Faults:

Happy to report that to date, nothing has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

The car has done nothing but impress. Having never driven a Suzuki, I was skeptical regarding quality/durability, but so far I couldn't be happier. Friends and relatives have also passed the same comment.

The engine pulls strong past three grand, and highway overtaking is a breeze. I also tow a 600kg jet ski up and down beaches, and the Vitara handles it no problems; I am yet to use the low range transfer.

A recent 1200km trip to Broome, was both comfortable and enjoyable. Having three 12V points is a bonus, with the iPod, Engel fridge and satellite phone...

Faults:

My only complain is I was going to buy a camper trailer with a tow ball weight of 105 kgs, and I realise that the car only accept by manufactured specificacions 85 kgs.

General Comments:

Happy with the car overall, but I think the problem I mention above should be rectified because most camper trailers have a ball weight of 100 kgs or more. The previous Vitara is OK for 140 kgs.

Faults:

Windshield wipers have gotten stuck a couple times when I've turned them off.

Acceleration is very slow when going uphill, and especially on the freeway.

General Comments:

This truck was a great value! The MSRP is around $25,000 and I got it for $21,000 with all the rebates. It's beautiful inside and out! It looks at least $30,000.

The V6 is not too powerful: even with cruise control on, it won't keep at the speed I set it at when going uphill. It's nice to drive around town, but the highway is a little bit irritating because of its slowness, and changing lanes becomes a bit frightening. If I set the cruise control at 70, even going up a slight hill will cause the car to slow down to 66. That isn't really a big deal though. I picked up this truck from Suzuki of East Tennessee and drove it back to my home in Georgia and it performed quite well.

One thing a bit irritating is how the steering wheel shakes. City driving is fine, but the long distance drive home from Tennessee put my arms to sleep a couple times with all the vibrating.

Lumbar support is lacking; on the drive home I had to stop a couple times to crack my back.

I need more storage compartments! I can't put my phone in the armrest hole on the door because it'll slide right through. In my 2001 Nissan Altima I had a little coin-holder built into the cup-holder area, so that was convenient going through toll plazas, something suburbanites have to do everyday when they need to go to Atlanta for work, fun, and school. There are cup-holders, a sunglasses-compartment, an armrest-compartment, and the glove-box for storage. Before I purchased the truck, I read many consumer reviews about the '06 GV not having enough storage, and I thought that was silly at the time, but now that I own the vehicle and have been driving it for three weeks, I agree with the reviews.

One thing odd about the truck is that there isn't a blue hazy sun-blocker at the top of the windshield; this isn't problematic though.

SmartPass is so convenient. Being in Atlanta is a bit scary at night, and the last thing I want to do is to dig through my purse searching for my keys while I'm walking to the car. I like to be aware of my surroundings at all times, and with SmartPass I can do that easily. Luxury cars have this, and my Luxury 4x4 GV was only $21k and this feature was STANDARD!

The warranty and standard features make this car a steal. The six-in-dash CD changer is great, and the steering wheel audio controls are very useful. They don't light up at night though, but they're easy to memorize.

The car reads INSTANT miles per gallon, instead of average, which is basically useless. It's more of a distraction than anything. The EPA mpg says that it gets 19/23; I haven't tested it yet.

It's quite a roomy car. There are so many accessories too to really jazz up your truck! I've got the chrome-looking hood vents (really sporty looking), body-side molding to protect my doors, mud-flaps, and the stainless steel exhaust.

The pros absolutely outweigh the cons. Purchase this vehicle today and smile everytime you drive it, like I do.

Faults:

No problems so far.

General Comments:

We have owned this Grand Vitara for a month now and I cannot think of anything negative to say. We are previous Suzuki owners so we were familiar with the quality of product they make. The new body style was appealing, but the extra safety features won us over because we have a 2 year old. The interior has plenty of room for a family to travel on a long trip. With all the standard features, this vehicle is definitely a bargain in this price range.

If you need get other accessories (i.e. roof cross bars or a tow hitch), I would recommend purchasing them from the dealer rather than after market. I priced the after market products and they were almost double. Suzuki offers the roof cross bars, tow hitch and trailer light adapter in one bundle called "the Travel Package". I installed these items myself at home and was surprised at how easily the installation went. The cross bars attach to the existing roof rails in about 10 minutes, the trailer hitch and light adapter were on in about 1 hour.