[fingv]

-The diesel engine in the GV is exactly the same unit, found in the Renault Scenic 1.9dCi automatic. It even has the same ECU and DPF filter. The company, that made the chiptuning for the guy, I met, confirmed this and they had performed the same tuning for Renault engines also.

-As for chiptuning in general, I have watched some of my colleagues at work do chiptuning on their diesel cars, and some of them have had some problems after tuning. The Opel (Vauxhall) Vectra 1.9DTi of one 20-year old girl burned some holes into the pistons Others have no problems, like a BMW 530dA, that my friend drives. It has covered over 60k miles after adding 45hp and 115Nm to the already powerful 6-cyl turbodiesel

-I will propably not do any chiptuning on any of my vehicles now, or in the future, just to keep things reliable

-BTW, the dyno, the guy's GV was dyno'ed on, also recorded the power distribution! According to the fact sheet, it was 48,14% front / 51,86% rear (measured after the chip swap). Pretty close to the factory claimed 47/53? They use the same dyno to measure 4wd Subaru Imprezas, Mitsubishi Lancer evos, Nissan GTRs and other similar cars with variable power distribution or active diffs, so it should be quite reliable?

-I've been watching the bush fires on the news, and I can't even imagine, what it's like to lose everything you own, especially, if the fire has been started by a pyromaniac like most of them apparently are?

-God, I hate people that do stupid things like that!

-Hope you get lots of voulenteers to help the needy! Take care

 

[Risky]

I'm not a fan of chiptuning. I'd leave it stock anyway.

I wonder when they'll release an auto version of the GV diesel?

Oh & see the post here on "Victorian bushfires" regarding my friend. Lol we got her a 1995 Suzuki Vitara Estate V6 SV620VH Type1 5dr Auto 4x4 2.0L V6 to get her started on re-building her life back.

 

[fingv]

-Japanese cars, diesel engines & automatics, are as rare, as an honest car salesman

-For some reason, the Japanese seem to think, that diesel drivers just want to get by with as little fuel as possible, and therefore don't prefer an automatic. This is common to all Japanese cars, not just Suzuki.

-Also some transmission manufacturers are struggling to build an auto 'box, that can take the reasonably high low-end torque of the modern diesel engines. I know many diesel-automatic cars, that have broken their transmissions either while towing, or after chiptuning the engine

-Perhaps some day, they bring out a diesel with auto. I would propably buy it, because I almost bought the more expensive KIA Sorento 2.5CRDi A to have the excellent 5-speed Jatco RE5R05A 'box. The Sorento diesel-auto is famous for having a perfect powerline for towing. The only thing, that kept me from buying the Sorento, was the price. If the Suzuki had cost $10k more, I would have bought the KIA. But I'm very glad, I did'nt Saved a lot of money, bought a much quieter, smoother riding suv (less truck-like), and I've had no problems at all with my GV, so far

-I read your post on the Victoria fires, and I think what you did, was awesome! Shows true friendship I hope, the fires are soon put out for good, and people can finally start rebuilding. I also think, that what you did at the car dealership, was morally the right thing, and I agree with you 100%. Not many people would have done the same.

-Lots of symphaty and best wishes, to all of you, down under!

 

[Sigtran]

No regrets in general, excellent price/peformance compromise for people wishing a true offroader and a family car all in one vehicle.

Pros:
- Well built, designed as a true offroader for people on budget
- Built-in rigid, truck like, ladder frame reinforcement (chassis)
- Nice design, much better looking then RAV4, X-Trail, CRV, etc...
- 4L, a must for offroad, heavy snow etc - really good to have.
- Good handling and steering
- Better value for money comparing to other SUVs

Cons (hoping to be improvements for next generation GV):
- 1.9L DDiS diesel engine could have been more refined (i.e. to be less noisy and with a bit more torque over wider range of revs.)
- Wish it has a 6 (and not just 5) gears for improved fuel economy on highways.
- Wish there is a optional 6-gear automatic for diesel engine
- Wish it comes with better OEM tyres then Bridgestone Dualer HT687
- Wish it has option of even higher ground clearance for serious offroaders.
- Wish it has 5 star NCAP rating like other new SUVs (Audi Q5, KIA Sorento, Landrover Freelander, etc...)

So far, I am really enyoing it. Hoping that one day new GV will address most of the above mentioned comments, in such case for sure they will keep me as a loyal customer...

 

[Hoovie]

Love my 07 Xsport 4x4

My only major complaint:

The cruise control sucks. I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet (or did I miss it?) If I hit any sort of incline worth calling a hill, the cruise control constantly downshifts and upshifts to the point where I turn it off.

I replaced the Geolanders at around 20k miles with a pair of Pirelli Scorp A/Ts, and it is an off road beast. Lost a little bit of fuel mileage(.2mpg drop according to the display) but totally worth it. I take my GV to places my buddies are scared to go with thier 2WD full size pickups.

 

[dkguffe]

Love my 07 Xsport 4x4

My only major complaint:

The cruise control sucks. I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet (or did I miss it?) If I hit any sort of incline worth calling a hill, the cruise control constantly downshifts and upshifts to the point where I turn it off.

I replaced the Geolanders at around 20k miles with a pair of Pirelli Scorp A/Ts, and it is an off road beast. Lost a little bit of fuel mileage(.2mpg drop according to the display) but totally worth it. I take my GV to places my buddies are scared to go with thier 2WD full size pickups.

I like the Cruise control. It's ultra precise.. I've compared with others, and measured with a GPS. It deviates only 0.1 to 0.3kph at 100kph. Pretty impressive. You're right about the downshifts, it can be a bit annoying, but, it doesnt happen much with me, only when I'm driving up and down steep hills on the freeway etc. It never does it on normal graded roads.

I agree with the beast.. Mine is same. Larger tires did change my economy significantly though. Did you reset you mileage meter ? Or did you just see a change.. It averages over the entire time since last reset, its not a rolling average.

 

[geevee]

There have been topics about the cruise control. Mine gradually loses speed, so it's too annoying to use because I have to reset it frequently.

Larger tires would increase the distance being travelled at any given "speed" of the drivetrain, but the trip computer has no way to know the tire diameter. So although the readout will show poorer mileage, you're actually probably getting the same mileage as with smaller tires. Less, perhaps, due to added weight and a more coarse tread pattern, but better because larger tires roll with less resistance.

 

[Jason Humphreys]

The cruise control sucks. I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet (or did I miss it?) If I hit any sort of incline worth calling a hill, the cruise control constantly downshifts and upshifts to the point where I turn it off.

The cruise control on the diesel manual is fantastic. It will take a steep hill with little or no dropoff of speed, even at 90km/h. The only time I've seen it confused when we were going through a section of rolling hills of short steep up and downs. Recently I had the misfortune of using a GV auto V6, and I found that the two automatic systems match poorly, with the auto often hunting gears on the hills. I could well understand why you would think that the Auto/cruise control combo sucks.

 

[dkguffe]

There have been topics about the cruise control. Mine gradually loses speed, so it's too annoying to use because I have to reset it frequently.

Larger tires would increase the distance being travelled at any given "speed" of the drivetrain, but the trip computer has no way to know the tire diameter. So although the readout will show poorer mileage, you're actually probably getting the same mileage as with smaller tires. Less, perhaps, due to added weight and a more coarse tread pattern, but better because larger tires roll with less resistance.

No, economy does go down, mainly because of the changed gear ratio due to the larger diameter of the tires. My driven distance may have changed, but only a small percentage, while my economy changed about 20-30% down.

Even with the calculated real vs measured distance etc, the economy loss is at least 20% from the stock tires to the biggies. In city traffic, I rarely get more than 5-6 km PER litre... I used to get at least 8 or 9. On long trips on the highway or freeway with few stops, I can still get almost 8.5 km/l, I used to get 10 before.

Acceleration is also considerably slower, and my brakes are not strong enough to lock up the wheels on dry road. I can not activate the ABS... Wet road, slippery, gravel etc works fine, the ABS works normally.

 

[East Coast]

Solved the problem of my $2900 ESP light on.

Sold the Grand Vitara. First and definitely the last Suzuki product!

Absolutely everything went wrong with this lemon. 100k km's.

 

[Jason Humphreys]

Solved the problem of my $2900 ESP light on.

Sold the Grand Vitara. First and definitely the last Suzuki product!

Absolutely everything went wrong with this lemon. 100k km's.

Our lemon is still under warranty and we keep throwing it back to Suzuki Australia to fix. Add tha to some complaint letters we're hoping they realise that if they can't fix the problems the need to give us a new car that works. At the going rate, they've already paid for half a new car trying to fix this lemon!

 

[GV1]

I have had every Suzuki 4WD available in Canada since the SJ410 soft top long box, with the exception of the new XL-7 ( I never liked GM) I have never experienced any hereditory problems with any of these vehicles. Without question the GV is the best of the best. The only complaint, if you would call it a complaint, is gas consumption. I wish it was a lot easier on gas, or they would offer a diesel option. BTW, the one I had the most fun with was the Samurai.

 

[Jason Humphreys]

I have had every Suzuki 4WD available in Canada since the SJ410 soft top long box, with the exception of the new XL-7 ( I never liked GM) I have never experienced any hereditory problems with any of these vehicles. Without question the GV is the best of the best. The only complaint, if you would call it a complaint, is gas consumption. I wish it was a lot easier on gas, or they would offer a diesel option. BTW, the one I had the most fun with was the Samurai!!!!
Bob

GV's do come in diesel, that's what I've been driving for the last two years. And the more recent model doesn't have the lemon issues that the original DDiS had. You're right, I drove my Vitara JLX with my local Suzuki 4WD club for years and they kept up with the Sierra's in most situations, and in much more comfort! I'm a tall guy, I don't fit in a Sierra! Great car, love it when it's working...

 

[GV1]

Jason, please don't misunderstand me. I live in Canada and the diesel option is not available. Also did you mis read my post? I said Samurai, the small 2 door 4WD Suzuki had years ago. It fell out of favour some years ago, along with the Ford Bronco, for roll-over reasons. Beats me thpugh, because you can roll almost anything , if you try. You mentioned Sierra, here that's a Chevrolet pick-up.
Thanks for responding.
Bob

PS: OK, just did some research and discovered that the Samurai is also the Sierra. Why do the have so many names everywhere?

 

[Taras]

How can one regret buying an SUV that one could take offroad, have fun, and do this:

... and then get back on a highway and drive home in comfort? GV is a great compromise between real offroader and city crossover.

 

[East Coast]

Because it was in for repairs more than it was on the road; let alone "off-road".

Wiring harness replacement, transmission replacement, front end complete rebuild, dome light coming on whenever that Suzuki never did fix, ESP system failure, 3 exhaust donut gaskets, an engine oil leak that was in for repair 4 times and was never fixed, a misfire or periodic poor engine performance that happened whenever highway driving and Suzuki could not diagnose or fix, wipers that completely failed twice.....

That's all I have the stomach for right now.

What a great machine. I bought it as a "beater" for my wife in the winter because it was cheap but turns out it was nothing but a headache and definitely not cheap.

Good riddance Suzuki. Never again.

 

[Sigtran]

Really sorry to hear all that, I completly understand why you don't want to even think about Suzuki again. However, I am convinced the you were just very, very unlucky with particular GV, as generaly, Suzuki is usualy above the avarage on the reliability survey lists, for example:
Reliability rankings for 33 car brands issued by 'Consumer Reports' show Asian models' strengths - Motoring, Life & Style - The Independent

Anyway, whatever brand you choose, there is no guarantee you will not get a lemon, but it is very unlikely that you will have such bad luck twice in the row... If yes, you should immediately play lottery.

 

[Jason Humphreys]

Jason, please don't misunderstand me. I live in Canada and the diesel option is not available. Also did you mis read my post? I said Samurai, the small 2 door 4WD Suzuki had years ago. It fell out of favour some years ago, along with the Ford Bronco, for roll-over reasons. Beats me thpugh, because you can roll almost anything , if you try. You mentioned Sierra, here that's a Chevrolet pick-up.
Thanks for responding.
Bob

PS: OK, just did some research and discovered that the Samurai is also the Sierra. Why do the have so many names everywhere?

Hi Bob,

I'd guess the Chevy Sierra was the reason they couldn't use that name over there. My bad, I'd heard of the Samurai variant but didn't realise that they'd dropped the "Sierra" tag altogether. A few years ago here they released the next generation Sierra/Samurai, calling it the Jimny. I've noticed recently that the newer models are coming out as "Jimny Sierra" and my dealership say that Suzuki are planning on dropping the Jimny name completely and going back to the Sierra... It has such a strong reputation. Here we had heaps of Sierra variants, 2-door, 4-door, ute(i think you'd call that a pick-up). My Suzuki 4WD club used to give out rollover stickers to anyone who rolled their car, apparently they'd get the stickers from a rollover club in Japan!

One thought I had, is the Diesel GV available south of your border? I reckon I'd fly down to pick one up and enjoy the drive home if it was!

East Coast, sorry to hear I'm not the only one with problems. Sounds like we both got "Friday cars", ones made on Friday afternoon just before it's time to go home... I've had a Vitara before and I love the marque. Even this lemon, I want it fixed or I want it replaced, but I don't want something else.

 

[RGOLD]

Actually I also got a "Friday" car or maybe a "Monday" car after every body back to work drunk...

The dealer told me that I'm the first "lucky" person who got the rear wheel hub replaced on the new GV after 27000 miles...

Guess what, now the front driver side wheel is loose! It will be interesting to hear the dealer excuse now...

Suzuki has worst quality control if they let from time to time bad parts to slip out from their factory.

It is great car on paper but no more Suzuki for me...

 

[dkguffe]

Actually I also got a "Friday" car or maybe a "Monday" car after every body back to work drunk...

The dealer told me that I'm the first "lucky" person who got the rear wheel hub replaced on the new GV after 27000 miles...

Guess what, now the front driver side wheel is loose! It will be interesting to hear the dealer excuse now...

Suzuki has worst quality control if they let from time to time bad parts to slip out from their factory.

It is great car on paper but no more Suzuki for me...

I must have a Wednesday car then, because mine has just been great all the time. I'm sorry to hear that you guys have had all these problems. I still think the majority of people owning the GV's are running great. That's why we don't see much else in here but the people either having problems or modding like mad.. (like me hehe)