sea, was born. The plan was simple: start in the mountains, in Narkanda, in Himachal Pradesh, point the elegant nose of the Grand Vitara towards Pushkar, in Rajasthan, and end the journey at Jamnagar, in Gujarat. The total distance was 1,578km. Would the Grand Vitara Intelligent Hybrid go the distance
on a tankful of petrol? We would soon find out.
Downhill diaries
Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh – 0km.Â
Our journey started at Narkanda. The first snowfall of the season had hit the region and the views were breathtaking. Regardless of the conditions, hypermiling is a formidable task; in snowy conditions, the challenges multiply. Precision is called for both when anticipating braking points and modulating the throttle. With 45 litres of petrol on board, the trip computer displayed a range of just 691km, but as we headed downhill, that figure improved and went into four digits. The Grand Vitara acquitted itself well in the battle against the snow. This is an SUV with real brains and it detected icy surfaces, alerting us to risks. There are several stretches of nasty tarmac between Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, but Maruti’s doughty SUV handled them with aplomb. The fact that the trip meter approximated a fuel efficiency of 50kpl — by the way, that’s the maximum! When we called it a day at Paota, in Rajasthan, we’d covered 550km.
Smooth operator
Pushkar, Rajasthan – 775km.
Hypermiling requires extreme focus and patience. It is hard not just physically, but mentally as well, but life on this long road was made comfortable by the Grand Vitara’s seats that are, apart from being ventilated, firm and yet very comfortable. Other things that were much appreciated on the journey included wireless charging, Apple CarPlay, and the Heads-Up Display, which allows you to track the battery’s charge as well as the vehicle’s speed, without having to look away from the road. We encountered the lowest number — 43kpl — on the drive with regard to fuel efficiency, as we homed in on Pushkar to show the Grand Vitara some sand. By the end of day 3, we had left Pushkar and its sands behind and reached Abu Road on the Gujarat border.
D-Day
Dwarka, Gujarat – 1,779km.
Day 4 started with the fuel gauge displaying more than half a tank of petrol available, but with the weather turning warmer, the aircon had to be switched on for this part of the drive. Gujarat’s butter-smooth roads helped our cause and so did the Grand Vitara’s hybrid powertrain. With a combined output of 115hp, this Maruti Suzuki feels effortless on the highway, and while we obviously drove with great restraint, the very palpable and usable lowdown grunt was generated by the Intelligent Electric Hybrid. A big thumbs up for the Grand Vitara’s mature road manners and flat ride, which helped us maintain consistent speeds throughout the journey. The end of Day 4 saw us reach Jamnagar. Our photographers were rather unenthused by the sight of the beach at Jamnagar, so we ventured further west, in search of a more photogenic stretch of ocean to document the end of our journey. Despite clocking over 1,600km on the trip meter, the Grand Vitara still had a range of 250km! That helped us reach as far as Shivrajpur Beach, near Dwarka, and on reaching there, we noted that the trip meter had already crossed 1,771km with an approximate range of 104km left. Finally, on reaching the petrol station after driving for another 7km, the range stood at 101km. What that meant was that the Grand Vitara Intelligent Electric Hybrid had, after clocking 1,779.3km, delivered a stupendous fuel efficiency of 43.96kpl. And it still had over 100km left in the tank, which could easily be stretched by another 100km. The Grand Vitara had indeed gone the distance and then some more — on a single tank of petrol.
