The Vitara Brezza marks the return of the Vitara name to India following the discontinuation of the Grand Vitara a few years ago. Designed in India, from the grounds up, Maruti has branded its upcoming compact SUV a ‘Create in India’ product with the entire design and engineering aspect executed in the country. Maruti will launch the Vitara Brezza on March 8, 2016 in Mumbai.
Featuring styling cues borrowed from its larger European sibling, the Vitara, the compact SUV will use Maruti’s tried and tested 1.3-litre diesel engine in its more powerful DDiS 200 guise, and will be offered in four trim levels.
Amongst its main rivals is the Ford EcoSport, one of the most popular models in the compact SUV segment. The compact SUV from Ford unlike most of its rivals come swiht the option of both petrol and diesel engines and underwent an update last year which saw the diesel model become more powerful along with addition of new features.
Another rival to the Vitara Brezza is the Mahindra TUV300. Launched in late-2015, the TUV300 is the company’s second foray into the segment following the Quanto. Based on an all-new platform, the TUV gets an upright and rugged stance along with boxy styling cues and is currently one of the newest offerings in the segment.
Here is how all three compact SUVs stack-up on paper.
Dimensions
In terms of dimensions, the EcoSport is the longest of the trio at 3,999mm; a mere 1mm short of 4 meters. While the TUV300 and the Brezza share identical figures of 3,995mm. The widest of the three is the TUV300 at 1,835mm while the EcoSport is the narrowest at 1,765mm. The Brezza has a width of 1,790mm. The TUV300 is the tallest of the lot at 1,839mm followed by the EcoSport at 1,708mm and the Brezza at 1,640mm.
The TUV300 leads again in terms of wheelbase with a length of 2,680mm. The EcoSport at 2,520mm comes in second, with the Vitara Brezza trailing its rivals with a wheelbase of 2,500mm. The TUV300 is also the only SUV in this comparison to get jump seats in the boot.
However, it is the EcoSport that sits highest off the ground at 200mm followed by the Brezza at 198mm and lastly the TUV300 at 184mm.
The TUV300 is the heaviest of the trio at 1626kg for the manual and 1654kg for the AMT equipped model. The Brezza is the lightest compact SUV here with a kerb weight of 1195kg while the EcoSport weighs in at 1297kg.
| Dimensions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maruti Vitara Brezza | Mahindra TUV300 | Ford EcoSport | |
| Length | 3995mm | 3995mm | 3999mm |
| Width | 1790mm | 1835mm | 1765mm |
| Height | 1640mm | 1839mm | 1708mm |
| Wheelbase | 2500mm | 2690mm | 2520mm |
| Ground clearance | 198mm | 184mm | 200mm |
| Kerb Weight | 1195kg | 1626kg/1654kg (AMT) | 1297kg |
Engines
The Vitara Brezza uses the smallest displacement diesel engine amongst its competitors. Powered by the 1.3-litre DDiS 200 engine seen in the larger S-Cross delivering at 88.5bhp of power and 20.4kgm of torque. The EcoSport and TUV300 on the other hand use 1.5-litre units. The EcoSport’s unit leads with power output at 98.6bhp as against the TUV300 manual and AMT's 82.4bhp and 79bhp. The Mahindra’s engine on the other hand develops more torque with output figures at 23.4kgm as against the EcoSport's 20.9kgm. All three compact SUVs use a five-speed manual gearbox as standard, with the TUV300 getting the option of an AMT gearbox as well.
| Engine | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maruti Vitara Brezza | Mahindra TUV300 | Ford EcoSport | |
| Displacement | 1.3-litre | 1.5-litre | 1.5-litre |
| Power | 88.4bhp | 82.4bhp/ 79bhp | 98.6bhp |
| Torque | 20.4kgm | 23.4kgm | 20.9kgm |
| Gearbox | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual/ AMT | 5-speed manual |
Furthermore, the EcoSport is the only model in this list to offer a choice of petrol engines in the form of a 110bhp, 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine and a smaller 123bhp, 1.0-litre EcoBoost turbo-petrol motor paired to a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.
Features
The Vitara Brezza will be well-equipped model with the top-spec variant getting features such as Maruti’s SmartPlay infotainment system, climate control, cooled glovebox, cruise control, automatic headlamps and rain sensing wipers to name a few. The compact SUV will also come with driver airbag as standard with the lower models getting the option of dual airbags and ABS.
The top-spec Ford too gets a long feature list that includes dual front, side and curtain airbags, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers and Ford’s SYNC infotainment system. However, the base variant misses out on airbags and ABS.
The top-spec TUV300 gets an infotainment system with Mahindra Blue Sense app connectivity, voice messaging system, follow-me-home headlamps, dual airbags and ABS and Micro Hybrid technology. Like the EcoSport, the base TUV also misses out on the airbags though it is available as an add-on option along with ABS.