OCR Text |
Show Thursday, January 25, 2007 SPRINGVILLE HERALD 15 Sixth Gear: Oriental Face-off; 2007 Grand Vitara vs. 2007 Santa Fe Daniel Souza . STAFF WRITER If you recall early history his-tory classes through junior high, you remember well that the West has always tried trading with the East. Well, this week I bring you a battle of the East right to your very own backyard in the West featuring two compact SUVs that even the most gearheads may get them confused. Perhaps a few years ago, Suzuki and Hyundai could be considered flying under the radar, but the Oriental companies have been getting get-ting a push in advertising along with public recogni tion. Their increased visibility vis-ibility has fueled my desire to put the two together and j see which one rates better. Let the battle begin. Both vehicles rate under the compact sport utility vehicle category. Both will seat five passenger plus cargo space. The Japanese Grand Vitara opens its back door that also holds the spare tire swinging counter-clock wise. The Korean equivalent has a more traditional, tra-ditional, non-spare-mounted back door that raises upward granting access to the cargo area. The Spanish titled Santa Fe translated as Holy Faith has a better developing devel-oping six-cylinder power plant. Our loaner housed the 3.3-liter Lambda V6 which is lighter, more fuel efficient and cleaner burning burn-ing than the previous Santa Fe 3.5-liter V6, while producing pro-ducing an additional 42 horsepower. Output is 242 : 1 " f " ..,,,, , ' Jr "f ::'T ' ' ym8- 'fc-sr x'" 12J yX'..' Jw-IY ; IX : horsepower and 226 lb.-ft. of torque with fuel economy econo-my ratings of 19 city and 24 highway, up from the 1723 rating of the 2006 model On the other side of the rink, Suzuki's Grand Vitara doesn't "wow" the audience with a six that feels a bit tied up and sluggish right off the line. But, it does hit Hyundai's Santa Fe with a right hook considering that the 2.7-liter V6 engine delivers 185 horsepower and 184 lb.ft. of torque and comes with standard automatic auto-matic transmission with a 2WD AND a 4 WD transfer case, a feature not present in the Santa Fe. Our rising-sun loaner has an estimate fuel economy of 19 city and 24 highway high-way identical to the Santa Fe in 2WD AND 1923 in 4WD, unlike the Korean 2WD only. The Grand Vitara can also pull up 4 to 3000 lbs. While the Grand Vitara Vi-tara boasted n f i n n n 53 and the four- wheel drive ( K - ' fj3653BHl capability capabil-ity in our snow packed Utah County, the Santa San-ta Fe al-lowed al-lowed more e r s to tag along, being Hyun dai's first crossover with optional seven-passenger seating. The third-row seat is split 5050 and can be folded flat like the 6040-split 6040-split second-row seat. Total cargo volume is a cavernous cavern-ous 78.2 cubic feet. As for safety, the Grand Vitara features a unibody construction reinforced with a built-in ladder frame for true off-road capability capabil-ity and on-road comfort. It is strengthened by independent inde-pendent MacPherson strut front suspension and independent inde-pendent multi-link rear suspension sus-pension and boasts good approach, departure and break-over angles. The 2007 Korean equivalent equiva-lent answers back with a 50-percent improvement in body bending rigidity over the prior model and is 59 percent stiffer than the Toyota Highlander. The second-generation Santa Fe rides on an all-new, all-new, purpose-built unibody crossover platform with a 106.3-inch wheelbase that is 3.1 inches longer than its predecessor. I would love to rattle more about the two, but I don't have much more newsprint to go on and on. As much as these two can look similar to the naked eye, I must say that if your cup of tea involves constant con-stant off-roading or rough terrain driving, then stick with the Japanese maker's Grand Vitara. On the other hand, if you just want to drive the kids around town and the term "back-road" doesn't appear often on your dictionary, then the Korean maker has the crossover for you. Santa Fe's Base Price -$21,045 Santa Fe's price as tested -$23,745 Grand Vitara's Base Price -$19,379 Grand Vitara's price as tested -$22,899 Daniel Souza can be reached at sixth. gear. heraldgmail.com or at his blog at httpsixthgearher-ald.blogspot.com LJJ !i J 1 Y LE liW'H'Li1 Dr. Traer Caywood & Dr. Rick Winward Eye & Vision Care Prevent vision loss with a yearly dilated eye exam Call & schedule your exam today! Snrinaville Office Provo Office Saturday tS 489-5111 377-4333 tS? We accept Altius, BOBS, 0M8A, EyeMed. Mediare. PEHP, Value Care, VSP & others, v S Johnson Tire 409-5621 610 N. Main - Sprmgvilie We accept all competitors coupons on service work! I 1 WE DO: I NOW I 'Alignments 'Mufflers OPEN ' 'BroKes 'Emissions AvunriAvd -Tune-Ups 'Inspections pATURDAYS, .Starters -Custom Wheels t 'Radiators 'Alternators DR. FRANK A. SIDDOWAY DR. CHAD L. RIGTRUP OPTOMETRY 374-2227 489-5166 1 675 N. 200 W. Suite 1 1 A . 374 E. 400 S. PROVO SPRINGVILLE Comprehensive Eye Health Exams - Emergency Care Cataracts Glaucoma - Latest Contact Lenses Designer Frames & Sunglasses - Lasik Consultations INSURANCE PUSS INCIUDINS: MEDICARE, OMBA, YSF BCBS,AWUS I OTHERS ""COUPON Video Transfer to DVD Get those old, degrading home videos onto DVD while you still cart. Call us today at 489-3218 & snelson YOUR IMAGE IS OUR BUSINESS! Let Us Take The Worry and Stress Out Of Your Next Copy job With Our GUARANTEED Service! Full Color Copies High Speed & Self-Serve Copies Bindery Services Laminating Family Histories Manuals Office Supplies rirzj Copies Plus Printing, Inc. 7I7 N. MAIN - SPRINGVILLE (80I) 489-3456 $5m OFF T EMMISSIONS ?j TEST ? No! va! id with any other offer. , wm . ww M wm. pm. mw nfm ifinilinn lunf t p .rifi-nfor lit tri ill Br.iki". and more.. I r Milts Auto Repair a S h ,J 1 79 W. 900 N Srini!le 485-8538 NOW DELIVERING TO SPANISH FORK! PIZZA & SUBS 489-9484 (U5 Of THC MONTH! 6 in. TERM CHICKEN SUB With a 21 oz. Drink C and Bag of Chips FOR ONLY! WATCHDOG SELF STORAGE 1 1 1 West 1060 North - Springville (801)489-1077 Come check out our Climate Controlled I In it drtnrinlc! Individual Unit Alarms Controlled Gate Access Climate Controlled Units On-Site Manager 224 South Main Street Springville, UT 84663 M-F9to7 Sat. 9 to 5 w, 801.491.9744 store4759theupsstore.com www.theupsstore.com "Full Service Copies at Self Service Prices!" 1 mm Physical b Sports Therapy Services feffl ' r'l Let Us Help You r' ""1 Enjoy Life Again! I I : Brtarii B. Lambert " Greg R. Thorpe KirkW.Newbold William G. Sumskm Craig A. Schultz Douglas K. Bagley ; Nathon S. Graviey Brad A. Mangum Darren H. Averett BROOKSIDE CROSSING 380 E. 400 S. Springville, UT 84663 80l) 489-5669 TMPANOGOS MfDIttl OfHCE BLDfi. MOUNTAIN VIEW HOSPITAL! 684 W 800 N. Orem.UT 84057 (801) 224-2250 1000 E. U.S. Highway 6 Payson,LrrB465l (801)456-7070 2L, Retirement Wealth Management LLC 118 N. 1600 Mapleton 491-8101 brian.crosbylpl.com Mutal Funds Annuities 'Stocks, Bonds IjJ IRAS, ROthS, SEPS 'Tax Free MuniS Brian Crosby College Saving Plans Long-Term Care ED FREE Retirement Plan Consultations El FREE Portfolio Reviews Sccurltels Offered Through llnscoPrivate ledger member NA5D5IPC "I LA O TheLawOffice ot CHRISTOPHER K. CREER Wills & Trusts Real Estate Small Business 'Criminal Law Mediation' 330 E. 400 S., Suite 5 Springville 491-6333 1 790 S. State Springville (801) 491 -6882 Brand New Clean Facility Brightly lit Aisles Security Cameras Alarms on every Unit Computerized Access Control Sizes from 1 0' x 1 0' to 1 0' x 40' |