Japanese brand drops the only new energy vehicle from its South African portfolio.
The Suzuki Grand Vitara became the Japanese carmaker’s first local product with a hybrid powertrain upon the nomenclature’s reintroduction to South Africa two years.
It remained Suzuki’s only local energy vehicle until it was canned very quietly recently. The carmaker told us that it “is part of an ongoing optimisation of our model line-up. This is a routine process in which we review positioning, demand, and broader product planning considerations”.
Only all-paw Suzuki Grand Vitara
The mild hybrid Suzuki Grand Vitara combined the brand’s newer K15C 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and battery pack for a total output of 76kW/137Nm. This is down one kilowatt and one Newton Meter on the conventional K15B 1.5-litre petrol mill that powers the rest of the Grand Vitara range.
Hybrid also featured the AllGrip all-wheel drive system and the six-speed automatic gearbox. The former making it the only GV with all-wheel drive.
These things did come at a premium though. Its sticker of R542 900 made it the only local Suzuki product over R500 000 and also R99 000 more expensive than the Suzuki Grand Vitara GLX 1.5 automatic. This model has now become the range’s new flagship offering.
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