Vitara Brezza or Baleno?

The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza has been yet another successful car for the Indian car manufacturer. It's their first compact crossover, so it's a late entry into the segment. However, the competition has been worrying ever since the car rolled out. Ford even slashed prices of the EcoSport despite increased taxes and production costs. The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza that way is priced well. However in my opinion, the crossover could have been priced even lower than the current entry price of Rs 6.99 lakh.

Why you ask? Well compare the price to Maruti Suzuki's very own Baleno. It's a premium NEXA hatchback and is actually priced lower at Rs 6.34 lakh. A lot of readers have even written to us, asking if it makes sense to buy the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza or the S-Cross over the Maruti Suzuki Baleno?

Let's compare the two then. In terms of price, the extra premium that the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza demands basically gives you SUV like styling and a slightly larger car in terms of width and height in the same footprint as the Baleno. Both vehicles feature the DDiS 1.3-litre engine, The Brezza gets the more powerful version that produces 90PS and 200Nm of torque. The Baleno in comparison produces 75PS and 190Nm.

But it's only on paper that the latter looks underpowered. On the road, the Baleno is quicker to 100kmph and in fact drives smoother and the motor even feels a lot more linear in terms of power delivery. Overall fuel efficiency is much better too thanks to a lower kerb weight and a more efficient motor. Driving in town and highway is as effortless.There is no petrol option available so you're forced to get the diesel. The Baleno however gets a petrol option and is priced even lower at just Rs 5.15 lakh!

Maruti Suzuki Baleno interior

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza interior

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno's ergonomics are better too, the seats are more comfortable and the overall quality seems to be a notch above. There's more rear kneeroom on offer and the boot space is higher too. Surprising since both the vehicles are exactly the same length. For a crossover, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza offers decent ground clearance (198mm) but the Baleno isn't far behind at 170mm., the difference being just a finger's length.

Both cars get a long list of standard and optional features but the Maruti Suzuki Baleno is my pick again as it offers safety features like ABS and airbags as standard. The entry level Brezza costs more and shockingly only gets a standard driver airbag and no ABS. Strangely the Vitara Brezza isn't a Nexa offering while the Baleno is.

This means you pay less and still get Nexa benefits. The Vitara nametag has been around for years now and it represents Suzuki's tough and capable all-wheel drive SUVs. The Brezza that way disappoints as it isn't an SUV and doesn't offer all-wheel drive. It only makes sense then to choose it over the Baleno if you're out there looking for a diesel crossover with SUV inspired styling. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno otherwise is still the sweeter deal.