[Rocketscience]

Thanks for this wonderful and highly detailed review, my question is with 2 things, which i believe have not been explained anywhere, should clear the air for most of us:

1- Gear ratios in 4 speed automatic, how does this compare to 6 speed units in current cars, does the drivability suffer because of less gears and more restrictive spread of power, how tall is the 4th gear? Is it as tall as 5th gear in the manual version.

2- Mild Hybrid - The integrated starter/alternator, is this is same system as the new Honda Activa (Which they are heavily promoting and is a nice to have feature in my books because we get rid of that gear meshing sound and slow start of our conventional starters), if yes does the engine just start without making any noise whatsoever and hence making the start stop process extremely seamless? It would hence not put any strain on starting and stopping and the only downside is AC getting off.

How exactly does the lithium ion battery provide additional torque? Does it power the electrical systems of the car in short bursts (power steering motor and other systems) and the alternator/starter is disengaged from the engine for a short time and hence the engine gets more torque? Similar to AC cut off in normal car where the compressor disengages and provides a short burst of torque?

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Point to note = this Exide Conservo battery is used on the SHVS variants. Replacing it with some other make will disable the hybrid system

What's special about this particular battery? Also, how will the car find out that the battery has been replaced? I highly doubt they will be able to detect an aftermarket replacement automatically.

About the 4 speed TC, I have driven it for some time in the Ciaz and as ridiculous is the total number of gears on offer, it's a very smooth operator for sedate driving. The biggest flaw is really not the number of gears, but that it's completely dumb with no learning algorithm built in.

In a great automatic like the ZF8, if you start driving aggressively, the gearbox delays upshifts and holds gears, while giving you faster downshifts. If you lift off aggressively from the throttle, it holds the gear, knowing that you may want to accelerate again. And it only upshifts when you are back to providing gentle throttle inputs and it knows that you only want to accelerate a little bit.

But in this 4 speed auto, the shift points are hard-coded. What that means is that for a given speed and given throttle input, the gearbox only knows one gear to select, no matter anything else - whether you are driving uphill / downhill, fast, slow or whatever. This is really quite irritating as the transmission upshifts the moment you take your foot off the accelerator even for a second. As the gears are spaced widely apart, it's a calm cruiser on the highway with a tall 4th gear, but any kind of acceleration does require a downshift to 3rd / 2nd. And the gearbox does give it to you without any hesitation - stamp the pedal down and you get your downshift, but only as long as your foot is flat to the floor. Back off even slightly, and you go back to top gear

However if you want to extract some fun out of this gearbox, fear not - just use the L / 2 / D - OD off / D - OD on selections to manually select the highest gear and then the gearbox becomes reasonably fun to drive. I thoroughly enjoyed revving the 1.5L motor out in the first and second gears and with this pseudo manual mode, there wasn't much to complain about.

[amiya.c]

I was really looking forward to this car as my next daily drive but was seriously disappointed after finding out that they haven't done any upgrades to the interiors and simply overpriced the AT version that to which comes with only 4 gears. When I checked this car in person, it felt like a generation old as compared to the Ecosport and Venue. The market is moving towards ATs and both Ecosport and Venue have better AT options, why go with overpriced Brezza?

[Maverick Avi]

I TD the Ecosport and I'm sure as hell not going to touch Brezza Petrol as it is nowhere near the ES in terms of anything. I still wonder how Maruthi goes on about to make such decisions!

Well, whosoever is making those decisions at Maruti they are still working wonders for them. Just a matter of time before Brezza petrol overtakes Ecosport in sales. There is a whole wide world outside of car enthusiasts that still buy cars.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by xcentrk

Hey @CrAzY dRiVeR, in the "Driving the 1.5L Petrol Automatic" section, you have mentioned in one instance as Ciaz AT instead of Brezza AT. Please change it. Just can't resist to point it out in a great review.

Thank you for pointing it out.

Originally Posted by NFS2024

Some questions please.

1. How was the drive experience and NVH of the car when cruising at 100 and 120 KMPH? Was it bearable? I have read many owners complaining about unbearable noise after 100KMPH in Ertiga and Ciaz threads.

2. Also, how long was this test drive and what kind of mileage did you notice in the manual variant?

1. NVH isn't impressive at highway speeds. Engine noise is clearly audible above 2000rpm, and you get wind and tyre noise as well.

2. We had the car for well over 150kms - But the average fuel efficiency in a media drive is widely varied due to a lot of different aggressive driving styles, idling during the shoots etc. Ownerships reviews should tell a better picture. Given the similar mechanicals and kerb weight as the Ertiga petrol - the fuel efficiency figures would be very similar as well.

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

1- Gear ratios in 4 speed automatic, how does this compare to 6 speed units in current cars, does the drivability suffer because of less gears and more restrictive spread of power, how tall is the 4th gear? Is it as tall as 5th gear in the manual version.

2- Mild Hybrid - The integrated starter/alternator, is this is same system as the new Honda Activa (Which they are heavily promoting and is a nice to have feature in my books because we get rid of that gear meshing sound and slow start of our conventional starters), if yes does the engine just start without making any noise whatsoever and hence making the start stop process extremely seamless? It would hence not put any strain on starting and stopping and the only downside is AC getting off.

1. The AT box is a very smooth shifting unit - but you just can't overcome the fact that it is only a four-speed unit where the 4th ratio is an overdrive. It is smooth for city use unless you start pushing the car and the lethargic shifts and wide ratios become evident. Things are different at highway speeds though! Even at speeds above 100kmph, the gearbox tends to downshift to 3rd very annoyingly during overtaking manoeuvres. There should at least be an option for manual ratio selection.

2. The start is seamless. But as mentioned in the review - a bit too aggressive.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ds.raikkonen

I have slowly mastered left foot braking while driving my Swift AMT, much better than resting your left foot and engaging the right foot all the time! Feels much more balanced as well.

You can master left-foot braking as long as you don't ever drive a manual gearbox again!! You have retrained your brain to do something that doesn't suit MTs.

Originally Posted by amiya.c

When I checked this car in person, it felt like a generation old as compared to the Ecosport and Venue.

Agreed. Surprisingly, the Vitara Brezza feels older than the EcoSport (despite the Ford being years older). At this price, it is hard to make a case for it over the EcoSport AT or Venue DCT.

Still, there are many people who buy cars on the brand alone. We can't blame them. When I buy electronics (an area where I have zero knowledge), I buy based on brand too. TV has to be Sony for me, phones have to be Samsung, laptop has to be Dell and so on.

[ds.raikkonen]

Originally Posted by GTO

You can master left-foot braking as long as you don't ever drive a manual gearbox again!! You have retrained your brain to do something that doesn't suit MTs.

I drive a 2011 Vento MT as well

The only mix-up I end up doing is turning the wipers 'on' instead of the turn indicators

[saur95]

Originally Posted by d3mon

What's special about this particular battery? Also, how will the car find out that the battery has been replaced? I highly doubt they will be able to detect an aftermarket replacement automatically.

The Brezza and other such entry level vehicles with Start-Stop technology use an EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) as compared to the SLI (Starting-Lighting-Ignition) type used in conventional cars. These can last more than 270,000 cycles instead of approx. 30,000 in the case of SLIs. They also recover faster due to better charge acceptance.

I'm not entirely aware how but the more advanced battery management systems on S&S vehicles will detect an SLI type and disable the function to avoid draining the battery.

Your F30 uses an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) type which is the most advanced of all the three and delivers the best performance for Start-Stop functionality and produce a higher current output. They can also be positioned in the cabin as they don't emit any noxious fumes, even if damaged.

This Varta page explains the architecture : https://batteryworld.varta-automotiv...y-type-agm-efb

[Geo_Ipe]

Just a question regarding the L & 2 modes - can we shift from 'L to 2' or '2 to D' when the car is in motion? Or should the car be stopped to make these changes?

Just a random thought on overcoming the lack of manual override in this gearbox :
To keep it in 1st, select L
To keep it in 2nd, select 2
To keep it in 3rd, select D and press the O/D button
To keep it in 4th, leave it in D
This will only prevent upshifting though. But then all TC boxes downshift even if manual mode is selected, if the revs drop too much don't they?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Just a question regarding the L & 2 modes - can we shift from 'L to 2' or '2 to D' when the car is in motion? Or should the car be stopped to make these changes?

From the owner's manual of Ertiga ZXi AT (1.5L Petrol + 4-speed AT)

[Bibendum90949]

As expected a detailed and great review.Appreciate your efforts.

Come on Maruti.Wake up please! You're still running a lap behind when your competition is on the verge of finishing the next lap. How long can you keep selling your old and outdated models by changing the front grille there and a new LED tail lamp here and so on and a 4 speed auto box is insane stuff.Being a petrol only model and with this literally 3 speed box in city, the fuel consumption would take a beating.

You're the market leader and we car buyers expect more from you. You're better positioned than many to take bold and aggressive calls. Please understand the old tricks of putting new graphical stickers, making dual tone paint work , tweaking head light designs and new LED's etc etc are long gone. Please come out and address the meat of the matter of a car - engine, transmission, structural safety and rigidity? Don't you have any ambitions to make a car that passes out with a 5 star NCAP rating? I feel a sense of complacency has creeped into Maruti folks. How long can you take the Indian car buyers for granted.I'm terribly disappointed

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Just a question regarding the L & 2 modes - can we shift from 'L to 2' or '2 to D' when the car is in motion?

I believe you can. I remember trying it. On the other hand, it might not be a good idea to try shifting from D to 2 when the car is in motion (to avoid over-revving), just like you wouldn't shift from 5th - 2nd in an MT at 100 kmph.

[Stribog]

That chrome "facelift", I have always wondered, do our designers put on so much chrome because the market wants it or the market likes chrome because the designers add so much of it.

The front looks like Godzilla took the car by the front but the car got away. Hideous imo.

But it will still outsell the Ecosport and venue combined mostly so who am I to judge.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The Maruti Vitara Brezza Facelift is on sale in India at a price of between Rs. 7.34 - 11.40 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

Fantastic 5 star review @CrAzY dRiVeR & team. Loved it as usual. I have liked the Brezza always & I am actually glad that the face-lift only brought subtle changes. The car has one of those rare-for-this-era under stated looks that I love. And they are mostly retained. So thank you MSIL for that! A practical car, continues to be so. Hopefully it will retain at least some of the market share that its predecessor had with the diesel engine - till the 1.5 DDiS finally comes back in BSVI era.

Only 2 things that I really hated in this face-lift -

1. The steering wheel is a bummer. Should have been replaced really. With a smaller, thicker & more modern unit. This now looks from Premier Padmini era.
2. The chrome grille. Accessory makers are going to have a really hard time making an accessory now - since MSIL is shipping the car with accessory fitments from factory!

[John316_WRC]

What are Maruti designers doing !!
1. Ancient interiors.
How can people spend 12+ lacs (Zxi AT) and live daily with such boring interiors? Hatchbacks that cost half the price have a better dashboard. (eg. Kwid, Santro, Tiago, even i10 Nios base model has a better dash)

2. Hideous front grille.

Pricing of the automatics is way too high. This being a Maruti, will still outsell the EcoSport, though it won't be able to beat the Venue.

Those who want a Maruti compact SUV, don't want a turbo petrol, don't drive much on highways, don't care about interiors, this will suit them. Overall a disappointing update, if we can call it that.