Maruti Vitara Brezza : Official Review

[shankar.balan]

That Premium Silver vehicle that you have used in the shoot/ review really looks premium.
The photography is excellent.
Makes one really want one!

Originally Posted by Tushar

The Maruti Vitara Brezza has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 6.99 - 9.68 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

[djkher]

I keep wondering with this statement.
"Maruti says this is the first car to be certified for the Indian offset & side impact crash tests that are coming in 2017"

Does that mean brezza will definitely pass the side impact tests?
What does it mean to the consumer?

[paragsachania]

Wonderful review Tushar and GTO. I had to see this up on a day when I incidentally took a TD of the Brezza at one of the dealerships yesterday where I had been with a friend to get his car serviced and happened to see a Yellow and White Brezza asking to be cranked.

My TD of this vehicle was purely to understand how the same Engine behaves on a different vehicle as I own an Ertiga and was curious about this. Here are my impressions:

• Overall, this one does look like a pseudo SUV and not really a raised hatch
  
  
• Those 215 Tires on 16" RIM simply complement the characteristic of this vehicle. Does full justice this time
  
  
• Perhaps one of those Marutis in their latest offerings where a driver can notice the bonnet clearly
  
  
• The TD Vehicle has cladding all around that was an overkill. I would prefer no extra cladding apart from what you get here
  
  
• Build is again a typical Maruti. Ford wins hands down.
  
  
• Suspension felt firmer compared to Ertiga

Engine & Performance:

• Here is exactly where I wanted to try it out. The first impression on starting was the insulation. I would call this definitely better than Ertiga in comparison. No second thoughts at all. The Engine noise levels in the Brezza are on the lower side compared to the Ertiga. If for once I think this is because my Ertiga has become noisy after clocking 87,000 kms then its a wrong thought as I drove a brand new SVHS Ertiga and found the noise levels same as my Ertiga. Well done on the insulation (In comparison to Ertiga) and this will certainly make me embark on a sound insulation project now like I did in my F10D WagonR soon upon driving the K10 and finding it more silent at higher revs
  
  
• Clutch felt smooth for a Diesel (typical Maruti here) and movement from Standstill without pressing the throttle gave the exactly the same impressions like the Ertiga
  
  
• While on the move, the only noticeable difference I could make out was the Turbo Kick. This was indeed more prominent in the Brezza than the Ertiga. Again, I found the Turbo kick in the SHVS Ertiga same as mine. I am wondering if this was due to weight of the vehicle but then we were 3 adults too
  
  
• Braking is typical Maruti again. Soft Pedals and adequate bite
  
  
• Gear-shift like Tushar already mentioned is same as Ertiga and nothing to complain about
  
  
• On Space, I am impressed at the leg space in the rear bench with a tall driver like me (6'3") on the driver's seat. Definitely better than the Ecosport. But the seat is near flat that the underthigh support is what one would ask for on long trips
  
  
• The boot is nothing great to talk about and the capacity would only help with usual travel baggage but not generous loading

Originally Posted by Tushar

If you've driven an Ertiga, you've pretty much experienced the Vitara Brezza. Their behaviour has a lot in common

Yes, almost there with negligible difference the way the Turbo kick is felt in the Brezza compare to Ertiga. Other characteristics remains same with both.

At low rpms and within the city, the 89 BHP diesel does have some amount of turbo-lag. It isn't excessive though, nor is the engine dead below 2,000 rpm like the Duster 110 FWD used to be. Things are acceptable in the 1,500 - 1,800 revv range and you can still push on in the same gear.

Tell me about it. Took a few drives till I got hold of the weak points and after that its business as usual. You as a driver will know what gear to be in at the right time so that you have got all the punch - be that city driving or Highway overtakes.

Passengers on either side get large, adjustable headrests, but they suffer from the same problem as the S-Cross - many occupants will find them to be poking into their neck. You'll either have to adjust the neck restraint, your seating position (a bit) or both.

Headrest cushioning is on the firmer side. It suffers from the same design flaw as the S-Cross' rear headrest and pokes into your neck. Most people will have to adjust the headrest, their seating position or both. No neck restraint for the middle passenger:

Now this has been a problem in the Ertiga as well. The design is similar as you can see in the below picture.

To overcome this, I have swapped the 3rd row head restraints onto the second one. They haven't really solved the problem completely but definitely made things better as the restraints on the 3rd row have a different angle and thickness that one can still sit straight and rest their head on it.

Will this sell and why?

• They managed the looks right and there is a whole lot of crowd like others wanting to drive an SUV but affordability & then efficiency always mattered till we saw a lot such avatars thronging our market and people buying it to fulfill their desires!
  
  
• Its got passenger space that one wouldn't really complain about. Its prefect for the size and not claustrophobic from anywhere inside at all.
  
  
• Its got an efficient and a reliable engine that is a decade old but hey, its till no compromise at all if buyers look at the other positives
  
  
• The controls are smoother - Specially the clutch and one of those things you want when driving inside the city. Your leg would not complain after driving B2B for more than an hour.
  
  
• On top of it all, the Brezza sold through MSIL outlets will reach out to the masses. This will certainly be the most important selling point.

[drjkonline]

Well rounded product from the Maruti Suzuki stable. Iam sure it will sell well. How we wish we had the perfect crossover, one with the best features of the Vitara Brezza and the Ecosport. As GTO rightly put it, the Ford is well engineered. And service costs of the Ecosport, as I realized in last 2 years, are surprisingly very low. The rear seat space and the service network of the Brezza are better. The option of 6 airbags should have been offered in Brezza, as the choice is a no-brainer for the safety conscious buyer.

[dileep]

Thank you for the insightful review.

I have been following the Brezza threads closely since I need to replace my 15 year old Qualis and found that the Brezza might fit my needs and budget. The Qualis is in top shape but since I live in Delhi, the NGT's order that diesel vehicles older than 10 years need to get off the road, I need a replacement.

I drive less in the city (I use a bicycle to commute), most of my travels are up in Uttarakhand and Himachal - often every month driving into remote areas where roads are poor, slushy, rocky, etc. and my Qualis has served me very well.

What is the expert opinion on the Brezza's capability on handling poor roads, steep inclines, slush. The Qualis is not turbo charged, but has a powerful engine, it has never once stalled.

But the Brezza - would it be able to go to similar places?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by djkher

"Maruti says this is the first car to be certified for the Indian offset & side impact crash tests that are coming in 2017"

Does that mean brezza will definitely pass the side impact tests?
What does it mean to the consumer?

It means that the government has shared the safety requirements with Maruti (and other manufacturers), and Maruti must've successfully crash-tested the Vitara Brezza internally.

Originally Posted by dileep

I drive less in the city (I use a bicycle to commute), most of my travels are up in Uttarakhand and Himachal - often every month driving into remote areas where roads are poor, slushy, rocky, etc. and my Qualis has served me very well.

What is the expert opinion on the Brezza's capability on handling poor roads, steep inclines, slush.

Sure looks like the Duster AWD would be the ideal upgrade for you.

[dileep]

Sure looks like the Duster AWD would be the ideal upgrade for you.

The Duster is much beyond my budget. Now Delhi/NCR registrations for Diesel vehicles is only 10 years after which the vehicle needs to be scrapped!! So the cost of ownership go up by 50%.

[Tushar]

Originally Posted by vivekkp

I have one query to you. How did you feel was the performance of AC? Did it cool quick enough in our hot summer?

As mentioned in the review the air-con does a great job of cooling the cabin. The lack of rear AC vents is the issue, which means if the car has been under the hot sun all day, the rear passengers will almost certainly break into a sweat before the overall cabin temperature drops down.

Originally Posted by balajisv

1kg of space below passenger seat at front can hold 8 lacs of cash of Rs. 1000!! Seriously, you tested that Tushar?

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

I was literally awestruck when I saw this

Now, how did you weigh it?

That was an observation by GTO. I don't have the judgement of a businessman. It does however highlight the utility of the feature. A lot of businessmen have to carry valuable items around, and keeping cash, jewelry and documents out of plain sight is very useful for them.

Originally Posted by rosh_aveo1.4

I actually had half a mind to replace my Sunny with this but I'm not sure whether Maruti will ever get the AMT gearbox for this by any chance? If yes...that would be something to get in this segment.

Maruti is very tight-lipped about future powertrain updates. We have asked about the AT options, but nothing concrete has been stated thus far. Even if it is added, I don't see it coming before 2017, since the next major update will be the Boosterjet petrol that should be here by the end of this year.

Originally Posted by abhii176

Just one quick question, the portion of the tail lamp that lights up seems to be quite small, the portion on the tail gate does not light up. Is the tail lamp bright enough or do you think visibility could be an issue given the tail lamp is really small?

I've seen a few Brezzas at night and the light though small, is easily visible. They are LEDs so they light up quite well, but I'd like to see how well they fare in fog.

Originally Posted by josebi

I did not find the review of the Audio HU of lower variants. Please add few pictures as well.

The media vehicles only came in the ZDi+ grade, so we couldn't test the standard audio system. Ownership reports should shed some light on that.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

With the launch of the Vitara Brezza, Maruti has used the 1.3L diesel once again to create magic.

You can pick from a range of sporty hatchback, premium family hatchback, compact sub 4m sedan, full size mid segment sedan, 5+2 seater MUV, full size mid segment crossover and now even a pseudo SUV - as long as the engine is the same 1.3 FIAT multijet diesel. And surprisingly, it works too- the engine never being the major weakness point for any of these cars.

[hiren959]

Took a test drive of Brezza few days back, it looks good from outside but not impressed with the interior.
Even ZDi + variant is not coming with leather wrapped steering, the stock one is unbearable to hold , very thin and plastic quality is nothing to talk about.
Allover plastic is hard and no premium feeling inside, dash is boring.
Ride quality is average, nothing impressive.
It lacks the tank like feel of EcoSport.
I have not driven the EcoSport yet(only seen in the showroom) but if it is not capable of carrying five persons comfortably, Is it worth to buy a Brezza for just the reason that it can carry five on board?

[Asish_VK]

Great Review as always !

Very good looking car and nice feature list too. They got the SUV looks than hatchback on steroid. Job well done. But no petrol ? what was maruti thinking ? Hope within no time the petrol version will be released.

Maruti seems to be on full attack mode. launching one after another in every segment <12-13 Lakhs. They have managed to cover almost all the segments for the masses and are ready for spreading its wings over higher segments too.

Seems Maruti don't want their customers to look anywhere else for upgrade.

Good for us, the customers. After all competition is a good thing and Maruti doing exactly what they should do (read ecosport price cut )

[vennarbank]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

IMO, Nexa will be used by Suzuki if they have to brand their cars without the "Maruti" badge at a later stage, when the Gujrat plant comes alive. Even though Suzuki says that they will sell the cars to Maruti to market through Maruti dealership network, at a later stage, if any resistance comes, NEXA will be made use by Suzuki to establish their own sales channel, IMO.

That sums up my thought as well. I also felt that this is the plan to distinguish Suzuki. Also having more brands may mean more sales. ! [Or may not be as in the case of Nissan/Datsun/Renault]

[pannags]

An absolutely brilliant review, particularly considering how much has already been discussed, deliberated and debated.

A big to Tushar and GTO.

All round good looks, combined with a judicious balance of speccing and kit make the Vitara Brezza a splendid bargain. A couple of things that could come in the way of this translating to all-time-high sales records could be the delay in arrival and revision in price of the tried, tested and proven EcoSport. Let's not forget the just-launched NuoSport and the upcoming Nexon for competition. (read: Customer is the new emperor!)

It's also good to read about the driveability of the DDiS200 engine, which was mostly missing in the many S-Cross reviews, thanks to the cracker of a DDiS320 configuration overshadowing the latter! What with a negligible difference in weight between the siblings, I can imagine the Brezza will also be a breeze to drive!

BTW, can someone who has driven both the S-Cross and the Brezza comment on how different, if at all, the clutch in terms of ease of use and travel is? At least to me, the clutch on the S-Cross has been breeze to use.

[razor4077]

Great review Tushar - rating it 5 stars!

Haven't test driven the Brezza yet so cannot comment on how it is to drive, interior space etc. But having seen the car on the roads, I can say that it doesn't have much of a road presence. Size-wise it's almost comparable to the bigger hatchbacks and unlike the Ecosport, it doesn't really have any distinctive styling traits to make it stand out. That can be a good or bad thing depending on one's preference

On another note, I hope Maruti introduce the turbo petrol soon, hopefully with a decent automatic tranny. Will make a solid case for a city runabout then.

[bhansali_hardik]

Originally Posted by razor4077

Great review Tushar - rating it 5 stars!

Haven't test driven the Brezza yet so cannot comment on how it is to drive, interior space etc. But having seen the car on the roads, I can say that it doesn't have much of a road presence. Size-wise it's almost comparable to the bigger hatchbacks and unlike the Ecosport, it doesn't really have any distinctive styling traits to make it stand out. That can be a good or bad thing depending on one's preference

On another note, I hope Maruti introduce the turbo petrol soon, hopefully with a decent automatic tranny. Will make a solid case for a city runabout then.

Are you sure? This is a car which is getting a lot of attention on road and it surely stands out! Added to it if you have the dual tone running around it does hog all the attention on road. I totally disagree to the fact that it has no road presence. If anything this car is really good at it's exteriors with the dual tone facade. Maybe the lower variants with single tones are boring!