grand vitara 1.6 petrol - opinions?

flagpole

hi all,
im thinking of buying a grand vitara 1.6 petrol, 3 door.
was wondering if anyone had any opinions/experience of them?
have been thinking of buying a jeep for a while , dont need anything too big. looking at an 02 model. think this should suit my needs but if anyone has any other suggestions fire away!

also any ideas on what i should be looking for/ questions i should ask the dealer.

thanks for your help
FP

road_high

I don't know much about vitaras specifically, but I would imagine that it would be hard on fuel considering the weight and height of the vehicle with a petrol engine- I'm not slaggin SUVs but do you really need one given the added costs they inevitably bring??Its just something you would need to consider espec with fuel prices at the mo..
In relation to car itself- has it been used offroad (check for damage).
Is everything working, 4*4 sytems can be complicated?
Full service history would also be desirable..

Eoin

flagpole wrote:

hi all,
im thinking of buying a grand vitara 1.6 petrol, 3 door.
was wondering if anyone had any opinions/experience of them?
have been thinking of buying a jeep for a while , dont need anything too big. looking at an 02 model. think this should suit my needs but if anyone has any other suggestions fire away!

also any ideas on what i should be looking for/ questions i should ask the dealer.

thanks for your help
FP

The 1.6 vitara looks like a pretty small car, and you would probably have more room in a decent sized hatchback. It is supposed to be a relatively lively engine though, and the fuel consumption is supposed to be OK (for a SUV). Reliability is supposed to be good, but the interior is pretty drab.

Here's a full review here:
http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/carreviews/review.aspx?model_id=855&page=1

peasant

It's an allright 4x4, but whether it's for you depends on how you want to use it. It has comparatively little room inside, considering its footprint. The boot is next to nonexistent.
Suzuki realiability is very good, so is the 4x4 drivetrain ...they've been building these kind of things for a long while now and have a very good reputation.
Bit on the low-frills side though, inside and out.

If you intend to go real off-roading and/or you drive mainly around town / short distances also consider the Suzuki Jimny, if you regularly carry more than 2 people maybe the GV 5 door might be the better choice.

colm_mcm

please don't recommend a Jimny over the Vitara, which is about 20 years ahead of it.

peasant

I don't think I did ...at least not intentionally.

The 3 door Vit is sort of inbetween. Big(ish) but still cramped inside. Capable offroad but not exceptional and the 1.6 is neither here nor there ...too big to be economical and to weak to really thrill.

The Jimny is the logical alternative downwards (cheaper to run, easier to maneuver and better offroad) whereas the 5 door vitara makes more sense as a means of transporting more than two people.

(we're talking about a 02 model here ...not the new one)

colm_mcm

the 3 door vitara won't depreciate nearly as badly as the Jimny.
In fairness the Jimny doesn't do anything apart from off roading well.
It's tiny inside. cabin quality harks back to the 80's. and it is absolutely disgusting to drive. add to that the slightly dubious image, questionable safety....

peasant

Yep ...that sums it up pretty well.

Wouldn't call the safety questionable though ...two airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners, side impact protection beams ...all that from the start since '98.

Show me another small car that had that in 98.


On a side note:

Could anybody explain to me me why people buy the terribly overpriced Pajero juniors, the ones with the one liter engine, when for less money they could get a Jimny, which flawed as it is, is still miles ahead of a Pajero junior.

"image" is a strange thing ...

colm_mcm

Seatbelt tensioners and side impact beams are hardly cutting edge. and most late 90's cars had dual airbags. the Jimny is unsafe not only in an impact, but is inherintly unsafe due to its handling characteristics.

Atomic Pineapple

i drove a grand vitara 2.0td for 2 years to work and i wouldnt sell one to my worst enemy, it was the worst thing i have ever driven, i hated getting into it, driving it felt dangerous all the time, i never felt fully in control of the vechicle.

they only got rid of it a month ago, was glad to see the back of it, it was a death trap!!

peasant

colm_mcm wrote:

the Jimny is unsafe not only in an impact, but is inherintly unsafe due to its handling characteristics.

"Difficult" handling applies to all "traditional" 4x4's ..i.e. chassis on separate frame, solid axles (Vitara has indepentend wishbones front), large axle articulation (ie body roll) and sometimes even only leaf springs.

Not a recipe for good road holding.

If you want car-like handling ....get a CAR ...not an offroad vehicle.

If you want an offroad vehicle ...don't expect it to drive like any other car and drive accordingly.

Simple as that.

And in that sense the Vitara (if the OP is still following this?) is also an offroader much more than it is a car.

colm_mcm

A jimny handles so badly because it is both tall and narrow. It is more unstable than any other "Jeep" I've ever driven, and I've driven quite a few.
The bouncy suspension is great for off road use, but in real life it's just scary, the way the car leans from side to side.
The fact that it's basically an 80's Suzuki SJ13, and came 130th out of 144 cars in the 02 JD Power survey is the icing on the cake

peasant

Well ...I like mine ...and in the three years i've had it there was NOTHING EVER wrong with it except for wear on one of the kingpins.

Who is JD Power again??

colm_mcm

Fair enough it may not break down a lot, but it's still nasty

peasant

It's defintely one of those cars ...pardon, vehicles ...that you either love despite all its flaws, or hate despite all its merits (it does have some, really!)...no inbetweens.

colm_mcm

agreed on that, generally driven by people who aren't really into cars.

peasant

ahhh ...now ...that hurt !!