Kedarnath temple, a holy place that has been trending on social media more than ever. It felt like we were missing out on it and hence before the temple shuts the visit for this year, we made a plan. Driving up all the way from Mumbai seemed a little too much and hence we got on the Tejas Rajdhani Train to Delhi for a week long excursion. Within 15 hours we were in Delhi, we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to the Maruti Suzuki HQ as I was to pick up our chariot for the drive. A beautiful Maruti Suzuki Brezza in Brave Khaki colour with white roof was waiting for us. Everyone travelling with me adored the car for a bit before getting in.
For 4 healthy adults we had overpacked a little bit but as soon as we loaded up the luggage, with the 328 liters of boot space, the Brezza took it all in without a sweat! Two brownie points already as it looks really good and has enough boot space too. As soon as I got onto the driver’s seat, there was a homely feeling. Very comfortable seat and an upright but a relaxed driving posture, it just felt good. Almost all Maruti Suzuki cars now get wireless Apple CarPlay which I appreciate quite a lot, took about 15 seconds to set it up. Everyone buckled in and we were good to go!
Plan A was to head to Kedarnath base directly but then mountain roads are risky. As I could see a lot of traffic patches on navigation, we decided to stop at Rishikesh for the night. The Delhi – Meerut – Roorkee highway was the fastest route so we got onto it. With a lunch stop also done we were in Haridwar early evening but things took a turn for the worse. There was so much traffic to enter Rishikesh that cops made us take a detour via Jauligrant.
To save time I found a U-turn which was not in the best shape but the Brezza just went over it without touching anywhere. That’s when I knew I picked the right car for this getaway. We ended up entering Tapovan, Rishikesh late at night only to grab dinner and have a good sleep. Since next day we had another 230 kms of treacherous mountain roads to reach Sonprayag, the base point of Kedarnath. With an estimated travel time of over 8 hrs seemed exaggerated but I was ready and I believe the Brezza was too!
As we crossed about 100 kms the next day, we had stopped for over 5 times! The roads were tarmac till Ukhimath but there were landslides all over causing only a single lane to work at a time. This went on for quite some while but not a single person complained as they were really comfortable in the Brezza. Amazing weather, good music and very balanced car which had been taking broken tarmac with ease let everyone keep their cool. The best part over here was once you get stuck in traffic there’s no one overtaking you as it’s only a 2-lane road.
Lunch brake was at a roadside mountain bhojanalay and all we had was Garwal food. Rotis, rice and vegetable. It was tasty with a tinge of spice and yet we loved it. We liked this place so much that we decided to take a stop here again on the way back. Adding good food to the checklist too, all we had to do was reach Sonprayag but it went from good tarmac to no roads right after Ukhimath. The fuel consumption till now was closer to 14 km/l was amazing but I could see it dropping as the roads got worse.
Thinnest of road to no roads at all for the last 60 kms with unimaginable traffic, we reached Sonprayag at 11:30 PM while our ETA was around 7 PM. This is when I appreciated the steering feedback and the overall suspension setup as no one had any unnecessary fatigue. The Maruti Suzuki Brezza felt calm, composed and a perfect getaway car. The LED light setup also lit the road really well while not blinding any oncoming traffic. It deserves a lot of appreciation as the next day we were to trek to Kedarnath temple and even though we got late, everyone had a fresh face with quite a bit of adrenaline for the Devbhoomi visit.
Sonprayag has a car park where we parked the Brezza and the charges are about ₹200 for 24 hrs. We started the Kedarnath trek at 6 AM, first step is to verify the registration, then head to Gaurikund in a local taxi which is the actual trek start. The complete trek is about 17-18 km due to an alteration after the floods. While the older route is still accessible apart from a missing bridge and it was about 20 km long. Even though I had the energy, me and my cousin could walk so we took a horse ride up and we were at the top by 2 PM.
Two of my cousins trekked all the way up and they reached at 6 pm which was just amazing! All of us stayed the night and visited the temple little later too and the amount of energy you get visiting such a place is just surreal. It was extremely cold while it had rained a little too, the temperature had just dropped below 0 degrees celsius early in the morning! All of us trekked back to the base while the sun was out and reached Sonprayag car park in the evening where the Brezza was happily waiting for us.
Since we had to head back anyways we decided to leave the Sonprayag area and stay at a place enroute Rishikesh. While the DTE was showing 50 km, I could see the fuel needle sitting right next to empty. With a belief that we’ll have a fuel station nearby, only to realise that the last fuel station is in Guptkashi which is about 30 km from Sonprayag. The one thing I didn’t like about the Brezza was the DTE accuracy as it kept varying quite a lot. We however made it to the fuel pump and then stayed the night in Guptkashi itself.
The Brezza had gotten quite dirty but there was not a single proper car wash on the way and I couldn’t get it done at a local shop. Hence my first aim was to find a proper car wash as we head down from the mountains. Since we had another day in hand, we drove to Dehradun instead of stopping at Rishikesh. I could see a lot of traffic moving upwards but we got empty roads on the way back and the Brezza was just flying! With the same ETA to Rishikesh we made it to Dehradun, as it was time for proper leisure and relaxation.
Now this whole time, the Brezza returned a fuel efficiency of 12.1 km/l. Such a number in the mountain region is very good as we were running full load and the Brezza was an automatic. The torque converter gearbox had the perfect gear set for almost all the terrains we went through however there was only one instance where the 1.5-litre motor felt out of breath. Since we were out on a leisure drive and not going rallying the engine had sufficient oomph to get us around without thinking twice.
As soon as we reached Dehradun, I dropped everyone off to the hotel and I got out to get the Brezza washed. I really couldn’t hold back but ask for a detailed wash and they did a really good job at it. Even the workers appreciated the unique colour of this Maruti Suzuki Brezza. The first time ever I drove the Brezza it was back in 2018 and it had a diesel engine. On this whole trip I only missed the diesel because it would have been comparatively more efficient. But even with the smart hybrid tech and enough punch to get going while also having an amazing balance between ride and handling, it was perfect!
On the tech side, there are quite a lot of things that I appreciate about the Maruti Suzuki Brezza. Wireless Apple CarPlay was a boon as I didn’t have to worry about the music playlist and maps, it was taken care by the people travelling with me as they had the access. The head-up display or HUD gave a very premium feel as I didn’t have to take my eyes off the road while looking for details from the dash. While the Air Conditioner was a chiller, even at ground level in Delhi the AC would chill the cabin really quickly.
After the touristy stuff was done we had to head back to New Delhi Railway Station to catch our Rajdhani back home. On one of the highways entering Ghaziabad I noticed the speed cameras set up with emojis on them. There’s always something interesting back on the road and this seemed quite cooled as you’d get a green smile for keeping under the speed limit. While this was not accurate as we were around 80 km/hr and the signboard showed 32 km/hr.
The Maruti Suzuki Brezza is a comfortable family car that can do your daily commutes while it is born ready for any weekend excursions too. What I did realise in this drive that travelling with family and cousins is big difference. And similarly if you have the will to go and explore, you don’t really need something extremely expensive. The Brezza changed a complete perspective as even after being a petrol car while everything is set for comfort, it can do some decently long trips and yet give a back at home feeling. Not a single breakdown or even a puncture is something I keep as a testament for an amazing trip with a reliable car!
