Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV has clocked two lakh sales milestone in India within 23 months of its launch. The SUV, which leads Maruti's push in the utility vehicle segment along with Brezza and other models, is claimed to have clocked the fastest time taken by a model in the compact segment to achieve the milestone. The carmakers said that the last one lakh buyers bought the SUV in the last 10 months.

The Grand Vitara SUV was co-developed with the Urban Cruiser HyRyder by Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Motor as part of deal between the two carmakers. It rivals the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos among others in the compact SUV segment. Creta remains the most popular model in the segment, clocking one lakh sales of its new generation version since launch in January this year. Grand Vitara is the second most popular model in the segment.

Maruti Grand Vitara: What makes it popular

Maruti Grand Vitara SUV is offered with multiple powertrain options. Besides the standard naturally-aspirated petrol engine, the SUV also comes with mild-hybrid, strong hybrid, all-wheel drive as well as CNG avatar. The wide variety of powertrain offers multiple choices for customers. According to the carmaker, the most popular variants of the Grand Vitara SUV are the strong hybrid and CNG versions.

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki, said, "The AllGrip technology has also resonated well with SUV lovers, furthering our endeavour to promote clean mobility solutions along with an adventurous driving experience. This indeed underscores Grand Vitara’s philosophy of ruling every road." The AllGrip technology essentially is the carmaker's all-wheel drive powertrain which is also used in Jimny.

Maruti sells Grand Vitara SUV at a starting price of ₹10.99 lakh (ex-showroom). The price of the SUV goes up to ₹20.09 lakh (ex-showroom) for the top-end hybrid variant.

Maruti Grand Vitara: Safety rating leaked?

The Grand Vitara SUV is among three Maruti Suzuki cars that are scheduled to undergo the Bharat NCAP crash tests. A leaked video claims that the SUV has already been tested by the agency while its results are awaited. The SUV is likely to secure high safety rating with all the features it has on offer. The Grand Vitara comes with six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, 360 degree camera, Head up Display, Hill Hold and Hill Descent Control, traction control modes, seat belt reminder for all occupants, ISOFIX child seat mounts among others. Maruti does not offer all these safety features as standard across variants of the SUV.

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