The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza generated quite a lot of buzz when it was first unveiled at the 2016 Auto Expo last month. The manufacturer has finally launched the car in India at an event in Mumbai. Check out the looks and features of the first compact SUV from Maruti Suzuki's stable. Here is a detailed photo gallery of the car from the launch event.
The Vitara Brezza is a compact urban SUV that has been conceptualised, designed and developed in India using Suzuki's global platform and engine.
The overall styling of the small car is heavily inspired from the Suzuki iV-4 concept SUV, which was showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013.
The Vitara Brezza is a completely new vehicle and the company offers theme-based options along with a dual-colour scheme. It takes on the appearance and charm of the old Grand Vitara to a new level.
The SUV looks aggressive with a broad hood, single slat chrome grille, flanked by sleek headlamps, wide air dam, stylish fog lamps and silver skid plates.
There is a strong crease on the side that runs across the length to meet the tail. The floating roof theme, flared wheel arches and 16-inch alloy wheels add to the sporty looks.
The Brezza will be offered in six variants - LDi, LDi(O), VDi, VDi(O), ZDi and ZDi+. The top-of-the-line ZDi+ trim gets all the bells and whistles.
The interior of the new Vitara Brezza looks simple and functional, and largely resembles the other Maruti cars. The all-black theme makes the cabin look sporty and in line with the overall styling.
The multi-function steering wheel looks similar to the ones in its Maruti Suzuki siblings. However, it gets gloss silver inserts and buttons for connecting with your multimedia phone.
Behind the steering wheel is a butterfly-shaped instrument cluster housing, which is different but looks good. The tachometer and speedometer is analog, but there is a digital display in the centre.
The door handles also get a chrome finish for a premium feel. The door pads get a gloss silver finish, which can be personalised by an owner in the exterior paint scheme.
The driver airbag comes as a standard feature in the compact SUV. Dual airbags, ABS with EBD comes as an optional safety feature even on the base variant.
The smart-play infotainment system comes with a touchscreen display. It features Bluetooth, AM/FM, MP3 playback, AUX, navigation and comes paired to the rear parking camera with sensors.
The compact SUV will be slotted between the Swift and the S-Cross crossover, and will be sold through regular Maruti dealerships.
Maruti Suzuki is banking upon high personalisation options in the Vitara Brezza. The company is offering it in nine colours with personalisation options like Glamour, Urban and Sporty.
Under the hood of the Vitara Brezza is the 200 DDis engine. This 1.3-litre four-cylinder mill produces 88bhp of power and 200Nm of torque.
This engine comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Maruti Suzuki is contemplating on offering the AMT gearbox at a later stage as well.
The government of India will make airbags and more safety features mandatory soon. Nevertheless, the car already meets the offset and side impact crash tests norm that will come into place in India from 2017.
The Vitara Brezza is the second of the 15 new models that MSI plans to launch in the next five years. The company aims to sell two million units annually by 2020.
Pictures by Kapil Angane