Indian car industry is going through a record slowdown in sales and the closing of various dealerships all over the country as well as the companies scaling down their production is the proof of the same. Amid all this, things are going particularly bad for the erstwhile best seller of the sub-4-meter compact SUV segment Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza as it has just been dethroned by the newly launched rival Hyundai Venue in the Indian market. The past few months had already seen the latest from the South Korean maker biting close at the heels of the Brezza, and now the new car has finally overtaken the long-time best seller in the segment. Talking numbers, one finds that in July 2019, the Hyundai Venue clocked in 9,585 units while the largest Indian carmaker’s Vitara Brezza reached an all-time low of just 5,302 units in the same month. While a large part of the fall in sales of the Brezza can be attributed to the slowdown in sales in the auto industry, it is no hidden fact that the plethora of options present with the Hyundai Venue has also dented Brezza’s sales badly. In the same period that the Brezza saw the lowest numbers in sales ever since it was launched, the Hyundai SUV managed to increase its sales numbers by a large margin.
As of now, the Indian maker offers the Brezza with a lone diesel option in the Indian market. Considering the future plans of Maruti regarding producing only petrol engine cars in the BS-VI regime, the diesel engine on Maruti Vitara Brezza will soon be replaced by a petrol engine in the Indian market. What is also to be taken of note here is that the company has not updated the Brezza in a major manner ever since it was launched in the Indian market. Hence, Brezza also pales in looks in front of the likes of Mahindra XUV300 and Hyundai Venue. The company is also planning on face-lifting the Brezza SUV in Indian market.
Perhaps it is the severely competitive starting price of the Venue that has managed to win the brand so many fans in such short a time. Talking of the latest offering from the brand, the segment leading features on the Venue are 3 year/unlimited Kms warranty, 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox and air purifier function for the air conditioning. Safety features are also aplenty on the SUV with the Venue coming with push button start, keyless entry, LED DRLs, cruise control, 6 airbags on the top-end variant, ABS, EBD, ESP, hill hold and traction control.
As far as the mechanicals of the Venue are concerned, the South Korean maker is offering a new 1 liter 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine rated to deliver 120 PS and 175 Nm, this engine has been developed by the company in-house. This new engine comes with a 7-speed twin clutch gearbox and a 6-speed manual. As far as the other engines are concerned, there are two more options with the first one being a 1.2L petrol rated for 82 PS and 114 Nm and mate to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The second one is a 1.4L turbo diesel engine rated for 90 PS and 220 Nm and mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.