Even at its most loaded, the Suzuki Grand Vitara comes in well under $30K, making it a value for a five-person SUV. Suzuki relies on Garmin for navigation and Bluetooth in the truck.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Suzuki's five-seat SUV fits in the budget segment, with this fully loaded Limited trim version coming in at $27K.
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The Grand Vitara uses boxy styling that looks a couple of decades old, as opposed to how new crossovers tend to incorporate carlike looks.
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Under the hood is a 3.2-liter V-6, not a particularly advanced engine, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.
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The Grand Vitara is on the short side, limiting rear seat leg room when the front seats are pushed back.
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The ride is a little rough in the Grand Vitara, with a definite economy car feel.
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The side-hinging rear door opens up to a cargo area nicely fitted with a grocery net and cover.
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Even at the top trim level, the interior of the Grand Vitara feels a bit cheap, with plenty of hard plastics and some silly faux wood inserts on the door handles.
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Audio controls adorn one spoke of the steering wheel, a modern convenience.
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The five-speed automatic transmission doesn't have a manual mode, but does have three low ranges.
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A dial on the center stack controls the four-wheel-drive mode, and a button engages descent control.
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Indicators on the instrument cluster show when the differential is locked.
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A Garmin GPS device, integrated by Suzuki, keeps the car from becoming a total tech failure.
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The Garmin can be removed from its dock for security or for use in another car.
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The plastic hatch containing the Garmin closes, hiding the GPS unit.
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The Garmin offers a Bluetooth cell phone system.
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The stereo is primitive, offering only an MP3-compatible CD player, Satellite Radio, and an auxiliary input.