Maruti Vitara Brezza

Overview

The name has already created a strong position in the minds of people around the country as Vitara Brezza has claimed many factors for its success, even before it's official launch in India. The name uses the moniker from elder Suzuki Vitara, which was once a flop show for India. Maruti has pledged to relive the older names as it has done with Baleno and actual practical products will the names shine high for the company this time. Vitara Brezza is a good one as it offers a balance of economy with more practicality through it's compact SUV design.

Exterior

Vitara Brezza comes with a completely different design approach than most of the vehicles in the Maruti Suzuki lineup. The first compact SUV from India's largest car maker comes with the same length as Baleno but as seen in the premium hatchback, the car does not make you feel that it has suddenly ended with an imperfect rear design. It actually looks great when seen from the rear and provides a clear view of ground below the rear silver skid plate. This makes it more practical and even provides a big car feel to the compact SUV.

The roof line of the car looks very decent as it neither feels low like the Baleno, nor too high like the TUV300. The bonnet stands high with a proud nose and a bog chrome bar at the front. Skid plates decorate all four angles of the car and the front again carries no negative feel as projectors and LED bull horn DRL's are the perfect winning streak over halogens in rival cars. The roof is offered in contrast colors in the top spec Brezza which again acts as a segment first feature from Maruti Suzuki. The real spoiler of the car looks upmarket and improves the overall look of the car than others by a good margin.

Fog lamps are round in shape whereas rectangular indicators are studded slightly above the fog lamp assembly. This feels slightly odd as almost all cars except some high end Audi's offer embedded treatment to the indicators inside the front headlight cluster. The overall design theme would be the least criticized feature for this compact SUV as it's bold look ends the debate option in this most booming section of Indian car segment. Riding on 16 inch alloy wheels with thick sidewalls, Vitara Brezza would definitely eat many of the potholes without any special notice to the passengers.

Interior

The part where you will feel that the company has done it's least efforts is the interior of the car. Although its all Black and that makes sense for a car with such a bold fascia, the car feels like any other Maruti car from the company's lineup. High seating will definitely benefit the passengers and specially the driver but looking at the exterior and then entering the car feels more like a switch from a 4K cinema to a Black & White TV screen. Anyways, compact SUV's are not counted for their inner beauty as capability is the best measure to test such a car. The 2 side vents have a new design whereas the space above the infotainment screen looks more from the 90's.

Maruti Suzuki's new and effective formula for wining has definitely worked this time also as feature loaded interior can easily let someone get familiar with a bit of ancientness inside the cabin. The automatic AC section looks good, interior feels spacious and the chrome ring around the push start button would definitely bring a smile to the driver's face. The fact still needs to be cheered that some Maruti's like Vitara Brezza have improved a lot on the name of feature list and they are the clear winners of the future from the time of there birth.

Dimensions

Brezza measures 3995 mm in length, 1790 mm in width and 1640 mm in height. The wheelbase measures 2500 mm and the car gets a ground clearance of 198 mm. Maruti Suzuki offers a relatively small 328 liter of boot to the car as more focus has been done on the inner space of the car. The wheelbase feels quite short when compared with the TUV300 but 5 passenger space gets compromised for last 2 seats of the TUV300. Maruti offers no such hassle and 5 seater configuration is the only standard seating on the car. The car weigh 1195 kg in it's top trim.

Instrument Console

The console is an all new unit as it shares nothing with any other Maruti Suzuki car from the stable. The twin pod cluster with a MID in the center has nothing new to the layout but both the pods use an all new circled square (a curvy square or a bit fatty circle) shape with silver lining around the borders. It feels a bit boring as nothing can replace the smartness of a perfectly round dial with a good looking needle and properly used font.

The font in this case is a bit cartoon inspired and the needle seems to be on dieting for the Vitara Brezza. MID is monochrome and the lack of Baleno type colored unit will be missed by the customers. Fuel gauge is digital and houses inside the MID at the extreme left whereas extreme right is for the temperature gauge. The best part of this console is the illumination control option being provided by the company. User can set the light from white to blue, or then blue to red or even red to orange. This makes the console very friendly when it comes to the terms of personalization.

Performance & Mileage

Vitara Brezza wins over all other 75 PS Maruti's like Baleno with its engine option as the same engine with a higher state of tune is being used for the compact SUV. The 1248cc, 4-cylinder tubro diesel motor on the Brezza is good for 88.8 BHP (90PS) @ 4,000 rpm and 200 NM @ 1,750 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 5-speed gearbox and on-road, real life performance values are definitely enhanced in the Vitara Brezza.

Currently, only diesel motor is being offered for the compact SUV whereas the future hints of petrol motor and AMT gearbox cannot be denied at all. The recently reduced difference of nearly 5 rupees makes the thing feel more practical for India. Company claims a mileage of 24.3 kmpl, making it the most mileage effective compact SUV in the Indian market. The car comes with 48 liter of fuel tank, offering a good range in a single refill of the tank.

Comfort & Convenience

The car comes loaded with features to the neck top as Maruti Suzuki misses no opportunity to claim a higher spot than tech rich Hyundai's of India. The car offers all the basic features like power steering, power windows, central locking, electrically adjustable and foldable rear view mirrors, automatic air conditioner and many more of these. Compact SUV feels more commanding as driver seat height adjustment along with it's reverse parking camera makes maneuvering easy as well as hassle free. Automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, rear defogger with washer & wiper are few more additions to the never ending list of features inside the new Vitara Brezza.

Cruise control has also been provided for relaxed highway rides, adding up more comfort through controls on the steering wheel of the car. The Maruti Suzuki Smartplay infotainment system helps easy pairing of mobile devices and provides an excellent overall experience through it's inbuilt navigation system. Arm rests in both front and rear row seating increases the comfort level, even with the front unit offering adjustable armrest with a storage under the block.

Safety & Security

Maruti Suzuki has gathered a lot of appreciation on the safety topic as they were once called the least safe cars being sold in India. Now, Maruti Suzuki offers dual front airbags and ABS (as an option) on even the lower variants of the car. The top spec comes loaded with anti-theft security system, ABS with EBD, dual front airbags, height adjustable front seat belts with force limiters and manual headlight leveling.

Not just that, Vitara Brezza offers projector headlamps and LED DRLs for better illumination while driving at night. Reverse parking sensor's warn against any nearby object whereas front & rear fog lamps are very useful at times when the surrounding starts getting cold and foggy.

Shades

The car is offered with three basic shades which are available in every variant of the car. These are Pearl Arctic White, Premium Silver and Granite Grey. Shades named Blazing Red, Cerulean Blue and Fiery Yellow can only be availed with a contrast roof in the top spec ZDi+ version whereas variants with body shade roof are differently available among LDi, VDi and ZDi trim.

Variants & Ex-showroom Price

Maruti Suzuki offers the Vitara Brezza in a total of 6 variants namely LDi, LDi(O), VDi, VDi(O), ZDi and Zdi+. Maruti is offering 3 custom body kits named Glamour, Sporty and Urban for the car. Buyers can customize the car according to their own need through hundreds of available accessories for the Vitara Brezza.

The car starts from INR 6.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the LDi variant. The base variant feels the least equipped but anyways there is no such car which can compete with this low price tag of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. The top spec variant again becomes the most affordable fully loaded sub 4 meter SUV at INR 9.68 lakh. The prices are introductory and will change in the coming months. Bookings for the car has started and deliveries will start by 21 March 2016.

Infographic

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