None of Suzuki Vitaras or Grand Vitaras ever shipped with any sort of locking differential from the factory - I would have though the absence of any mention in any manual would be an indication of this.

The only Suzuki that I am aware of that ever shipped with a locking differential was an SJ413 specific to the German market, which was fitted with a cable operated rear locking differential, not as a traction aid, but as a means of meeting parking brake legislation - that model had the parking brake on the transfer case output and if a rear wheel was lifted off the ground, it rendered the parking brake ineffective.

 

Thanks for that confirmation, I'm glad I found you! You are exactly the sort of person I have been looking for if your knowledge extends to models specific to single countries and parking legislation! I'm in a predicament where I really can't afford to make any sort of assumption, even if the ambiguity is very slight.

With the above said: does the gen 2 (Grand) Vitara maybe have a limited slip differential? I'm trying to figure out why it may be a more capable off roader than something like a gen 1 Landrover Freelander or gen 1 Hyundai Tucson, as 4x4 Suzukis have a good reputation as more serious off-roaders in the country where I am.

I'm actually looking for the best chance for my autistic friend to get up a steep muddy road to her house. I tried to convince her to get a house that is easy to get to a priority, but as part of her autism she finds it hard to prioritise wisely, and she got fixated on a house up a hill.

It is very hard to convince her of things, and it takes a lot of time and effort to get anything done with her, so when you do get through doing something for her, you need to make it count!

My friend is now getting fixated on the wrong things about getting a 4x4. She is making the colour of the car a priority rather than its ability to get her to her house, and has found a red Suzuki Grand Vitara that she likes. I had previously recommended Vitaras to her before I knew about locking differentials, and the red Vitara has been useful for distracting her from wanting to get a green gen 1 Freelander (I can't bring myself to trust gen 1 Freelanders). What she really doesn't want is a silver car, even though the silver paint would be good for reflecting the sun in a place where the temperature gets very high. I have found a Mitsubishi iO/Pinin/TR4 which has a locking differential selected through a transfer lever, but it is silver!

As part of her autism she finds it more difficult to use a manual transmission than your average person, so only got a licence for an automatic transmission. If you are in N America and not so familiar with the general European market: manual transmissions are the norm in Europe and automatics are harder to come buy, especially if you are buying a secondhand car, and you are on a budget like she is. So this adds an extra dimension to the difficulty of finding a car for her!

I suspect the difficulty she has with a manual transmission will be extended to using the transfer lever on the Vitara. So if she gets a car with a transfer lever, you really want it to come with the added benefit of having a locking differential that can help her get up a muddy hill. If a 4x4 is a more serious 4x4 like the gen 2 Vitara but doesn't have a locking differential and is unable to get all the way to her house, she might as well get a car without a transfer lever that is more automated in the respect of its 4x4 function. Something like a gen 1 Landrover Freelander or a gen 1 Hyundai Tucson, which are prolific in our part of the world.

Thanks for your time taken to read this if you will respond.

 

No, no the gen 2 does not have a limited slip diff from the factory, and about that Pajero iO, the locking differential is not what you think.

Briefly, the Pajero iO has a center differential which allows it to be driven in 4H on a hard surface (which this generation of Suzuki does not have, so please don't use 4H or 4L on a hard surface), to use 4WD on a slippery surface in the iO, you need to lock the center differential by selecting either 4HLc or 4LLc which are equivalent to 4H or 4L in the Suzuki.

I can't compare the Gen 2 (or the iO) to the Freelander or the Tucson, I'm not familiar with either of those, but, in my mind they aren't serious contenders because they lack a two speed transfer case - if I'm not mistaken, they are both based on a transverse engine, front wheel drive platform, both the Gen2 and the iO are traditional front engine, read wheel drive.

 

Thanks fordem, this is all really useful information. I don't know what I would do without you. I hadn't yet considered whether the Vitara had its engine set in a transverse position or not.

What would the advantages of a non-transverse engine be in the context of 4WD off-road performance? I guess there would be less moving parts so the drive train / power train would be less complex / deliver power more directly and therefore more likely to be tougher / more reliable or able to be put under more strain to deliver more power / torque?

 

which this generation of Suzuki does not have, so please don't use 4H or 4L on a hard surface

Does that mean that the Vitara should not be driven on a hard surface in 4WD? If yes, why not?

She is making the colour of the car a priority rather than its ability to get her to her house

In my observation, color in general is more important to women than to men.

 

Does that mean that the Vitara should not be driven on a hard surface in 4WD? If yes, why not?

First & second generation Vitaras (and the Sidekick you have), have what is known as "part time 4WD", there is no center differential and operation in 4WD on a hard surface can cause drive train wind up and potentially destroy the drivetrain.

When a four wheeled vehicle goes around a corner each wheel rotates at a different speed, the inside rear rotates slowest the outside front fastest, if it's a 4WD vehicle there will usually be differentials on the front & rear axles allowing the inner & outer to rotate at different speeds, but the front & rear axles are also rotating at different speeds (the front faster than the rear), if the vehicle does not have a center differential or some sort of coupling to allow for this difference, drive train wind up occurs.

 

thank you

On a soft surface these effects will be mitigated by wheel slip?
Is it advisable to not drive these vehicles on higher speeds in 4WD, even on oft surfaces, because drive train wind up effects will carry higher energies and chances to mitigate these effects with wheel slip will decrease with higher energies involved or the chances of damage to the car are higher with higher energies involved?

 

I was looking into these LSD's they mostly drop into your current carrier! https://www.tractionconcepts.com/Su.../tcxsz4852.htm?srsltid=AfmBOorPhy1LY7NrTWUKPekKmVLEpAvFr0P8Wxjmsm-QSoRKnhEdUouf

 

Don't waste your money - what you'll get for it is two hardened steel blocks and four springs that fit between them, applying pressure to the inner face of the differential side gears.

 

Front LSD Diff Lock For SUZUKI Grand Vitara Escudo 1999-2005 | eBay

Suzuki Escudo 1999 - 2005. Experience totally new driving! Compatibility This LSD fits the following cars/models Installation The Limited Slip differential is installed in place of your OEM differential.

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GV Smartlock Front Differen... | 4xFourART

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First - there is four wheel drive and there is all wheel drive - many people see them as equivalent to one another but they really aren't - all wheel drive can be a huge advantage over four wheel drive in slippery stuff like a wet or icy road, four wheel drive on the other hand will get you places in the rough stuff where all wheel drive just will not go.

All wheel drive vehicles are designed to send power to all four wheels all of the time and therefore MUST have some sort of mechanism to allow slip between the front & rear axles, a center differential, a viscous coupling or some sort of electrically controlled clutch, four wheel drive vehicles are also designed to send power to all four wheels, but generally speaking, not all of the time - there is a huge grey area here because an all wheel drive vehicle is by definition a four wheel drive vehicle, but not all four wheel drive vehicles are all wheel drive vehicles.

If you like - a man is a human being, all men are human beings, but not all human beings are men.

Front engined, front wheel drive vehicles have been "the norm" for many decades now, they are easier to "package", and generally speaking they are safer than any other configuration (front engined rear wheel drive or rear engine rear wheel drive), and transverse engined front wheel drive is now the dominant configuration, I think Subaru might be the only company offering a front engine front wheel drive car where the engine is not transversely mounted, I believe Renault used to, but I don't think they still do. Subaru will tell you their design is superior, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but the world is quite happy with transverse engined front wheel drive.

You can get transverse engined all wheel drive cars, it seems every one of the major manufacturers offers at least one, and for most owners these get the job done - they have different features, a fourth gen Suzuki Vitara for example can be purchased as FWD (Front Wheel Drive) or AWD (All Wheel Drive), which Suzuki calls AllGrip Select - there's a knob next to the transmission shifter that lets you select Auto, which is FWD until it senses the front wheels are slipping and then it sends power to the rear, Sport, Snow & Lock - Sport & Snow send different levels of power to the rear, and lock is a 50:50 split. Depending on the manufacturer, the options may be different, and I've seen at least one that was all wheel drive and you could "cripple" it by jacking any one wheel off the ground - do that with a Vitara and it will "drive off" the jack.

This is why I'm not willing to comment on the FreeLander or the Tucson - I'm not familiar with them, I can comment on the iO because I owned one for several years.

The problem with the fourth gen Vitara, and quite a few of it's competitors is ground clearance, or rather a lack of ground clearance, and that to me, is what really separates all wheel drive from serious four wheel drive.

 

I think Subaru might be the only company offering a front engine front wheel drive car where the engine is not transversely mounted

To my knowledge Audi does too, for example in the new A5 with certain engine options.
"Klassisch setzt Audi auf einen längsverbauten Motor mit Frontantrieb, der Allradantrieb „quattro“ ist optional erhältlich."

Audi A5 im Technik-Check

30 Jahre lang hörte die Mitteklasse bei Audi auf den Namen A4. Nun ist damit Schluss, sein Nachfolger heißt A5. Wie es zu der Namensänderung kommt und welche technischen Highlights sich unter der Haube befinden, erfahren Sie hier.

www.amz.de

translated to English:
Traditionally Audi utilizes a longitudinally mounted engine with front wheel drive, the all wheel drive system "quattro" is optionally available.

 

I think the part that's missed here is that she needs a vehicle to get up a hill to her house. Maybe I missed it, but I don't see that she needs a vehicle to go out 4 wheeling/mudding/rock crawling.
On the assumption that this house has some sort of driveway up the hill, then I would suggest an AWD vehicle. Nothing required from the operator to engage anything, and should be up to the task of getting up a hill even with snowy roads.
As for managing the obsessions: One of my sons is on the spectrum, so I get that. It definitely takes more work, but he can be convinced. So if she needs a specific color, maybe find a couple AWD vehicles that match her color wants, but also have the driveline that she needs.

 

I can tell you that a 2G Vitara is a little mountain goat. The 4L separates it completely from any AWD competitor. It will get up and more importantly down some crazy chocolate mud steep trails in Costa Rica. That is the reason they are so popular amongst the Tico's. The other very important part of the equation is the ability for the car To be repaired by the local mechanics as well as parts availability. The locking differential is a non issue.