Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the suv segment and utilize the same 5-door suv body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Subaru-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 230hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 169hp engine designed by Suzuki.

The fact that the Suzuki got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, offers a slight advantage, as the 4-star rating is better than none. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Grand Vitara offers a marginal difference of 5% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Suzuki as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Subaru with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Suzuki badge with 4.5 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Forester as average reliability-wise, and Grand Vitara is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Forester rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Subaru is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 5.7 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 216 kilometers per hour, 36km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Grand Vitara, averaging around 9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (31 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 19% difference compared to Forester.

Suzuki appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Grand Vitara beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Subaru outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Suzuki. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.