Maruti Suzuki Vitara Review

Maruti Suzuki's reputation in India can be compared with that of Mother Dairy's. Reliable!

When a son buys a Maruti instead of all other, not so bad, competitors, his father still praises him for the thoughtfulness shown by him. The kind of faith and trust people still have in Maruti comes from the deeply spread web of service network and presence it has in the country. Parts cheapest in the segment (as they claim, and even in real as one can easily get fake parts too, mind you, we have all sorts of customers) and even the naivest of the mechanics can repair and understand the anatomy of Maruti's cars. I use Maruti for Maruti Suzuki all the time, even that is another level of familiarity we have with this brand. 

And then comes the age of SUV's. Rather a new era of mini-SUV's. Where the youth, and even the elderly in some cases, try to find satisfaction in shrunk SUV's, as these are easy to maneuver on city roads and keeps them much above the wrongly constructed, back braking speed breakers. Even on the roads such mini- SUV's give a superior look as compared to hatchbacks. I wouldn't consider them at power with luxury sedans, as sedan lovers are a different breed. 

After the arrival of Ford's Eco-Sport, Renault's Duster and its slightly different looking identical twin Nissan Terrano and Hyundai's Creta, Indians still knew they had something crazier coming their way. It was the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. What,they said. A mini SUV from Maruti Suzuki, the most affordable brand known to mankind? Such was the excitement felt even in the last Indian Auto Expo held at Greater Noida, where this car was launched. 

The name Vitara without doubt reminds us of a failed car. Correct me if I am wrong, you surely will try to if you are one of the victims being an owner of one of those fuel sucking, good to ride but overly priced machines. But the Brezza isn't even close to that old tart. Vitara Brezza is a sub-4 meter mini SUV which sports almost all features which one would look for a car costing around INR 10 lacs. The sub-4 meter part as we all know reduces the cost significantly (reason why Hyundai Creta is expensive).  

During my test drive of this so called Glamour X Sporty car I came across a couple of surprises, both for and against the car. So lets jump on the point wise description below:

I'd like to start with Against first, as we all like to bitch, don't we?

Against

- The marketing campaign says the Harder you Play, the better you look, I think they were referring to the tight steering wheel. Feels like you are driving a duster sized car.

- Take a turn and you'll feel like the roads are so narrow around you. Nope, its not the road, its the car yo are driving which has turning radius of a truck. Well a bit exaggerated here, even still the Brezza takes quite some space and time to turn.

- With Odd Even kicking in this month we might want or have to sit in more people in the vehicle. And if you're driving a Brezza with 4 passengers, you might feel it's a little heavy to lift and pick up at signals. The engine is the same as the Swift one. But here it lacks the kick even after that sweet 2000 rpm mark.

- So you just invited your colleague on a date and guess what looking at your new car she said yes. She is interested to have a look at the performance. What you think your performance? haha no vitara Brezza's performance precious, so go on do the drill. But the smile she had while getting in to the car just disappeared instantaneously. Why? wasn't I wearing my perfume or is it that she was expecting roses. You are wrong again, you look just fine brother, its just the interior which broke her heart a bit. The dash is alright she thinks, it has no premium feel, in fact it reminds her of the Wagon-R she sold five years ago. Well you still have a good chance, taking her to a good restruant, best of luck! 

- Hard to digest but Maruti Swift still rides better than Vitara Brezza in a race, with the same engine.

- One colour scheme with black top and white body would have been more sportier than the available combinations, giving a false look of a Range Rover Evoke! Alright don't break your heart too soon. At the end of the article I shall provide with a solution, and you'll thank me forever for this (oh i accept cash gifts).

- Wanna have a beer while on the expressway on one of those romantic weekends? Umm Vitara Brezza says stirct no to such drunken driving endeavors. Well how is that? They have a fairly smart way of saying that by making 'small cup holders'. I tried fitting in a Kinley Water Bottle (INR 20 one), and i failed, eventually I had to keep it in the dash. The cup holders can only hold red bull cans (I guess Brezza makers really want you to stay energized). The only car in India which can hold six beers bottles at a time in the front cabin is Honda Jazz, I guess one should never let their college gong children but that car.

- So the exterior is alright, not bad I'd say. The car looks good but could have been better. I ask when is maruti going to do away with soft edges around the corners. May be next time hann!

- The features seemed fine, nothing extraordinary. Thought I tried using the cruise control and it is a little confusing. "Sir even I dont know how it works", said the two sales persons sitting in the car, when asked about the complicated or may be not working condition of the cruise control. 

For

Enough of bitching up there, I shall please the Maruti guys now, what if they offer me a car for free after reading my article!

- I like to start from the rear, I mean in terms of the cars. So the rear space or the Dikky space is pretty large as compared to all its true competitors, in effect that is just one Hyundai Creta (which has negligible dikky space)

- I am 5' 10' and the sales person sitting with me in the front passenger seat was no less than a Giant 6' 5' . Believe or not he still seemed comfortable while sitting in that seat. Several times he picked brochures from the rear seat, an found it absolutely comfortable to pick and drop these papers several times. The reasonably nice head and shoulder space in the car is another distinguishing factor Brezza has over its competitors.

- The exterior Dual Tone Colour Combinations are nicely are a good idea, giving the Vitara Brezza that sporty feel which a buyer is really looking for in the mini-SUV segment.

- If you are an Indian then this is the point you were waiting to read, and it just might the case that you stop reading the article any further may be. The mileage claim is crazy! A 24.3 Kmpl mileage on a diesel engine in the mini- SUV segment sounds lucrative enough to book one of these machines. There is no shame in looking for a fuel efficient car, unless you are from Punjabi Bagh or Rajouri Garden. I look for fuel efficiency as one of my prime parameters to decide which car to go for, and Vitara Brezza really impresses me.

- Maruti is Maruti, just like a property dealer says Delhi is Delhi. Famous for a the reasons I quoted in the first two para's and ;Kifayati' (Urdu word meaning value for money), kinda inexpensive for these features and looks and the omnipresent Maruti service centers along with parts availability add on significantly toward its strengths.

- In today's times we are usually driving alone to our offices or colleges and this is a good car for single or two riders. The torque is enough to push you ahead of others on signals and even on the highways. Practical is the corrrect word for this vehicle in this aspect, and so it gifts you with a super mileage also.

- The tightness in the steering may seem a little difficult to handle in the city traffic but it truly brings stability on highways and a sense of safety round the corners when you are turning even at speeds of 60 kmph.

- Features like the Night Sensing Projector Headlamps and Rain Sensing wipers are worth at this price.

- We all expect mean looks from SUV's, but this is a cute looking mini-SUV which, so the looks aren't confusing in terms of it projecting itself as an SUV

Suggestions

- Here come the words of wisdom: Buy the VDi(O) and get sportier alloys, heavier music system and funkier choice of fog lamps from a car market. Buy a white colored Vitara Brezza and get its roof painted black from the company itself. This way you save around 1.25 Lacs and get a ZDi Dual Model with better features (minus push button and cruise, if that's what you can compromise on).

- The color theme of the front dial panel can be changed to 5 different ones (sounds kiddish but I am sure it must be important for some buyers with hidden likes for such features).