Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza petrol to be launched in India in early 2017

Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker is reportedly getting ready to launch the petrol version of the popular compact SUV -- the Vitara Brezza -- in India by early next year. The Vitara Brezza, which was launched in the country in March this year, is currently being sold only with the diesel engine.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza has become a huge hit in the Indian market and the compact SUV has garnered over 1 lakh bookings. Now a report of MotorOctane indicates that the company is looking to bring the petrol-powered Vitara Brezza to the market by April 2017. The introduction of the petrol Vitara Brezza would make the compact SUV more affordable. Currently the Vitara Brezza has been priced in the range of Rs 7.19 lakh to Rs 9.66 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The petrol model of the compact SUV would be priced lower than the diesel variants.

As far as the engine in the petrol Vitara Brezza is concerned, the latest report suggests that it would be 1.5-litre petrol mill, which would churn around 100bhp of power mated to five-speed manual transmission or automatic gearbox. Maruti may also consider the 1.0 litre BoosterJet engine. The Vitara Brezza is currently powered by a 200 DDis 1248cc diesel engine that develops 88.5bhp at 4,000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 1,750rpm mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. It boasts of best-in-class fuel efficiency of 24.3 kmpl.

Available in LDi, LDi (O), VDi, VDi (O), ZDi, ZDi+ and ZDi+ dual tone trims with six colour options, the Vitara Brezza houses features like electrically foldable ORVMs with integrated turn-indicators, a reverse parking camera, smartplay infotainment system, cooled glove box, cruise control, projector headlamps and in-built navigation. On the safety front, the Vitara Brezza packs driver airbag, front passenger airbag and ABS with EBD.

The current waiting period of the Vitara Brezza stands at around eight months and the company is believed to have a huge backlog for the compact SUV. The surging demand for the Vitara Brezza and the Baleno premium hatchback is also said to be delaying the launch of the models like the Ignis and the Baleno RS in India.