The Maruti Grand Vitara was launched in September 2022, and the Honda Elevate arrived a year later. Both compete in the midsize SUV segment and offer naturally aspirated petrol engines with automatic gearbox options – a torque converter in the Grand Vitara and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the Elevate. But how do the two SUVs compare in terms of real-world fuel efficiency? Let’s find out.
Maruti Grand Vitara AT vs Honda Elevate CVT: Specs
Both SUVs use naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engines, but the Honda Elevate has higher power and torque figures. Its 1,498cc engine produces 121hp and 145Nm, giving it an advantage of 18hp and 6Nm over the Grand Vitara’s 1,462cc block, which makes 103hp and 139Nm. The Elevate is paired with a CVT automatic, while the Grand Vitara uses a 6-speed torque-converter automatic. Notably, the Grand Vitara also gets a 12V integrated starter generator (which assists the engine during acceleration and recharges the 6Ah Li-ion battery) and offers the option of an all-wheel-drive layout with this engine and gearbox combination, whereas the Elevate is front-wheel drive only. Maruti claws back some ground with a larger 45-litre fuel tank, which is 5 litres bigger than the Elevate’s.
Maruti Grand Vitara AT vs Honda Elevate CVT: Real-world fuel efficiency
The Maruti Grand Vitara AT is more fuel efficient than the Honda Elevate CVT in both city and highway driving. In our tests, the Grand Vitara returned 11.60kpl in the city, which is 3kpl higher than the Elevate’s 8.60kpl. On the highway, the gap is narrower at 2.2kpl, with the Grand Vitara delivering 15.30kpl compared to the Elevate’s 13.10kpl.
As a result, the Grand Vitara posted a tested average of 13.45kpl, while the Elevate managed 10.85kpl. Combined with its larger 45-litre fuel tank, the Grand Vitara also achieved a range of 605km, which is 171km more than the Elevate’s.
Maruti Grand Vitara AT vs Honda Elevate CVT: Price
The base automatic variants of both petrol SUVs are priced very close to each other. However, the price gap widens to Rs 1.8 lakh when you compare the top variants. One reason behind this is that the top-spec Alpha and Alpha (O) variants of the Grand Vitara come with an AWD system, whereas the front-wheel-drive Alpha and Alpha (O) AT variants are priced at Rs 16.55 lakh and Rs 16.74 lakh, respectively.
In conclusion, the Maruti Grand Vitara is the clear winner here, outperforming the Honda Elevate by a good margin. Buyers with a higher budget can also consider the Grand Vitara strong hybrid, which is even more frugal. In our real-world tests, it returned 22.08kpl.
Autocar India’s fuel efficiency testing
Before our real-world fuel efficiency tests, we fill our test cars’ tanks to the brim and maintain tyre pressures based on the manufacturer’s recommendations. These cars are driven in fixed city and highway loops in and around Navi Mumbai, and we maintain certain average speeds. Throughout the tests, there is only one person in each car, running the air conditioner and other electricals, such as the audio system, indicators and wipers, when required, just like a regular user would. Periodic driver swaps further neutralise variations in driver patterns. At the end of each cycle, we calculate efficiency by filling the tanks to full again.
Ex-showroom prices mentioned above are as of August 3, 2026.
Glenn Noronha
Dipan Sur
Dhruv Dhaka
Aditya Panicker
