2023 Suzuki Grand Vitara won't be coming back to Australia

September 11: Grand Vitara return not on the cards for Australia

The 2023 Suzuki Grand Vitara recently unveiled in India will not be making an Australian return, the brand's local boss has said.

Speaking at the launch of the new Suzuki S-Cross this week, Suzuki Australia's General Manager, Michael Pachota, told Wheels it had some interest in the new model, but we won't be getting it locally.

"That vehicle has been specifically designed for that market [India], and there is some global spread of that product," he said.

"But because we'd already put our hand up for Vitara and S-Cross, and then this product came along and we didn't know they were going to call it the Grand Vitara.

"We just potentially knew there was another product within that same platform size-wise, and we wouldn't have room for another car like that in our lineup – all of a sudden that would make three small SUVs and I think we'd suffer from some cannibalisation."

Suzuki's current Australian lineup consists of the Swift and Swift Sport hatches, Ignis compact SUV, Vitara and S-Cross small SUVs and Jimny off-roader. While Suzuki continues to sell the current-generation Baleno hatch, it will not bring the next gen car here as it won't meet Australian safety standards.

Read more about the new Grand Vitara in our original story below.

Kathryn Fisk

The story to here

July 21: New Grand Vitara unveiled in India with hybrid power

The Suzuki Grand Vitara nameplate has returned, with the reveal of a new small SUV in India – but don’t expect to see it on Australian roads.

Designed for developing regions, such as India and Africa, the Grand Vitara was engineered by Maruti Suzuki – the highest-selling vehicle brand in the world’s second most-populous country – with assistance from the marque’s partnership with Toyota.

It has an almost-identical twin, the Toyota Hyryder, and utilises the Japanese giant’s hybrid technology, with a full petrol-electric powertrain available on flagship variants.

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This badge-engineering agreement includes the Toyota Glanza, a rebadged Suzuki Baleno for emerging markets, and the Suzuki Across sold in Europe, a mildly-restyled Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid to meet the continent’s strict emissions standards.

As such, the Grand Vitara features a 1.5-litre three-cylinder hybrid engine similar to the unit fitted to the Toyota Yaris and Yaris Cross locally, producing 85kW of power with a claimed fuel efficiency of 3.6L/100km.

A 12-volt mild-hybrid version of the 1.5-litre three-cylinder mill with 76kW and 137Nm is standard on lower grades.

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Inside, the Grand Vitara includes a 9-inch infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a semi-digital instrument cluster, flip-up head-up display, wireless phone charger and ventilated front seats.

Maruti Suzuki claims the Grand Vitara will feature six airbags and a 360-degree camera system, with no mention of active safety technology such as autonomous emergency braking – a requirement for all new vehicles sold in Australia from March 2025.

At 4345 millimetres in length, 1795mm in width and 1645mm in height, the latest Grand Vitara is significantly shorter than the previous five-door model sold in Australia between 2008 and 2018, which measured 4500mm long.

If it were to be sold locally, the Grand Vitara would slot into our small SUV category, featuring similar dimensions to the Toyota Corolla Cross set to arrive later this year.

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However, the soon-to-launch facelifted Suzuki S-Cross is a similar size at 4300mm long, meaning locals aren’t missing out. The smaller Vitara (4175mm long) will remain in Suzuki’s Australian line-up – both sourced from Hungary.

Five-and-a-half years ago, Suzuki Australia indicated to sister publication WhichCar that it was pushing hard for head office to produce a medium SUV based on the then-new Vitara.

However, the low-output powertrains, availability of the S-Cross and, most importantly, lack of active safety technology is likely to see the new Grand Vitara scratched out for Australia.