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SUVs Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara Suzuki Grand Vitara 2006 through 2008
1006 messages, Last post on Oct 11, 2009 at 9:29 PM
You are in the Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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| That's a five speed manual transmission NOT being available with the low range gear set [again] on any '09 model, with the pending intro of the new lineup, (according to what I've seen in print so far). The 4 cylinder JLX auto we TD'd was opulently swell, (ya, wish it was in the driveway now, but at 30 big ones with PDI, pre tax...), and it did have the low range gears. Same config [w/auto] is available one step down in the JX, but of course it adds roughly a grand to the cost of one for someone preferring a manual. Guess we're at the end of the distribution pipeline for some reason, and once again we'll just have to wait to see one here eventually. Seem to recall they may be going to build a factory in the US where they will assemble GV's. Was it Florida? Then maybe this North American supply issue, (if that's what it is?), will become a thing of the past? Incidentally, take a look at Steve's post # 876. That appears to be the new color of the one we TD'd. | |
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| Must HASTEN to add, I can't seem to re-unearth that apparent "rumor" about a future US Suzuki plant being built in Florida. (Anyone?) Saw there's a big new one in Japan, and one slated for St. Petersburg RUSSIA. | |
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Replying to: norwoodsmn (Sep 12, 2008 12:20 am) I agree it's a shame that the manual 5 speed doesn't come with 4 mode 4x4 (I guess they will do the same as when it was introduced in 2006, they will wait 1 year). The 4 disk breaks are good, hope the rear ones won't cost too much to maintain. This 4 cylinder should be more popular than the old 2.7L V6 with fuel economy near 2L/100km less and it's welcome. Yes Suzuki you made it. Yet it won't make me trade my 2.7L for this one, even if they rate the towing capacity (1360kg) the same for both I still believe that I need those 20 to 30 pound foot of torque for my towing needs. You mention something about the stiffness of the frame, did they change something ?
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Replying to: norwoodsmn (Sep 12, 2008 12:20 am) |
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Replying to: bm000092 (Sep 12, 2008 5:15 am) I couldn't understand the logic there. So we'll have to wait for details. LOTS of new sound insulation in there. Saw a Suzuki cutaway diagram showing that in a post from Australia. About the 2.7, to keep ALL options open we are also going to re test an '08, and watch to see if those close out deals get even better. They should as the year winds down. When we first TD'd one a couple of years back, I was not in a position to best evaluate the handling, vs. our opportunity the other day with the new 4cyl. But I had no issues with the handling of the 2.7. Glad to hear they are so similar in that department, in your opinion. Thanks for the info. Wouldn't want to pay full MSRP for a new '09 yet, regardless. Always buy low, and keep them forever! Better half sure liked the quiet in the new cabin too. My first choice on the road would still be the base 4 with the 5 speed manual. It ought to be a good one. As they are ventilated discs on the rear, that ought to help address potential problems brought about by the lesser quality steel mfgr's use for rotors today. Apparently more of them will have a beige cloth interior this year. The blue may be it for new colors here? If so that's too bad. |
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The four speed auto box is a carry over. Seems so good now thanks to the NVH improvements, which yes, include the 4cyl motor. One post said a five or maybe even six speed auto is slated for the 4 cylinder in in three to four years. Both new engines are fresh in house Suzuki designs. Aus gets the Diesel which has been further refined a bit for '09 evidently. Again from Aus: more NVH techno stuff. Prop shaft joints have been changed to sliding cv joints for reduced vibration and noise. Why hill descent control only on the six? Suzuki thinks more sixes will be used off road. How did they manage yet again to forget about ALL we prior Samurai and Sidekick owners? Why can Crocodile Dundee get all those options right out of the box, and apparently we won't? Maybe it's because of a 12.6% 2007 GV sales increase down under? If that's the crux of it, (follow the money), and we know in contrast sales numbers fell off in North America in '07, well on that point I have say, hey Suzuki, HEADS UP! My firm belief is sales dropped here for exactly the reasons so well outlined by xostnot in post #866. Specifically, [your] slow lead in time to bring these new improvements to market. We're just MUCH MORE demanding for ongoing change here, I think. I believe prior sales numbers data may have consistently mislead Suzuki company officials to arrive at hasty conclusions about market demand. Just one example: PLEASE UNDERSTAND that far from it being a case of not many folks wanting go off road in one of your four cylinder models, the real reason you sold ever fewer, fewer, and still fewer Vitaras here, was because you so neglected the four cylinder model range, to the point where the marketplace, (including we, the faithful), completely lost any and all interest in them. In the meantime, four cylinder CRV's and Rav 4's were selling like hotcakes, but no, they didn't meet our off road needs. So again those sales numbers were not at all an accurate measure of actual market demand for an off road-able, up to date four cylinder Suzuki model, any more so then, or right now today.... STOP DISCRIMINATING against 4cyl fans who are amongst your most loyal of customers. Give us at least the basic goodies like the low range in a four cylinder model with the manual 5 speed, please. |
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| What's out there so far suggests the rear sub frame was beefed up to handle the additional stopping power generated by the new rear disc brakes. More on NVH, one post claims an astounding 30% reduction in cabin noise. | |
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Replying to: bm000092 (Sep 12, 2008 5:15 am) To tone down the [my] rhetoric a few notches, (guilty), coming at this from another perspective, what is the sense of having the 5 speed manual in the base JA without the low range? To xostnot, (on this same subject too), yes, the JA is that soft roader fighter, (for now), the entry level one intended for mass market consumption. So logically without the low range on board, the JA would be going up against the Nissan Rogue, etc. As we know the mass market seems to prefer "those" with auto boxes. So why even config the JA with the 5 speed manual??? Maybe Suzuki should just switch gears making a 5 speed available only on a base JX with low range. It would then become the entry level off road capable model which so many of us desire. All the bells and whistles in the world mean nothing bouncing about on a backwoods route, (as the wife put it so well). Most car companies show deference to repeat buyers, don't they?. It remains agonizingly perplexing here in North America, why Suzuki seems so reluctant to pay homage to it's historic roots and it's long time customer base. An entry level OR capable model should be kept available in the lineup AT ALL TIMES, just as in the past.
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Replying to: norwoodsmn (Sep 14, 2008 1:56 pm) Thanks for the information about rear disk brakes being of the ventilated type. |
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Beefier steel used under the hood in engine surround(ing) and mount point areas. Obviously this would apply to the front suspension mount points also. Rear IRS evidently stronger with mods to it's location [attachment points to] the hybridized body/frame structure. Re the six: as would be expected, improved linear torque delivery throughout the rev range, vs. the 2.7. As mentioned before, strengthened hybridized body/frame and suspension mount point(s), and the suspension mount [location] mods at the rear, yield improvements to ride/handling, including better steering feel. The effect of that combo is probably what I thought I felt when I TD'ed the 4cyl recently. The lighter weight three door [available abroad] 4cyl with the 5 speed manual, is said to be real delight to drive. Again, our 5 door base JA ought to be about as good, except for NOT having the low range gear set option. But that sets a JA up to go head to head with a base Subaru Forester. Same price even here in Canada. Take a hypothetical new soft roader buyer, one never needing or wanting a low range who of course was familiar with Subaru's formidable major marketing efforts and its brand recognition... A QUESTION: Which, (base Sube or Zuke JA), would she or he be most likely to opt for? If like me you might have say Forester, (and prior sales stats doubtless bear this out)?, well then.... Well then, doesn't that seem to indicate Suzuki should take a look at returning to doing what it once did best over here, by offering us our own Aussie-like equipped base model, well before launching a base Subaru fighter? Would there be a greater demand for a Suzuki Forester fighter, (which essentially is what the non low range JA is), OR instead might there be even more PENT UP demand for a MARKET NICHE DOMINATING, FULLY MODERN new four cylinder Suzuki GV equipped as we have suggested here Suzuki? Clearly its time you engaged four low to climb back up "The Hill of Confidence" from the top of which you might behold the wisdom of paying homage to your roots in Canada, if not in all of North America. Can't think of any more ways to say this, so I'll promise to quit trying. Nwdsmn. |
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