The
Suzuki Escudo is an
off-road vehicleAn off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...
that has been in production since 1988. The
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n version was produced as a joint venture between
Suzukiis a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles and 4x4 vehicles, a full range of motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles , outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines...
and
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
known as
CAMICAMI Automotive, originally known as Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc., was an independently incorporated joint venture of automobile manufacturing in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and formed the third step of GM's three-pronged initiative of the mid-1980s to capture and practice the Japanese...
. The vehicle was a follow-up to the popular SJ413 and Samurai. Also, this vehicle, while sold in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, was designed to slot above the Samurai. A larger version is also made, known as the Suzuki Grand Escudo (known as
Grand Vitara XL-7 in other markets). The name is derived from "
escudoThe escudo is a unit of currency. Historically it was used in Portugal and in its colonies, and is still used in Cape Verde to this day. Escudo is Portuguese for "shield"...
", the monetary unit of
Cape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
.
The Sidekick was sold in various badges such as the Geo Tracker (Chevrolet Tracker after 1998) in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and as the GMC Tracker, Chevrolet Tracker, Asüna Sunrunner and Pontiac Sunrunner in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was also sold as the Santana 300 and 350 in
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In the
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese home market, it was variously sold also with
Mazdais a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...
badge.
First generation (1989–1998)
First introduced as the Escudo in the Japanese domestic market in May 1988, the
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Sidekick became available for 1989 as a 2-door
convertibleA convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
or
hardtopA hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
, in 1.3 liter JA and more powerful 4-wheel-drive JX & JLX trims. An 80 hp 1.6 liter, 8-valve, 4-cylinder engine was available on the JX & JLX. 1990 brought the deletion of the upscale JLX version. In 1991, a 4-door Sidekick with a lengthened
wheelbaseIn both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
was introduced and the following year a 95 hp, 1.6 liter, 16-valve engine was introduced. 1991 also brought the introduction of rear antilock brakes. The original Sidekick was updated in 1996 with a new Sport version available with 120 hp, 1.8 liter 16-valve 4-cylinder engine. The Sport also had dual
airbagAn Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...
s, 2-tone paint and 16" Alloy wheels.
There is also a very limited edition factory special named the Vitara Rossini which came in metallic pink with a cream leather interior, only 250 of this model where produced worldwide,
In 1996, Suzuki introduced the
Suzuki X-90The Suzuki X-90 was a small SUV sold from 1996 through 1998. It was related to the Suzuki Sidekick, but had extremely rounded styling, two doors, seating for two and T-section removable roof. It replaced the Samurai for the United States market....
which was mechanically identical to the Sidekick but had a much rounder body, a trunk, and removable T-bar roof. The Suzuki X-90 disappeared from Suzuki's lineup after the 1998 model year. The Sport variant was replaced by the Grand Vitara in 1999.
In
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, production went on at Suzuki's partner Santana with the Vitara nameplate. After a facelift in 2005 the name was changed to Santana 300/350.
In
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, there were two models available. The Vitara JX and the Vitara JLX. The JLX featured mainly with powered windows. Both versions featured the 1.6 Litre engine. In May 1997, Suzuki introduced the 1995 cc 2.0 Litre 4 Valves/Cylinder Double Overhead Cam engine with both soft top and hardtop 3 door models. This engine was rated at 97 kW at 6300 rpm. At the same time the 5 door models received the 1998 cc 2.0 litre V6. Engine power rated for the 5 door V6 models was at 100 kW at 6500 rpm. The 1.6 litre variant for the 3 door models were named the Suzuki Vitara Rebel. All models in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
were sold as four wheel drives.
The naming scheme, engines and trim options available in
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, closely follow that of the Australian market. In 1998, there became available models featuring 1.9 litre
turbodieselTurbodiesel refers to any diesel engine with a turbocharger. Turbocharging is the norm rather than the exception in modern car and truck diesel engines...
engines from
PSAPSA Peugeot Citroën is a French manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot and Citroën marques. Headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, PSA is the second largest automaker based in Europe and the number eight in the world.-History:In December 1974 Peugeot S.A....
, built in Spain by
Santana MotorsSantana Motor S.A. was a Spanish car manufacturer based in Linares, in the province of Jaén, Spain.-History:The company was founded as "Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, SA" and originally manufactured agricultural equipment...
, all of them were 4WD vehicles equipped with manual transmissions. Since 2001, all diesel 1st Gen Vitaras are to be imported from
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, built by
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
in Argentina, featuring 1.9 litre HDI engines from
PSAPSA Peugeot Citroën is a French manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot and Citroën marques. Headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, PSA is the second largest automaker based in Europe and the number eight in the world.-History:In December 1974 Peugeot S.A....
, all of them with 5-speed mechanic transmissions. Automatic transmissions are only available on Japanese built models with gasoline engines.
Second generation (1999–2005)
The Escudo/Vitara was redesigned in 1999, and the Sidekick name was dropped in North America, using the
Vitara name instead. It was a 4-seater which in Europe featured 1.3 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L
straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
gasoline engines available with carburator or electronic fuel injection. A 16-valve 1.8 liter gasoline engine and a 2.0 liter V6. Diesel engines were also available in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The Vitara was available with 4- and 5-speed
manual transmissionA manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
s, as well as
automatic transmissionAn automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
, and in hardtop 2- or 4-door models or soft-top 2-door models.
A rebadged version was sold in North America by General Motors as the
Chevrolet Tracker. The Tracker is sold in Latin America, but Mexico, as the Chevrolet Grand Vitara. In Mexico, Grand Vitara and Tracker are different vehicles, sold by Suzuki and Chevrolet respectively. In Chile, 5-door Grand Vitara is known as Grand Nomade.
In North America, the regular Vitara (not Grand Vitara) was available with a 1.6 and 2.0 four cylinder, with the vast majority of 1.6 liter motors being found in the two door variants and the 2.0 in the four door versions. A 2.5 liter V6 was also available, and became standard in 2004. All were available with manual transmissions and four wheel drive, via a manual transfer case.
The Vitara and Grand Vitara were facelifted in 2002 and again in 2004. As of 2003, the smaller Suzuki Vitara has been withdrawn from the
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n market. Sales were slow, with just 4,860 sold in 2004 for the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, sales were strong. All North American Vitaras were built at
CAMI AutomotiveCAMI Automotive, originally known as Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc., was an independently incorporated joint venture of automobile manufacturing in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and formed the third step of GM's three-pronged initiative of the mid-1980s to capture and practice the Japanese...
in
Ingersoll, OntarioIngersoll is a town in Oxford County on the Thames River in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The nearest cities are Woodstock to the east and London to the west....
, while the North American Grand Vitaras were built in Japan, where it is the badged "Suzuki Escudo". The 2006 model has had a structural redesign with a new ladder-boxed chassis integrated into a unibody construction. The Vitara was the last compact SUV sold in the US to retain a body on frame construction until the 2006 model year, when Suzuki phased it out for the newer unibody Grand Vitara.
The 2001 model Suzuki Grand Vitara comes standard as a 2.0 Liter 4WD vehicle in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The 2005 and onwards Grand Vitara is sold in
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
by
ChevroletChevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, yet it still retains its Suzuki badges.
Grand Escudo
The Grand Escudo was a longer, slightly larger, pricier and more powerful version of the regular five-door. The Japanese market
Grand Escudo was sold in North America and Chile as the
Suzuki XL-7-First generation:The first-generation XL-7 was a Suzuki design and was essentially a stretched Grand Vitara. It had a Suzuki-designed 2.7 liter V6 on a rear wheel drive-based platform with optional four wheel drive. When introduced, the XL-7 was the least expensive SUV available with 3-row seating...
. In Australia and Europe it was marketed as
Grand Vitara XL-7.
Third generation (2005-present)
The second generation was replaced in the fall of 2005 by a new vehicle using some components of the
GM Theta platformTheta is General Motors' compact and mid-size crossover SUV automobile platform. The architecture debuted in 2002 with the Saturn Vue and was later used for the Chevrolet Equinox and Captiva and similar models.-Development:...
, and is built in Japan. The 2006 Escudo was developed independently by many of the same Suzuki engineers who developed the Theta. Although it uses some Theta componentry, especially in the suspension, it is quite different and should not be considered a Theta vehicle. Notably, it uses a
longitudinally-mounted engineIn automotive engineering, a longitudinal engine is an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, front to back....
and is at least rear-wheel drive with a 103.9 in (2639 mm)
wheelbaseIn both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
, while all other Theta vehicles are
transverse engineA transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle. Many modern front wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration...
d, defaulting to
front-wheel driveFront-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
. While the other Theta vehicles can be ordered with a front-drive biased 'all-wheel drive', the Escudo instead offers off-road capable selectable four-wheel drive. The contemporary generation Suzuki XL7 (starting in model year 2007) was a true Theta vehicle, and was built alongside the
Chevrolet EquinoxThe second generation Equinox was announced by GM on December 21, 2008, and debuted at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The 2010 Equinox went on sale in June 2009. It is built on a stiffened version of the same "Theta" platform used in the previous model. The new Equinox...
and
Pontiac TorrentThe Pontiac Torrent is a sport utility vehicle that was offered by the Pontiac division of General Motors, being the successor of the discontinued Pontiac Aztek. It was manufactured at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, and it replaced the U-body Aztek as the company's crossover SUV...
at
CAMI AutomotiveCAMI Automotive, originally known as Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc., was an independently incorporated joint venture of automobile manufacturing in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and formed the third step of GM's three-pronged initiative of the mid-1980s to capture and practice the Japanese...
in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada.
The most widely available Escudo is the 5 door version, but a 3 door version is also available in some markets. In some markets the 3 door variant drops the "Grand" to be branded simply "Vitara". In some countries, including Chile the 5-door version is named "Grand Nomade".
The vehicle is also mass produced in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
by
Iran Khodro Manufacturing Co.Iran Khodro Company, also known as IKCO, is the leading Iranian automaker with headquarters in Tehran. The company's original name was Iran National. IKCO was founded in 1962 and it produced 688,000 passenger cars in 2009...
http://www.farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=8503300340
In
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, this version of the SUV is known as Suzuki Grand Vitara SZ.
2005–2008
Until 2008 the standard gasoline engine for the 5 door was an updated J20A (4 cyl. 2.0L 140 PS); with an optional
Suzuki H engineThe H family is a line of 60° V6 automobile engines from Suzuki. Ranging in displacement from 2.0 L to 2.7 L, the H family was a modern all-aluminum engine with dual overhead cams, 24 valves, and multi-port fuel injection. It was co-developed with Mazda, which used a similar design in...
H27A (V6 2.7L 185 PS) in higher specified models. Pre 2001 turbo diesel models were fitted with
Mazda's type RF engineMazda has a long history of building its own Diesel engines, with the exception of a few units that were built under license.-Straight-4:* 1.7 L PN - 1,720 cc - Used in the Mazda Familia and Ford Laser...
, with later models fitted with a 1.9 L 4 cylinder turbo diesel featuring 129 PS, manufactured by
RenaultRenault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
). The only engine fitted to the 3-door model before 2008 was the M16A (
4 cyl.The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
1.6L 106 PS).
2008
In the second half of 2008, the Suzuki Grand Vitara was given a face-lift and two new engines. A 2.4L in-line four is offered producing 122 kW of power and 225 newton metre of torque. The new V6 is only offered in the flagship prestige model which produces 165 kW of power and 284 newton metre of torque. Fuel economy has also been improved with the addition of VVT to both engines and the 1.9L Turbo-Diesel has also received some mechanic work improving its economy. Safety has also been improved with more air-bags and traction control standard on all models. The four mode four-wheel drive system is also available on all models. It features a lockable central differential along with low ratio gears.
External links