Safety was given the highest priority in the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza

CV Raman, executive director of engineering at MSIL and the man behind the Vitara Brezza on the sidelines of the Auto Expo 2016, gave us a few insights about the new compact SUV from Maruti Suzuki. Given below are the excerpts.

OD: Could you quickly take us through the Vitara Brezza?

CV: This vehicle is built on Suzuki's global platform and engines.  The core technology is also from Suzuki. This is a compact SUV and our research clearly shows that it needs a masculine look and so from the outside it is bold, masculine and aggressive. We wanted it to have a very distinct look  and so there is the floating roof and wraparound windshield. In the interior, we have tried a very contemporary layout little ruggedness has been built into it and all the comfort features are there. It is smart and also has a lot of flexibility in terms of seating and also we have the Apple CarPlay with a smart infotainment system in that. The instrument cluster has mood lighting with five types of colours. Also Indians like personalisation and with this car, you can do a lot of it. There are three kinds of variants here on display- Glamour, Urban and Sporty. So those are somethings which we have.

Of course we have a very peppy engine- the 200DDiS and the key thing was to make it under 4m. It was a challenge. We had to make sure we had adequate boot space, good leg room in the rear and of course to make it a good fun-to-drive car. So that's what the Vitara Brezza commutates. It is high on safety. The lowest variant has driver airbag as standard.  This is the first Maruti Suzuki domestic vehicle which has been homologated for the offset and side impact  compliance. We have the homologation certification from iCAT for the Vitara Brezza which is also India's first vehicle to get this certificate.  For the lowest variant, we have the option for passenger airbag and ABS.  So there is a choice which is available to the customer.

OD: You mentioned about the DDiS200, is there a petrol engine and an AMT trim?

CV: Yes, there will be a petrol engine and we will be talking about it later.

OD: AMT?

CV: This car is sporty and we wanted to keep it that way. So not at the moment. However in the future, we are definitely looking at it.

For more from OVERDRIVE on the Maruti Vitara Brezza

2016 Auto Expo: Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza first look video

2016 Auto Expo: Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza image gallery

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Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza variant details