Suzuki Vitara 2018

[TheUninvited]

Still waiting for my Red GLX. Next week ang promise ni SA.

[mda]

Its not Ondoy its climate change sir.little rain and flooding is everywhere.plus mga baradong drainage and waterways kaya majority of the buyer needs high ground clearance of cars

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An important note... higher ground clearance does not automatically mean better flood fording capability. It does give that illusion, though.

[montro]

An important note... higher ground clearance does not automatically mean better flood fording capability. It does give that illusion, though.

Let say not all higher ground clearance car are better in flood fording. But not all perspective Filipino car buyer's are car geniuses and enthusiasts like you. One thing in normal Filipino mind is yung mataas na sasakyan ay lamang sa baha at lubak. Besides that's their own opinion and hard earned money and I respect them. My apology on this.[emoji6]

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[nasa.jpl]

My GL+ was released the other night. Sharing some thoughts to everyone considering the 2018 Vitara. Sorry for the long post.

Do note that the current prices are introductory prices. The prices will go up next year. I was told that the expectation was for GL+ pricing to go up to around where the GLX pricing currently is, counting the increase and the new excise tax. I think that Suzuki will introduce the base GL model at the current GL+ pricing.

The introductory pricing might also be playing into why it isn't as easy to get a hold of the new Vitara (aside from limited supply). I got mine through financing and it appears they're prioritizing financing over cash buyers. There's quite a wait list at where I got my unit; I'm glad that I was first in line for the GL+ and that the unit which arrived first was in a color on my short list.

I targeted the GL+ as I didn't want a sunroof. The only feature I wish from the GLX are the extra airbags.

The GL+ doesn't come with a backing camera. The brochure wasn't clear on that (other GLX-only features were marked on the brochure). It's still possible to install one, though (see next paragraph). But I'm fine with just the backing sensors.

The head unit/radio on the GL+ is the WinCE variant. I've driven a 1.2 Swift before and it's the same variety. The included RCA input should make installing a backing camera convenient, although it's probably best to have proper wiring done and have the camera automatically kick in when you set the car to R.

About the driving part, I can only give initial impressions. I drove out of the dealer around 6:30pm, filled the car with gas, went around a little to get used to the car, and stopped for dinner before heading home. That was just five or six kilometers of driving. I received my Vitara with 38km on it, after having been driven from the plant. The fuel economy reading was at 10.5 km/L, which dipped slightly after my short drive (heavy traffic during my short drive).

I came from driving a Ford Fiesta, which drives really well. The Vitara is up there, though I still miss how well the Fiesta drives. The drive feels like a much better version of the 1.2 Swift. This Vitara feels like a proper crossover version of the Swift. I believe the M16A engine is the same one from earlier Swift models, so I guess you could expect similar behavior. I feel that the 1.2 Swift struggles at acceleration; this Vitara does not.

I'll reserve further thoughts on fuel economy until I've driven a few thousand kilometers on it. I'm currently waiting on the OR/CR before taking this car on a good break-in road trip. Hopefully I can do so around Christmas/New Year.

[nasa.jpl]

It’s a crossover and not a really truly legit SUV. Expected ground clearance is obviously just a little higher than a sedan. EcoSport has the highest ground clearance at 200mm before the XV came into picture at 220mm...

For baha mode, better use a PPV-based SUV instead...


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Keep in mind that the difference between 185mm and 200mm is just 1.5cm. You could argue that it isn't much of a difference.

I don't have as much fear of scraping the bottom of the Vitara as I did with my previous Fiesta. There's a really high speed bump near my condo parking slot, and I really had to take care (and go diagonal) with the Fiesta (scraped the bottom a few times). The Vitara handled it with ease.

As for baha mode, Ford claims that the EcoSport can handle floods as well as some other pickup trucks on the market. I'm inclined to believe that but don't really want to push any car too far.

[Leachim1]

My GL+ was released the other night. Sharing some thoughts to everyone considering the 2018 Vitara. Sorry for the long post.

Do note that the current prices are introductory prices. The prices will go up next year. I was told that the expectation was for GL+ pricing to go up to around where the GLX pricing currently is, counting the increase and the new excise tax. I think that Suzuki will introduce the base GL model at the current GL+ pricing.

The introductory pricing might also be playing into why it isn't as easy to get a hold of the new Vitara (aside from limited supply). I got mine through financing and it appears they're prioritizing financing over cash buyers.

I targeted the GL+ as I didn't want a sunroof. The only feature I wish from the GLX are the extra airbags.

The GL+ doesn't come with a backing camera. The brochure wasn't clear on that (other GLX-only features were marked on the brochure). It's still possible to install one, though (see next paragraph). But I'm fine with just the backing sensors.

The head unit/radio on the GL+ is the WinCE variant. I've driven a 1.2 Swift before and it's the same variety. The included RCA input should make installing a backing camera convenient, although it's probably best to have proper wiring done and have the camera automatically kick in when you set the car to R.

About the driving part, I can only give initial impressions. I drove out around 6:30pm, filled the car with gas, went around a little to get used to the car, and stopped for dinner before heading home. That was just five or six kilometers of driving. I received my Vitara with 38km on it, after having been driven from the plant. The fuel economy reading was at 10.5 km/L, which slightly dipped with my short drive (heavy traffic during my short drive).

I came from driving a Ford Fiesta, which drives really well. The Vitara is up there, though I still miss how well the Fiesta drives. The drive feels like a much better version of the 1.2 Swift. This Vitara feels like a proper crossover version of the Swift. I believe the M16A engine is the same one from earlier Swift models, so I guess you could expect similar behavior. I feel that the 1.2 Swift struggles at acceleration; this Vitara does not.

I'll reserve further thoughts on fuel economy until I've driven a few thousand kilometers on it. I'm currently waiting on the OR/CR before taking this car on a good break-in road trip. Hopefully I can do so around Christmas/New Year.

Wow, exactly the same for me. I opted for the gl+ since I really don't need/like the sunroof. Looking forward on having a brief review soon of the driving dynamics of the vitara as I am also coming from a fiesta. Still awaiting confirmation from my SA if my unit is already available for pick up either tomorrow or Monday as the paint job is yet to be completed.

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[dos2]

Wow, exactly the same for me. I opted for the gl+ since I really don't need/like the sunroof. Looking forward on having a brief review soon of the driving dynamics of the vitara as I am also coming from a fiesta. Still awaiting confirmation from my SA if my unit is already available for pick up either tomorrow or Monday as the paint job is yet to be completed.

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Attention Suzuki Sales Agents : if you want to sell a Vitara, verify if the buyer is a former Ford Fiesta owner.

[Vodka]

Let say not all higher ground clearance car are better in flood fording. But not all perspective Filipino car buyer's are car geniuses and enthusiasts like you. One thing in normal Filipino mind is yung mataas na sasakyan ay lamang sa baha at lubak. Besides that's their own opinion and hard earned money and I respect them. My apology on this.[emoji6]

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that's why i don't read too much into the Ground Clearance spec in the brochure in usual city driving you're more likely to scrape the bumper so the more relevant number is the approach angle which isn't normally listed

as for Vitara it's supposed to be a soft-roader i mean it's got an 4x4 version (like the Ecosport). so i'm a bit disappointed that it rides so low. maybe they don't wanna cannibalize their Jimny sales

[Leachim1]

My SA just called and apparently there's a problem with the paint job as they have to request a change in the documents from LTO since the color will be changed. So I opted to get the car already and have two options re the color.

Option 1: wait for the or/cr to be released then request for a color change in LTO then have the car repainted.

Option 2: resort to vinyl wrap which would not require a change in the registration.

Have any of you already had experience with vinyl wraps? Kindly advise. Thank you.

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[chronicle]

Have them process the color change. May process pa na kelangan mo pumunta sa pnp hw patrol group just to get a cert. Then tsaka ka pa lang makakapag change color sa or cr.


Nirepaint ba nila yang model unit just to suit your needs?