How I ended up buying the Maruti Invicto after booking the Hycross

Drive Comfort and cabin space are at the top of the list of my likes.

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INTRO

On the roads invicto is rare and that feels good and distinct in many ways. I wanted to write an ownership review for our Maruti Suzuki Invicto Strong hybrid Zeta 7 seater for quite some time now. But it gets de-prioritised very conveniently. Finally on my train journey back from my home town in Kerala, I started to write, as I had to wait for about an hour in the railway station waiting room. The current odometer reading of the car is close 4K km, thanks to Suzuki connect I could get odometer readings from my mobile itself sitting in the railway station.
I got delivery of the car on last week of August and I rarely spotted another invicto on Bangalore roads for almost few months. Even though it's cousin brother, the hycross were aplenty. The feeling was so rare that when I finally spotted a fellow invictoian , both the drivers pleasantly greeted each other with a great smile and thumbs up.
The dealer had told me that the first Invicto in Bangalore was delivered to me.

Booking and delivery experience

Long story short, I booked Hycross VXO Jan 2023, but due to non committal delivery time from Toyota I ended up booking Invicto in June, as soon as MS launched the model.Finally in Aug both vehicles were ready for delivery. However the Nexa dealership were very efficient in tracking my order and extremely attentive to my requirements.There was a significant price advantage with the Invicto hybrid base model as my primary look out was for the 6 airbags. Nexa folks handled the delivery quite professionally, they had to get RTO approval for the model itself before they could process my car registration.The Banaswadi Nexa team ensured an exceptional delivery experience.

Weekend Drive to Bellur

There was no test drive vehicle yet on the dealership during the booking. So I was expecting that the drive will be very similar to Hycross which I test drove early on. Hence when I took the wheel of the Invicto for the first time, I was relieved when I found the drive to be the same as the Hycross....The car was easily maneuverable and felt light, the seating was quite comfortable and with space all around the drive was pleasurable. We planned a weekend trip to Belur and I got a chance to take the vehicle on the highway. We were 7 , my two nephews joined as well. We had quite amount of luggage with almost everyone with a backpack, but to my surprise all the luggage was easily accommodated for, in the boot even with all 7 seats occupied.
Highway drive was fun, the transmission is spot on, acceleration and power is adequate, stability in high speed is solid, breaking is responsive. We started in the morning and had a few stops and reached the resort by around 3 in the evening. Everyone had their own, nice and comfy zone in the car , the third row was occupied by two teenage boys and they enjoyed a good amount of leg room , middle row captain seats providing solid comfort and view, and the front row seats had good ergonomics, and drive position. I was still getting used to the cruise control and found it to be really useful in highways.Few hours into the travel, we realised that for people in the third and first row to have a conversation, we need to talk little more loudly than usual to be audible and once realised the conversation were just flowing. Everyone was fresh and energetic arriving at the destination, thanks to the superior drive comfort of the car.

Exploring Bellur

Next day early morning we set up out to explore Bellur. We were awestruck on the ride, with the exquisite scenic beauty all around of the country side. There were green grasslands all around with patches of water bodies, and majestic hills covered with trees on the purview. It was just pure nature all around and no man-made distractions like shops. Just the roads winding through the serene landscape.

Our first stop was Yagachi Dam. A must visit beautiful reservoir with expansive irrigation water channels and green cover all around.
Next we explored Shettihali Church, it was an hour or so drive (if I recollect correctly). The drive was through a tank bund road, a 10-15 ft elevated road in the middle of lush green fields. It was just a repeat of Bellur trademark green grasslands ,water bodies, and majestic hills. The church was not accessible as it was submerged half in water with almost only the church steeple standing tall above water.

On our way back to resort, my nephew took on the Invicto wheels and he commented reaching the resort that the car felt like a well crafted machine.

Drive to home town Kerala from BangaloreDrive to home town Kerala from Bangalore

Our second long drive was during the Dasheera Holiday, to our home state Kerala. With only 4 occupants the luggage space was plenty and it helps especially as we are a family which travels with loads of luggage.This time I also used the cruise control extensively and found it very convenient. Though it got a little confusing at time with the controls on the steering wheel, I felt connivence while increasing the cruise set speeds as well as activating and canceling the cruise mode. The ride felt fresh all through.

On the way back, when we stopped at the famous Poojari's Fishland at Mysore, I saw a cousin brother , Hycross parked and I stopped the car next to it for a quick snap. I felt the Maruti team have done good job to blend the nexa design elements isn'it ?

What I Like and What I miss in the car

Drive Comfort and cabin space is at the top of the list of my likes. The electronic parking breaks are very intuitive and useful in city driving. The press on the accelerator disengages the parking breaks automatically which is very convenient.

The driver Information display are simple and easy to understand, over-all well designed. I learnt a few tips from MIDI like avoiding neutral while Electronic parking knob is activated. The MIDI told me that this will cause unnecessary hybrid battery strain.

Now on to, What I missed in the car ? The first one is a mute button which is quite a surprise to me!!! So strange that I am still not sure if it is something I missed.

Second one in the list is 360 degree camera, with the high driving position of the car, the visibility to immediate surrounding is quite limited.

Music system is just average, and no upscaled features as such are included. And it comes with a basic seat upholstery.

Suzuki Connect

The suzuki connect app is interesting. One time I parked the car in one of my friends house for a night and were few blocks away when it started pouring heavily. Then it occurred to me, is the window closed ? When I started walking to the car to check, my son just open the suzuki connect app and checked the window status. It was closed and that saved me from being drench.

I could see a few upgrades and new feature addition like parking availability /booking option in few months of my usage.

But I think it is still a long way for the app to be more useful to owners given the potential.

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