Assuming the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara were brought into Malaysia, would it shake up the mid-size SUV market?
Maruti Suzuki just launched their all new joint venture mid-size SUV, the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara in India, and right off the bat, we noticed something interesting, it looks something like a cross between a Toyota Corolla Cross and a Toyota Veloz.
This car is a joint venture between Toyota, Daihatsu and Suzuki and is essentially a rebadged Toyota Hyryder with a few minor exterior styling differences as well as adding on a few hybrid engine options.
Now, before we get to the technical aspect, let’s entertain the idea that Suzuki brings in the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara here to Malaysia under Malaysia’s sole Suzuki dealer, Naza Eastern, and offers it for a starting price below RM125,000. Would it sell? If so, how well?
At that price point, it would be just enough below the price of the similar looking Toyota Corolla Cross, not so far below the price that it’s not even comparable anymore, but just enough that us Malaysians will seriously consider it a better alternative since we Malaysians love a good bargain.
Another interesting question if the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara were to go on sale in Malaysia at that price range would be, would it also take a way some portion of sales from potential buyers of the Toyota Veloz? After all, this car is a somewhat similar size as the Veloz and it’s sibling, the newly launched 2022 Perodua Alza.
With measurements of 4345/1795/1645mm and a 2600 mm wheelbase, the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara is in the same ballpark as the Perodua Alza and Toyota Corolla Cross but offers an element of uniqueness as there aren’t many Suzuki cars on Malaysian roads these days while there is no shortage of Peroduas and Toyotas.
The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara is also built on Suzuki’s Global C-platform and is powered by a 1.5-litre Toyota hybrid engine putting out 114bhp and achieves all this while still maintaining a mind-boggling 27.97km/l fuel efficiency.
On top of that, this car also gets a panoramic sunroof (also a feature it’s competitors lack), a digital instrument cluster, 6 airbags, disc brakes, ESP, hill-hold, TPMS and ventilated front seats, all this alone already makes the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara more unique than anything else in the segment on Malaysian roads right now.
Sadly, at this time, everything we have talked about is simply hypothetical. Whether or not Suzuki brings in the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara to Malaysia remains highly unlikely and Toyota probably won’t be bringing in a rebadged Toyota version as it may affect sales for their very own hybrid SUV, the Toyota Corolla Cross.
However, it would still be really cool to see this rebadged Suzuki here in Malaysia. Would you buy it if the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara was available in Malaysia or is its uniqueness not enough to convince you to choose it over its competitors?
