Date Published: 17th December 2010
Described as ‘funky,’ ‘clean’ and ‘muscular’ the Grand Vitara’s exterior was well received by our testers. It’s getting on a bit now, but still looks ‘fresh and modern,’ too.
Its interior styling is similarly slick, but let down by the overall standard of fit and finish. Dash materials don’t feel great, and too much of the switchgear is rattly. The vehicles we’ve driven this year are far better put together than the frankly catastrophic early examples we experienced, but still don’t feel as robust as some.
The dash design is neat, though, and seats are always comfortable, so our testers found its cabin a pleasant place to be. That’s when they weren’t trying out the back seats in the three-door, where legroom is desperate and an enormous B-pillar means you don’t get any view out to speak of.
It’s better on the five-door, but the fold-and-tumble system in both vehicles takes a large chunk out of their load lengths. A basic side-hinged tailgate does it few favours, either, and up front the glovebox and cubby are small and the door pockets are awkwardly shaped.
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