Not only is this The Most talked about and the most awaited car of the last few months
its probably one of the biggest launches we've been waiting for, for the past year and a half
and if I a rupee for every time someone asked me about
when the new Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza
is coming out I'd probably have enough money to buy one so doesn't live up to
everybody's expectations
well look at it
for starters it looks much larger than it actually is
this is a sub-4 meter compact SUV
but look at it, its angular, its aggressive
and as with more SUVs recently you get a large front chrome grill and big headlamps
with daytime running lights and a projector setup
but the most exciting feature or the most exciting design element in the Brezza
has to be on the side
now there are obvious design elements that remind us of the Swift, especially we look at the A pillar here
and the most important design element in our opinion is the floating roof
Now this is a ZDI+ variant which is the top of the line
and is in a slightly boring shade of silver
but if you wanted one, you would get one in a blue or yellow with a white roof
or our favourite - a red with a black roof
now, in our opinion if you are spending your money on something as exciting looking as this
consider it
it is a fun car and it should be in a fun colour
now our only problem with the design and I know
some of you might not agree with us is the fact that the wheel although they
are larger 16 inches they do look a little boring
but personally we would have preferred something that the Ciaz gets, a multi-spoke gunmetal grey design
but as of now this is what you get
around the back you get a set of chunky taillights and a chrome tailgate accent piece that has a
Brezza logo stamped into it
what we are a little concerned about however, is the fact that the lit up area in the tail lamp when
the parking lights are on might not be enough on the low visibility Indian roads
but when it comes to the interiors of the Brezza, I think Maruti has decided to play it a little safe
and offer more simple and stylish solution as compared to some of the over the top design
you find in some of the other SUVs
they have this squircle, what is basically a square with circular edges design on the central console
and the central infotainment screen which is the same as the one on the Baleno
of course it does have navigation and if like me you are an apple person and use an iphone
it also has Apple carplay which makes a real boom to use
now we know that the little gimmicky but you can choose the color on the
instrument cluster from five different shades. you get blue, white, yellow, orange and my personal
favorite a sporty red. Other features include the start and stop button,
cruise control, automatic headlamps and rain-sensing wipers
now although all these features are all well in good
and the brezza has a lot of them
what we are dissapointed with is the quality of plastics
now there are certain uneven edges we find all over the car
and the central console just does not feel as well put together as you would expect from a 10 lakh rupee car
also some of the plastics are just a little hard to feel and the tactile feedback just is not as good as we had expected
now the front seats on the Brezza are quite comfortable and also have a heads of sportyness
you get these lovely side cushions here
which are good bolsters to support you when you are cornering
and you get a rally nice upper back support
which seems to be missing from a few cars that we have driven recently
the lower cushion though is slightly smaller and if you are a bigger person like I am
you might find it slightly intrusive, especially around the bottom
now the Brezza is mainly gonna be a family car and we expect the rear seats to be used a lot
thankfully you have a lot of leg space and a lot of head space
what you also have is enough space for 3 adults to sit next to each other
mainly because of the fact that the doors here are contoured so you get a little more knee room
you also get this seat fitted hand rest here which has two cup holders
and a very useful little hook, where you can hang a bag of groceries or maybe some ironed clothes
Maruti Suzuki cars in the past were criticized heavily for not having enough storage space
the Brezza gets a bottle holder on both front door and two cupholders in the central console
and a single bottle holder in the rear doors
you also get two glove compartments
one of whic comes with coolling function that can easily hold two small 500 ml
bottles or 4 cans of your favorite aerated beverage
the Brezza also gets a large centre console storage space
and a boot which has 328 litre space with the seats in place
now the Brezza comes with the same 1.3L diesel engine
that we are so used to in the likes of the Ciaz, the Swift and the Baleno
and it drives pretty much the same
facts and figures
90 PS of speed power
200 Newton meter of torque and an ARAI approved fuel efficiency figure of 24.3 kmpl
now the first you get when you actually drive the Brezza is one of fimiliarity
it drives pretty much the same as the Baleno does or the Swift does
and the engine is really healthy as it was before
now to gear box is just slightly different
it is the same 5 speed manual transmission, but for the Brezza they have changed around the ratios a little bit
and tuned it to be little more responsive
and as there always was there is still a little bit of turbo lag in the engine
when you are a slightly higher gear and a slightly lower speed
but drop down a few gears. maybe from 5th to 3rd or 4th
and the response is quite immediate
the gear shift action also like with all Marutis is very very crisp
and thank God the clutch unlike some other SUVs in this segment is very light
and very easy to use which makes it a boon in start and stop traffic in the city
the Vitara Brezza does have quite a high level of noise
especially when the engine is revved passed the 3000 rpm point
the NVH levels on the Brezza especially in terms of tyre noise and engine noise are on the higher side
and on longer trip this could cause irritations to sound drivers and passangers
Brezza is a considerably tallish sort of car
and we thought handling might be a little compromised but luckily it isn't
on the top of the line ZDI+ version that we have here, you get 215 section tyres and 16 inch wheel rims
and on this new C platform chassis that the Suzuki has built specially for this car
and this is the first one with that chassis
the steering feedback and handling feels quite crisp
now there is a bit of body roll
but nothing really to complain about and the ride is a little bit firmer than what we would've expected
but that is not bad because it does improve handling just a little bit
now the Brezza with one or two people in the car does seem a little bouncy or skippy
over a few undulated sections of road, but fill it up to five people and a boot full of luggage and
what you get is a pretty plain ride
in terms of brakes the ZDI/ZDI+ version comes with ABS standard and airbags ofcourse
but the LDI and VDI have them optional
now if you are planning to buy a cheaper one of the Brezza we beg you
please please consider the ABS it is an absolute necessity in todays day and age
do not skimp on something as basic as safety
there's no denying the fact that the Vitara Brezzais a sure shot winner for Maruti Suzuki
it gets good looks, a great interior and a good mechanical package
but what Maruti really need to work upon immediately is the quality of the plastics
and of course the NVH levels
So if you are looking for a 10 lakh odd rupee car today in
the Indian market we think this is probably one of the best there is
makes you wonder though with a car like this does a convention and midsize sedan or a
premium hatchback really make that much sense