Upgrading from a Glanza MT: Does the Brezza AT have enough power?

I'm a sedate driver and usually overtake only if the vehicle in front of me is moving very slowly.

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I currently drive a Toyota Glanza MT, also known as the Baleno. I want to upgrade to an automatic within a budget of 16 lakhs because my left leg gets swollen from holding the clutch in very slow-moving traffic. A couple of days ago, I took a long test drive of the Brezza VXI Automatic.

Comparing it to my current ride, the Glanza, I noticed some drawbacks:

Slow to Respond Automatic Gearbox: For sedate city driving, I find it excellent. However, I tried overtaking a couple of times on a two-lane road and often had to back off due to the lag between pressing the pedal and the car accelerating. When pressing the accelerator, there is a lot of engine noise, and then after about five seconds, the car surges forward. This delay is significant when overtaking on two-lane roads. Even using the paddle shifters, the lag was still noticeable. I haven't driven any other automatic cars before, so perhaps this is typical of a TC gearbox paired with a smaller capacity engine.

I'm a sedate driver and usually overtake only if the vehicle in front of me is moving very slowly. Still, I think the Brezza automatic does not fit my use case, as most of the roads I drive on are two-lane with medium to high traffic. With the manual gearbox and better power-to-weight ratio of the Glanza, I felt that the performance of the Brezza automatic would be a downgrade.

Interior Quality: The VXI interiors look cheaper than my Glanza's base variant. However, interior aesthetics are not a dealbreaker for me.

Here's what BHPian Small_bot had to say on the matter:

You are correct in that the TC gearbox seems to be designed more for efficiency and comfort than performance by any means. It also doesn't help that the 1.5 litre engine produces just over 100 horses only and that too for a heavy car.

In earlier posts, several owners (including me) have talked about the lag in the automatic gearbox while trying to overtake. I personally did not feel that the lag was as high as you described, just more than a 2-second lag that was probably slightly more than what you'd experience in a Honda City CVT.

And at low speeds at around 20-40 kmph, I also experienced a slight torque boost immediately after that (depicted with a blueish boost from the battery to the motor in the MID), which unfortunately lasts only till around 2000 rpm before the gearbox upshifts and it's back to normal.

Would it be worth taking a test drive in another car dealer before making up your mind?

Also, I've sat inside the Baleno and the Fronx as well. The interior quality seems almost equally meh in all Maruti cars from the Swift to the Grand Vitara (even the switches sound and feel the same). The ergonomics seem different in each car due to the different cabin space available though.

One personal gripe is the area where the console panel meets the gearbox area - that section keeps removing hair from my left thigh and knee. I call it the barbershop panel.

That said, please check if the seat's cushioning suits you. I know a person much thinner who did not feel comfortable sitting in my Brezza, but I feel very comfy.

Here's what BHPian ACMerchant had to say on the matter:

My ride is ZXi+AT and will be completing 2 years in August '24. I have completed about 32k kms and I also am a sedate driver like you. It takes time to adjust to the new Brezza and for me it took about 5000 kms before I got the hang of it. You simply won't get it from a test drive. For overtaking you need to hard press the pedal and after a small lag of say 2.5 secs the motor surges forward a it gets additional power from the battery and you can overtake even on a two lane road.The test drive you took I presume the dealer must not have kept the demo car in good condition or the SA must not have briefed you. But I can assure you that I am happy with my purchase and have travelled extensively on highways, town roads, expressways and Ghats and never have had a problem even with full A/c on.

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