Test drove the Maruti Fronx & Brezza: Here's how they compare

Suspension is very good. Feels extremely mature. I feel I can drive it on patchy highways without having to slow down a lot.

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I test drove a Fronx today, along with Brezza (a day before), Ignis, Baleno and Nexon.

Here are my observations:

• Steering works well. It almost feels natural, when compared to Nexon (test drove it right after). Even in a straight line, on slight deviations, it centres back almost immediately. While turning it, I can feel the steering fight back a little (I guess that means it weighs up with the self-centering force?) U-turns don't need any manual effort to centre it back.
• Suspension is very good. Feels extremely mature. I feel I can drive it on patchy highways without having to slow down a lot. Driving over potholes did not feel uncomfortable. There were also no unusual sounds inside the car.
• Car felt very very well built. It is as good as the Brezza, much better than Baleno, didn't feel much different than Venue and Grand i10. Nexon was probably just a little bit better.
• In manual mode, one can drive the car with just brake pedal and paddle shifters up to second gear, without giving any acceleration. When trying to slow down using engine braking, gearbox does not change gears on its own till it reaches around 1k RPM, and then doesn't go below 2nd gear. I needed this for mountain drives.
• The dashboard is cleaner and better than Brezza.
• Rear seat is a bit upright. Headrests need to be kept all the way up and cannot be removed without putting the seat forward. My mother (5 ft 2" in height) found the headrest to be not as comfortable in any height and wanted to remove it.
• Rear seat base is very less. We drive a 2011 i10, and even my mother, who is short in height, and not as much into cars as I am, noticed it immediately.
• The rear view mirror and the big screen make the front view look very very cluttered. It is almost as if the divide the view into two halves. Venue's screen size and placement is much less intrusive; almost perfect IMO.

BALENO in comparison:

(I test drove it to see how much AGS as improved, since the price difference in respective Fronx variants in huge!)

• AGS is almost as smooth as TC. My mother did not notice any shifts. Manual is smoother, if one lifts and shifts. I think it is quite livable, and just for smoothness alone, TC gearbox shouldn't command a such high premium.
• Car feels noticeable lighter (doors and overall driving) compared to Fronx.

Venue and Grand i10 NIOS: In terms of basic ambience and features, they are both far ahead of the Marutis. Grand i10 immediately felt better to sit inside than the Fronx. Venue had just the right amount of space, but the quality and comfort, especially in the rear seat, thanks to the utterly butterly perfect headrests, seat incline, and superb thigh support relative to the Marutis, was amazing (I am 5ft9).

I felt no inclination to pay 15 lakhs OTR for the Fronx, compared to the Venue iMT which will do all the required work for me at a much lower price and with miles more special feeling.

The only reason I am considering it is because I like to make trips to remote areas and cover the lesser known roads even when there is an expressway, and Maruti's support network is just way better. I also intend to keep the car for at least 12 years and prefer their ASS experience.

When we spoke about discounts with the sales advisor at Nexa, they immediately slashed the accessories amount to zero, but didn't give any discount further. Waiting period for Delta + AGS is 4-6 months, whereas Turbo AT models are available within a month or maximum two. Brezza's waiting period is even longer; 6 to 8 months, that too for the AT models! It is clear that Maruti has misjudged, and now I feel that even if I should consider the Fronx, I should wait for the discounts, as well as some updates like armrests, and maybe even a Zeta and Alpha variant in 1.2NA Fronx.

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