Maruti Suzuki Victoris has been launched in India as its flagship offering of their Arena showrooms. It will sit above Brezza in Arena portfolio and is a testament of everything Maruti Suzuki has been working on for the past couple of years. For Maruti Suzuki, Victoris is the first new nameplate launch in a long time and that is speculated to put the brand in a serious and strategic position in the broader automotive scene.
Victoris has an attractive price tag starting from Rs 10.5 lakh (Ex-sh, introductory), which undercuts every single one of its rivals, except for Citroen offerings. Victoris is Maruti Suzuki’s attempt to offer their latest and greatest and democratise it via their vastly extensive Arena showrooms. After driving Maruti Suzuki Victoris in Jaipur, this is what we think about it.
Maruti Victoris First Drive Review
The new flagship of Arena dealerships, Victoris SUV, is offered in a host of colours – Arctic White, Splendid Silver, Eternal Blue, Sizzling Red, Bluish Black, Magma Grey and Mystic Green monotone colours. Black roof is available with Eternal Blue, Sizzling Red and Splendid Silver. Eternal Blue and Sizzling Red are the launch colours and the latter looks rather stunning.
Where design is concerned, Victoris has a hint of S-Presso in it along with Brezza. It is among the largest in segment as it measures 4,360 mm in length, 1,795 mm in width, 1,655 mm in height and has a 2,600 mm long wheelbase. Size works in Victoris’ favour and lends it a dominating road presence, fitting to the segment it is launched in.
Victoris gets connected LED tail lights, 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, all-wheel disc brakes, projector LED headlights, projector LED fog lights, a flat-ish shoulder line that neatly merges into its bonnet shut line, blackened pillars and roof, thick body cladding (unpainted plastic), faux roof rails, faux Silver skid plates and more. It does not look a lot like Grand Vitara, which we think was intentional to establish a separate identity.
On the inside, we get a new 10.1-inch free-standing infotainment screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, fancy ambient lighting, soft touch elements on dashboard and door trims, a new 10.25-inch TFT instrument cluster, leatherette and fabric seat upholstery in lighter shades, a panoramic sunroof and more. Boot space is well shaped and neatly laid out.
Space & Comfort
Maruti Suzuki is known for space optimization and Victoris is no different. It feels spacious and comfortable for most body types seated in front seats. Front armrest slides forward and backwards and seatbelts are height adjustable. Seat upholstery is part leatherette and part fabric, even with top-spec trims equipped with ventilated seats, which continue to be a boon for Indian climatic conditions.
Similar sense of space is absent at the rear where space comes at the price of headroom. I am 6 feet tall and it was unbearable for me and even for occupants around 5’ 9”, headroom is noticeably tight. Primary culprit is the sunroof here. Also, Maruti has kept the seat base pretty flat, which could have been further recessed to carve out more headroom.
Rear seat occupants get three adjustable headrests, three 3-point seatbelts and a centre armrest, but a sore omission here is window shades. There are rear AC vents and two Type-C ports below them. Driver’s seat is electrically adjustable and steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach, allowing to fine tune seating position. All interior lighting were halogens and there were vanity lights and a sunglass holder as well.
A glaring omission is cooled glovebox and cooled cup holders. The display is new and it is slightly larger at 10.1-inches. It supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along with Suzuki Navigation, premium Infinity audio system with Dolby audio and more. For the first time, Maruti Suzuki has offered a 10.25-inch TFT instrument cluster which shows ADAS related data. If it has, that is.
Audio experience was quite enjoyable, but there were distortions with bass-heavy songs. Wireless charging pad works as intended, charging even unusually shaped phones. Auto climate control system is single-zone, which is fine, but we felt that it was not very effective. Ventilated seats feature works well and soft-touch plastics lend a premium appeal. HUD works quite well and is adjustable too, which is something tall people will appreciate.
Drive & Dynamics
The variant we drove at the media drive was a Petrol MT. If you have driven a Grand Vitara equipped with this engine before, it feels identical. This powerplant is refined and vibe-free, offering a quite in-cabin experience. The 102 bhp of peak power and 139 Nm of peak torque are nothing to write home about. Gearbox and overall powertrain is turned to eke out maximum mileage figures (fuel efficiency) and not performance.
While performance is not Maruti Victoris’ forte, ride quality is. Victoris felt quite mature in the way it tackles Indian roads. It has a commendable suspension setup which absorbs most things it encountered with a sense of authority. The plush ride quality did not translate into boat-like dynamics, which was quite surprising. It doesn’t add a lot of body roll to the equation, which is always welcome.
It doesn’t exactly feel indestructible in the way it rides, but Victoris comes very close. Braking is one area where we felt there could have been some improvements. Even though it has disc brakes at all four wheels, the bite wasn’t strong enough. Also, the traction control system kicks in with some hesitation when braking on loose gravel or low traction situations. For intended use and target demographic, it is perfectly fine.
Maruti Suzuki continues to be the only OEM (apart from Toyota) to offer Monocoque + AWD configs, which is quite commendable. Also commendable is Maruti’s efforts to make CNG a more premium proposition, moving CNG tank under the floor, packaging an uncompromised boot experience. Just like Grand Vitara, Victoris comes with Hybrid powertrain as well for all tech-savvy, eco-conscious and mileage enthusiasts (fuel efficiency).
Does Victoris get it all?
Even though it is quite literally Victoris’ tag line, we found that Maruti Suzuki has left a lot of pages left unturned with Victoris.
- We didn’t touch on ADAS related features because only the top-spec Petrol AT variants get it, which is not what we drove. Even the Hybrid and CNG versions do not get ADAS, which is a major oversight.
- It does not have a cooled glovebox which is taken for granted in this segment and a segment below.
- The 360-camera feed does not let you move the view at your will. Something we also complained about in Dzire.
- The Petrol MT variant we drove did not have blindspot monitoring feature even though it has most of the necessary input and output elements.
- Victoris comes with projector fog lights, but they lack cornering function.
- Lack of headroom in second-row seats was a turn-off for me, but your opinions may vary.
- Like me, a lot of SUV buyers today still crave for a Diesel engine, which has not been a part of Maruti’s portfolio since 2020.
- Tech-savvy modern young buyers and thrill seekers would have loved a powerful engine option with Victoris, which the company’s entire C and C+ segment lacks.
Maruti Suzuki Victoris is among the easiest recommendations today in C SUV segment as it brings a lot to the table. More than any other Maruti Suzuki vehicle has brought before. Addition of ADAS, 5 Stars crash safety rating from BNCAP and GNCAP, upgraded infotainment and instrumentation experience, enhanced connected tech, improved cabin ambience, versatile and efficient powertrains, plush ride quality, off-road capability with AWD drivetrain and much more.
However, we would have liked it if Maruti Suzuki had offered ADAS with Petrol MT, Hybrid and CNG versions on top-spec trims. Also, in certain mid trims to truly democratise active safety technology. If it is ticking a lot of boxes for you and your needs, Maruti Suzuki Victoris should be pretty high up your wishlist. As things stand, Victoris is the best-equipped product Maruti Suzuki has to offer.
