Suzuki Vitara

First generation (1988–1998)

Escudo was first introduced in the Japanese domestic market in July 1988. The name is derived from the "escudo", the monetary unit of Portugal before adoption of the Euro. North American Sidekick became available for model year 1989 as a two-door convertible or hardtop. An 80 hp (60 kW) 1.6-litre, eight-valve, four-cylinder Suzuki G16 engine was available on the JX and JLX. 1990 brought the deletion of the upscale JLX version. In 1991, a five-door Sidekick with a lengthened wheelbase was introduced. 1991 also brought the introduction of rear antilock brakes. It was thought that the five-door would overlap with the shorter three-door in the market; instead, it appealed to a whole new segment and sales in the domestic Japanese market doubled as a result.

For the 1992 model year a 95 hp (71 kW), 1.6-litre, 16-valve Suzuki G16A engine was introduced to the United States. The original Sidekick was updated in 1996 with a new Sport version available with 120 hp (89 kW), 1.8-litre 16-valve four-cylinder Suzuki J18 engine. The Sport also had dual airbags, two-tone paint and 16-inch alloy wheels. 1993 brought an update of the dash in conjunction with the exterior. There is also a very limited edition named Vitara Rossini which came in metallic pink with a cream leather interior, only 250 of this model were produced worldwide,

In 1996, Suzuki introduced the Suzuki X-90 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 Australia, 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 three-door models. This engine was rated at 97 kW (130 hp) at 6300 rpm. At the same time the five-door models received the 1998 cc 2.0-litre V6. Engine power rated for the five-door V6 models was at 100 kW (134 hp) at 6500 rpm. The 1.6-litre variant for the three-door models were named the Suzuki Vitara Rebel. All models in Australia were sold as four-wheel drives.

While the Vitara was still in the market, Suzuki added 4x2-version and labelled as the Escudo in 1994 to gain urban-driver market. In 1996, Suzuki introduced Sidekick, as a spec-down version of Escudo, as the entry level model. Indonesia is the only market in the world which receive three different names of Escudo in a time. Only 5 door models, 1.6-litre petrol engine were offered with no automatic transmission. In 1995, Vitara received fuel-injection system and marketed as Vitara EPI (Electronic Petrol Injection). However, due to much higher price, Vitara EPI sold poorly in the market and later considered become collector item since its rarity. For also 1995, the Vitara got new interiors. Official production for this generation ended in 2006 with the end of the Santana 300/350.

Second generation (1998–2005)

Suzuki announced the second-generation model on 18 January 1998 for 1999. Now slightly larger, pricier and more powerful, it uses a light-duty automobile-type rack-and-pinion steering box instead of the recirculating ball truck unit used in the first generation. The class was moved from mini SUV to compact SUV. In most international markets the name "Grand Vitara" was adopted.

It was facelifted in 2002 and again in 2004. A rebadged version was sold in North America by General Motors as the Chevrolet Tracker. The Tracker is sold in Latin America, excluding Mexico, as Chevrolet Grand Vitara. In Mexico, Grand Vitara and Tracker are different vehicles, sold by Suzuki and Chevrolet respectively. In Chile, the five-door Grand Vitara is known as Grand Nomade. In Japan, an OEM deal with Mazda meant that the wagon was also sold as the Mazda Proceed Levante.

As of 2003, the smaller Suzuki Vitara has been withdrawn from the North American market. Sales were slow, with just 4,860 sold in 2004 for the United States. In Canada, sales were strong. All North American Vitaras were built at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario and in the Riverside facilities. The 2001 model Suzuki Grand Vitara comes standard as a 2.0-liter 4WD vehicle in New Zealand.

Grand Escudo

In 1998 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. In Australia and Europe it was marketed as Grand Vitara XL-7.

Third generation (2005–present)

The second generation was replaced in the (northern hemisphere) autumn of 2005 by a new vehicle using some components of the GM Theta platform, 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 engine and is at least rear-wheel drive with a 103.9 in (2639 mm) wheelbase, while all other Theta vehicles are transverse engined, defaulting to front-wheel drive. 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 Equinox and Pontiac Torrent at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada.

The vehicle is highly regarded for its offroad capability, made possible by a lockable central differential along with low ratio gears and adequate ground clearance and its purposeful outdoor form factor and styling. The reason why it is so popular is that aside from it being one of the very few SUV's capable of competitively going offroad on the market, it doubles as a practical family car.

The most widely available Escudo is the 5-door version, but a three-door version is also available in some markets. In some markets the three-door variant drops the "Grand" to be branded simply "Vitara". In some countries, including Chile the 5-door version is named "Grand Nomade".

2008–2011

In the second half of 2008, the Suzuki Grand Vitara was given a facelift and two new engines. A 2.4L inline four is offered producing 122 kW (166 PS; 164 hp) of power and 225 N·m (166 lb·ft) of torque. The new V6 is only offered in the flagship prestige model which produces 165 kW (224 PS; 221 hp) of power and 284 N·m (209 lb·ft) 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 mechanical work improving its economy. Safety has also been improved with more air-bags and traction control being 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. Subtle improvements were made on the exterior of the car such as indicators in the door mirrors and a more pronounced front grille and bumper. The interior also saw a lot of more aesthetically pleasing changes.

2012

In the second quarter of 2012 for the 2013 model year, Suzuki unveiled a facelift Escudo with new wheels, a new grille and front lights. The V6 engine was discontinued from here on. Starting with this facelift, the Grand Vitara in Indonesia is now a rebadged Escudo, imported from Japan.

Fourth generation (2015–present)

The fourth generation of Vitara was presented at 2014 Paris Motor Show. Its production (by Suzuki Magyar) parallels the third generation. The fourth generation Vitara went on sale in Japan as the fourth generation Suzuki Escudo on 15 October 2015. The all-new fourth generation model is 125 mm (4.9 in) shorter, 85 mm (3.3 in) lower, 35 mm (1.4 in) leaner, it is now a compact crossover, and has a wheelbase 140 mm (5.5 in) shorter than the previous generation Grand Vitara, making the Vitara easier to drive on narrow roads and tight parking spaces.

Several New Zealand dealerships offered a special Boulevard Edition. The special trim was based on the 1.6L JLX 2WD trim level. Features included full leather seats, 19-inch wheels, rear spoiler, heated front seats, branded carpet mats, special badging and decals.

Suzuki released a special version of the fourth generation Vitara called the Vitara S or Vitara Sport in some markets. The Vitara S features a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, which delivers 20 percent more power and 40 percent more torque over the standard 1.6-liter petrol engine. The Vitara S was available in 4WD Allgrip only until summer 2016, starting with autumn 2016 the 2WD system is available for the S variant. The Vitara S also comes with several cosmetic changes over other Vitara trim levels including leather/suede sports seats with red stitching, aluminum sports pedals, red LED headlamp surrounds, distinctive five-slotted grille and black alloy wheels.

Motorsports

In 1998, Suzuki produced the Escudo Dirt Trial for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb event in North America, which has two twin-turbocharged 2.5-liter V6 engines driving the front and rear wheels respectively. With a combined output of 732 kW (981 hp) at 9000 rpm, this variant has a top speed of 336 km/h (209 mph). It remained four-wheel drive and weighed 800 kilograms (1,800 lb). It was driven by Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima.