Despite both fitting in sub 4m segment, Fronx comes off as a crossover coupe while Brezza is a crossover SUV
India has never been a great market for Coupe-styled vehicles. Sure, we had imports like BMW X6, Porsche Cayenne Coupe, Audi A5 and A7 Sportback, etc. But never did we see a coupe-styled vehicle in the mass market segment. Maruti Suzuki intends to change that with Fronx.
Fronx is aimed to recreate now discontinued Baleno RS’s vibes. A slightly special version of the regular Baleno. In the advert, Fronx demonstrates how its new found design makes every other vehicle look like a tin box. Does this tin-box philosophy apply to its stablemate Brezza too? Or does Brezza offer more substance? Let’s take a look by pitting two of Maruti’s siblings against each other.
Maruti Fronx Vs Brezza
As denoted by their style, Fronx is a crossover Coupe, while Brezza is a crossover SUV. Both of them fall into sub 4m constraints and hence have similar lengths. However, Brezza is 25mm wider, 135mm taller and sits 8mm higher off the ground. Fronx wheelbase is 20mm longer than Brezza’s.
Because of coupe style rear sloping roofline, Fronx has 10L less boot space than Baleno and 20L less than Brezza. Brezza’s weight is not officially disclosed yet, but it will be far more than Fronx’s 1060kg with AT gearbox. Fronx comes with two engine options, while Brezza just gets one. Powertrain is the main differentiating factor between both siblings.
Fronx gets a tried and tested 1.2L K12 NA petrol engine with 88 bhp and 113 Nm of torque. Higher variants of Fronx get a 1.0L turbo petrol engine with 99 bhp and 147.6 Nm. As opposed to Brezza’s 1.5L engine with 101 bhp and 136.8 Nm, Fronx is just as powerful and a lot more torquey. This is despite a 500cc displacement deficit.
Add to it, lighter body and lesser air drag, performance difference between Fronx and Brezza will be huge. With better performance, there should be better braking too. Baleno RS in the past used to get rear disc brakes, which is a miss with its spiritual successor. Fuel tank is 48L with Brezza and 37L with Fronx.
Features
Except for skinny 195-section tyres making it look disproportionate, Fronx comes off as a vastly more stylish and appealing offering. In terms of features, both get a 9” touchscreen infotainment screen with SmartPlay Pro+ system, wireless Android Auto and Apple CaraPlay, a HUD, 360-degree camera, wireless charger, cruise control, tilt and telescopic steering auto-dimming IRVM, paddle shifters (with AT), and more.
Brezza inches ahead of Fronx with a sunroof, ambient lighting, and projector headlights. Both vehicles offer 6 airbags on top variants along with ABS, EBD, ESP, and more. On paper, Maruti Fronx vs Brezza doesn’t yield that many differences. But they are starkly different in many ways.
Brezza is built to provide an SUV’s feel and hence it offers a very high seating position. Ingress and egress will be slightly better on Brezza too. It will have slightly more sophisticated suspension as opposed to Fronx. There will be differences in pricing too. Brezza costs between Rs. 8.18 lakh and Rs. 14.03 lakh, while Fronx’s pricing will be way lesser in comparison, expect to be in the range of Rs 7 lakh to Rs 11 lakh, ex-sh.
