20160308

Maruti-Suzuki launches the Vitara Brezza in India, prices start at INR 6.99 Lakhs


One of the stars of the 2016 Auto Expo that was held in New Delhi earlier this year was the Maruti-Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Ever since its unveiling at the biennial event, this compact SUV has been an eagerly awaited launch in more ways than one. It heralds Maruti-Suzuki's entry into the booming compact crossover segment, one that the car-maker was conspicuous by its absence until now. It is also the first model from Maruti-Suzuki to have been conceptualized, designed and developed by Maruti's Indian engineers, a key fact that aids its 98% local content. With most of its details already known, Maruti-Suzuki officially launched the car in the Indian market today.


Designed and developed in India it might be but the Vitara Brezza is based on the global Suzuki small car platform and wears familiar design cues seen on international Suzuki SUVs. In fact, the Vitara Brezza looks like a mini Vitara from certain angles, a similarity that many would like and appreciate. Like the Ford Ecosport, the Vitara Brezza has compact dimensions and measures less than 4 meters in length. But Maruti's designers have worked around the footprint restrictions by smartly incorporating several key SUV characteristics to the Vitara Brezza. With a flat hood, short overhangs, squarish wheel arches, plastic cladding all around, fake skid plates and the raked-forward rear, the Vitara Brezza doesn't fail to impress. It's not as funky or futuristic as the Ecosport but then, it also wont split opinions like the Ford did.


Be it the S-Cross or the Baleno, all recent launches from Maruti-Suzuki have placed function over form when it comes to the design and layout of the cabin. The Vitara Brezza is no different. The cabin is neither flashy nor does it look classy. But what it has is a plethora of features. The top-end ZDi+, for instance, gets projector headlamps, optional contrasting shades for the roof and D-pillar to create a "floating roof" effect, Smartplay touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay, cruise control, push button start, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, power-folding mirrors, dual airbags and Antilock Braking System (ABS). On the base variants, a driver airbag will be standard while an optional safety pack with passenger airbag and ABS is also being offered. Looking at the pictures, the Vitara Brezza doesn't look short on passenger space and boot space too, which is good.


The tried and tested, Fiat-sourced, 1.3-liter diesel engine - the DDiS 200 mill, powers the Vitara Brezza too. With 89 horsepower and 200 Nm of torque, there is decent grunt under the hood to propel the Vitara Brezza forward. A 5-speed manual transmission is what's being offered now while an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) might be added to the lineup later. Similarly, a petrol engine might be offered at a later stage too. The Vitara Brezza gets the standard suspension layout with McPherson struts up front and a torsion beam at the rear. Ground clearance is an impressive 198 mm, a good thing considering our pothole-ridden roads. Like most crossovers out there that call themselves compact SUVs, the Vitara Brezza is a front wheel-driven model and doesn't get All Wheel Drive option on any variant.


Yet again, Maruti-Suzuki is bang-on in its pricing strategy. Starting at INR 6.99 Lakhs for the base LDi variant, the range tops out at INR 9.68 Lakhs for the ZDi+ variant with all bells and whistles and the snazzy dual-tone paint job. That makes the Vitara Brezza incredible value for money, considering Ford's Ecosport is approximately INR 1 - 1.5 Lakhs higher variant-to-variant. Expect this smart-looking crossover to fly off the shelves and command waiting periods running into several months.

The Vitara Brezza is yet another blockbuster-in-the-making from the market leader. Period! Ford (Ecosport), Mahindra (TUV 3OO) and Tata (upcoming Nexon) should be a worried lot.

2 comments:

  1. Aggressive pricing.
    Good ground clearance.
    Must clock good numbers in sales for MSIL.

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    Replies
    1. For sure, we're expecting waiting lists to start soon enough.

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