Maruti Vitara Brezza Long Term Review
Long Term Test No. 130
Car Tested: Maruti Vitara Brezza
Kms Done: 7885 kms
Test Started at: 11,816 kms
Test Concluded at: 19,701 kms
Mileage: 14.90 km/l, 17.3 km/l (best), 12.5 km/l (worst)
Fuel Consumed: 529.19-litres
Fuel Cost: Rs. 34,397/-
Rs. per km: Rs. 4.36/-
This no-nonsense compact SUV meets the requirements of Indian buyers to the T
There is a reason why the Maruti Vitara Brezza is one of the highest selling UVs in the Indian auto market. This compact SUV has been positioned in the sub-4-metre segment and it does all the things that a user would expect his/her car to do. In my previous report, I had mentioned my initial impressions about the Maruti Vitara Brezza ZDi+ but now that I’ve driven the car for almost 8000 kms in varying conditions, I’m in a much better position to state how this car fared in the unforgiving conditions of Mumbai.
With roads like ours, you need enough ground clearance
It was a bad rainy day in Mumbai and most roads were water-logged to such an extent that it was tough driving a car through the areas and it wasn’t uncommon to see a lot of cars across varying segments breaking down on the road, leaving their owners in the lurch. I was one of the guys who had to face a lot of water-logged roads on my way home. With the Brezza’s fat tyres and the high ground clearance, I decided to take a chance. With the car in 1st gear and the RPM hovering at around 2500 RPM to keep the car in its power band, I made the car chug along and despite so much water around, the Brezza made it. In fact, I even remember driving it on some parts of the road where there were major craters and significant uneven surfaces but this compact SUV somehow made it thanks to the Apollo Alnac 4G tyres which are quite abuse friendly. This is what I like about compact SUVs, the high ground clearance really helps in a country like ours.
The cabin has a simple layout
The Brezza gets nice features like auto headlamps, auto wipers, cruise control
At least 50% of my driving happens in city traffic. While the clutch is positively light and the gear lever is slick, the throws are a tad heavy and the steering also isn’t exactly feather light at low speeds. However, the compact size and excellent outward visibility makes the car very easy to manoeuvre. Even parking is a breeze because the rear view camera provides high quality footage on the 7-inch touchscreen and I really liked the performance of the camera even in extremely low-light conditions. My car had an auto-unlock feature where the doors would automatically unlock when I turned the engine off, but auto-locking wasn’t enabled. However, I activated the feature by digging deep inside the MID settings and finally managed to find it, and thanks to that the car now automatically locked after crossing about 20 km/hr. Surprisingly, the car misses out on an automatic day/night rear-view mirror which the Ciaz and Baleno have.
This panel came off from the top on its own
The interior of the Maruti Vitara Brezza is excellent when it comes to utility because all controls fall within easy reach of the hand. Storage spaces are aplenty and there are more than enough bottle holders too. The Vitara Brezza also gets 2 gloveboxes, both of which are large in size while the top one also has a cooling feature.
The engine pull after 2000 RPM is quite fun!
Turbo lag is there at the low end but the power surge is punchy after that
The Maruti Vitara Brezza gets only 1 engine option and that is the 1.3-litre DDiS engine borrowed from Fiat. The compact SUV gets the higher 90 PS tune but that also translates into more turbo lag than the 75 PS version. This turbo lag requires frequents shifts. Even on the highways, you need to downshift some of the times if you want to overtake. However, the push that you get when the turbo starts spooling is quite powerful and the Brezza picks up pace very quickly, pulling cleanly all the way to a notch above 5000 RPM.
The clutch is very light and gear throws are short
This constant gear-shifting due to the turbo lag affects the fuel efficiency too. We got an average figure of almost 15 km/l which is still pretty good for a car that is of this size and has well-sized tyres. On the highways, the Brezza averaged out at a notch above 17 km/l which is again pretty respectable. The engine tends to get noisy at high RPMs and a 6th gear would’ve added some relief too. Other than this, the car is very strong mechanically and it doesn’t disappoint in any major way. The engine is very reliable, running costs aren’t all that high and overall there shouldn’t be any reliability issues with the Brezza.
The Brezza feels planted on the highways
While the steering is on the heavier side, this is a boon on the highways because it lends that much more confidence while driving. It also provides very good feedback and the Vitara Brezza is a fairly decent handler. Body roll isn’t very much because the suspension setup is on the stiffer side. Talking about the ride, it is hard at low speeds and that could cause some discomfort to passengers but on highways and high speeds, the stiffness makes the car feel composed even over bad roads and the suspension itself feels robust and can take quite a lot of beating. Braking power is good but our test car seemed to be missing the initial bite.
You can service your Vitara Brezza in any corner of the country
Maruti Vitara Brezza Service Costs
1. Service Schedule – 10,000 kms/1 year (whichever is earlier)
2. Cost of Spares –
* Engine Oil Per Service – Rs. 1600/- (3.2-litres)
* Air Filter – Rs. 350/-
* Brake Oil – Rs. 360/- (500 ml)
* Oil Filter – Rs. 350/-
* Fuel Filter – Rs. 1660/-
* AC Dust Filter – Rs. 750/-
* Brake Pads (Front) – Rs. 2000/- (est.)
* Front Bumper (without painting) – Rs. 2800/- (est.)
* Rear Bumper (without painting) – Rs. 5000/- (est.)
* Headlamp Assembly (Each) – Rs. 4200/- (est.)
* Tail Lamp Assembly (Each) – Rs. 1500/- (est.)
(all costs above are inclusive of taxes)
Maruti usually sells more than 10,000 units of the Brezza every month
You just cannot go wrong with the Maruti Vitara Brezza. It comes packed with so many features, has strong mechanicals and the overall setup of the car feels very durable. It seems that this car is just tailor-made for Indian roads. It can withstand a lot of abuse, it won’t disappoint you on the fuel efficiency front, you can jazz up the looks through the iCreate platform and the stellar after-sales network of Maruti means you’ll have complete peace of mind all the time. Priced at Rs. 11.44 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai) for the top-spec variant, the Vitara Brezza is the highest selling car in its segment and it competes with the likes of the Ford EcoSport, Honda WR-V and Tata Nexon.
Our test car had some iCreate accessories installed
What’s Cool
* Practicality is excellent with good storage spaces
* Strong mechanicals are a boon, car can take a lot of abuse
* Equipment list is long, more than enough features
* After-sales service doesn’t even need a mention
* Gets fat, grippy tyres which aid in giving a better driving feel
What’s Not So Cool
* Doesn’t feel very premium on the inside
* Some parts of the interiors could’ve had better quality
* Ride quality at low speeds isn’t fancied by everyone
The Brezza is sold through the Arena range of showrooms
Testers’ Note:
The Brezza competes with the Nexon, WR-V and EcoSport
Further Reading –
Maruti Vitara Brezza Long Term Review – First Report
Maruti Vitara Brezza Video Review
Maruti Vitara Brezza Review
Maruti Vitara Brezza vs Tata Nexon – Shootout
Maruti Vitara Brezza vs Tata Nexon – Video Shootout