Can Grand Vitara dent Creta prospects? Five unique highlights

Maruti Suzuki is all set to launch the Grand Vitara, its answer to the best-selling compact SUVs in India like Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, in September. After the S-Cross failed to put up effective challenge against the Korean SUVs, Grand Vitara is Maruti Suzuki's bet to command decent market share in the segment. According to the largest carmaker in India, the Grand Vitara is aimed to ‘disrupt’ the segment where Maruti had been lacking so far. And in this effort, Maruti Suzuki has loaded the Grand Vitara with enough features that can outdo the likes of Creta and others.

Here is a look at five unique highlights of the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara which are missing in Hyundai Creta.

DIMENSIONS

While Grand Vitara's key challenge will be to be match the feature list of Hyundai Creta, the first thing to note is that the SUV stands longer in length. This will help Maruti Suzuki provide more space inside the Grand Vitara SUV for the driver and passengers. According to the official figures, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara stands 4,345 mm in length, which is 45 mm more than Hyundai Creta.

HYBRID POWERTRAIN

Maruti Suzuki developed the Grand Vitara SUV in collaboration with Toyota Motor. The two Japanese carmakers tied up to manufacture hybrid powertrain that will be used in Grand Vitara, and its technical cousin Urban Cruiser HyRyder. The Grand Vitara is available with a 1.5 litre Intelligent Electric Hybrid and a 1.5 litre Smart Hybrid powertrain. The e-CVT transmission offers drive in electric mode as well with maximum output of 114 bhp. The option to pick a hybrid variant over the standard ICE variants will give Grand Vitara and edge over Creta, which is offered only in petrol and diesel.

ALL-WHEEL DRIVE

Another key feature missing in Hyundai Creta, or any other existing models in the compact SUV segment, is the all-wheel drive option. Maruti has brought in Suzuki's AllGrip AWD technology to be used for the first time in its cars. The Grand Vitara mild-hybrid variants offers four driving modes including Auto, Snow, Sport and Lock. The more powerful hybrid version offers front-wheel-drive with Eco, Normal, Power and EV modes. The EV mode also helps in improved mileage. Maruti claims it will offer nearly 28 kmpl, much higher than even diesel units of Creta.

360-DEGREE CAMERA

Maruti Suzuki has been introducing new-age technology in its cars since the beginning of this year by introducing 360-degree cameras for the first time in Baleno. The same unit makes way inside Grand Vitara too. Despite being in the market for nearly eight years, Creta remains without this key feature to assist drivers.

HEAD-UP DISPLAY

One of the unique features Maruti cars has these days is the head-up display (HuD) unit. Introduced for the first time in Baleno, the HuD screen has also been added to the new Brezza and Grand Vitara. Hyundai does not offer HuD on any of its cars sold in India yet.