2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara DDiS Road Test Review

WE HAVE TESTED Suzuki’s Grand Vitara in several guises over the past six months, varying from the cheerful three-door with a petrol inline four to the luxury-spec five-door V6 Prestige.

However, one variant that had escaped the keenly-honed ‘nitpickery’ of TMR’s finest brains was the diesel-powered Grand Vitara DDiS - until now.

This model has been on sale in Australia since early 2008.  In that time, it has earned high praise from more than a few motoring scribes… all fine and dandy, but what do we reckon?

First up, it’s easy to understand its appeal.

As a basic package, the Grand Vitara five-door offers a keenly-priced package for buyers looking for more utility than the average sedan, but who don’t want to move up to a full-size four-wheel-drive. Couple that with a 1.9 litre turbodiesel engine that’s easy on the juice, and the picture gets even brighter.

However, despite its obvious merits in fuel economy, there are a few areas where the diesel-drinking Grand Vitara falls a little flat. We’ll get to those in a moment, but first let’s see just how different the DDiS is from its petrol-powered stablemates.

Styling

Aside from a handful of DDiS badges, the Grand Vitara Diesel is virtually identical to the 2.4 and 3.2 litre petrol models.

In fact, the only real point of difference is the absence of foglights on the diesel, which are standard equipment on the Grand Vitara Prestige.

There are no special flourishes to denote the DDiS’s status as the only diesel in Suzuki Australia’s line-up, but that’s no big deal. The Grand Vitara is already a handsome car in standard form, if perhaps a little conservative.

Chunky wheelarches, bold creases and an absence of fussy detailing work in the Grand Vitara’s favour, and the result is a car that looks a lot larger that it actually is.

It’s a rugged, high-riding shape that appeals to both sexes, and although most Grand Vitara buyers won’t venture too far from the blacktop, there’s a promise of off-road adventure in the car’s shape.

Interior

Again, the interior of the DDiS isn’t all that different from other models in the Grand Vitara range. In fact, aside from a tachometer that redlines at 4500rpm, there is little to differentiate them.

The design (both aesthetic and ergonomic) of the Grand Vitara diesel’s interior is good, but an overabundance of hard easily-marked black plastic surfaces let it down.

The dashboard centre stack in particular feels a little cheap, and more tactile materials would be of real benefit here.

The driving position is comfortable though, and the rest of the seats are reasonably good in terms of leg and headroom.

The front seats are considerably  more supportive than the rear bench, but the ability to recline the rear backrests is a plus.

Thanks to the high seating position, outward visibility is excellent. The Grand Vitara’s glasshouse is certainly large enough, with the thick-ish D-pillar and the top of the rear-mounted spare tyre the only things that might obstruct your vision.

In terms of luggage-carrying capability, the Grand Vitara is a versatile machine. With the rear seats in place, 398 litres of cargo can be carried without obscuring rearward vision.

Fold the backrests down, tumble the seats forward and 758 litres of room is freed up – 1386 litres if you pack your stuff higher than the window line.

Equipment And Features

The Grand Vitara DDiS is specced similarly to the 2.4 litre model. That means cruise control, power windows, climate control and a four-speaker MP3 compatible AM/FM CD tuner are standard-issue.

A leather-trimmed steering wheel with remote audio controls also makes the grade, and so does a trip computer and a set of 17-inch alloy wheels. A nice practical touch is the 12-volt power outlets dotted around the cabin.

Safety kit is comprehensive, and consists of stability control, traction control, ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist - all as standard.

Passive safety is taken care of by three-point safety belts on each seat (pretensioners are fitted to the front seats) and a full suite of front, side and curtain airbags.

Mechanical Package

The mechanical highlight of the DDiS is, of course, its diesel engine. A 1.9 litre turbodiesel unit with common-rail direct injection, it develops 95kW of power at 3750rpm, 300Nm of torque at just 2000rpm and redlines at 4500rpm.

It’s not a great deal of power, but it is a reasonable amount of torque and it gets the 1630kg wagon moving with relative ease.

The water-cooled Garrett turbocharger features  a variable-geometry turbine housing, which gets the turbo spinning earlier and thus minimizes lag.

The intercooler is mounted behind the front bumper.

The 1.9 litre DDiS motor came in for some minor revisions in late 2008, which saw fuel economy improve by eight percent to 7.0 l/100km on the combined cycle.

The DDiS engine is available only with a five-speed manual transmission, with no auto offered. However, the dual-range, lockable AWD drivetrain that sits underneath the other Grand Vitara variants is also mated to the DDiS, and delivers a hefty serving of genuine off-road ability.