Maruti Suzuki’s sub 4-metre compact SUV has been christened Vitara Brezza and will be officially showcased at the Auto Expo with sales to commence by mid-2016.
Maruti Suzuki is all ready to storm in the sub 4-metre compact SUV space and has revealed the first sketch of its much-awaited offering christened as the ‘Vitara Brezza’. Formerly known by the codename YBA, the Vitara Brezza will be officially revealed at the upcoming Auto Expo in early February and as the company puts it, has been designed to appeal to the urban SUV customer. Expected to go on sale by mid-2016, the compact SUV will be locking horns with the Ford EcoSport, Mahindra TUV300 and the likes in the segment.
Talking about the design, the Maruti Vitara Brezza sports a butch profile unlike the bigger S-Cross in the automaker’s lineup. You can notice the square wheel arches, short overhangs, upright roofline and high ground clearance. The shoulder line starting from the front fender recedes all the way to the tail light and adds to the muscular stance of the SUV. Going by the previous spy shots, the front fascia will be similar to the full-sized Vitara with a wide chrome grille while the rear will feature wraparound tail lights.
Inside the cabin, the 2016 Maruti Vitara Brezza gets a clutter-free dashboard with the top variants getting a touchscreen infotainment system possibly with Apple CarPlay. A lot of part sharing with other Marutis is evident in favour of costs. In terms of powertrain, the Brezza will be available with 1.2-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engine options in the same configuration as the Swift. Both engines will come paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox sending power only to the front wheels. A CVT unit is also a possibility.
Maruti states that the term Brezza comes from Italian which translates to ‘fresh breeze’ and that is exactly what the automaker is aiming to bring to the segment. No mechanical details have been officially announced yet but Maruti will be revealing the specifications as we get closer to the Expo. The Indian auto giant is surely betting big on the Brezza now, more so, since the S-Cross has failed to make an impact as hoped. Nevertheless, the compact SUV will come loaded on a host of tech while the right pricing should keep things optimistic.
