One of the most awaited cars of this year could well be the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. The compact SUV joins a band of new vehicles in this fast growing segment. CV Raman, Executive Director - R&D, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), is the chief engineer leading the project for this vehicle, which will have a localisation level of 98 per cent from the date of launch. BusinessLine interacted with him on the sidelines of the Auto Expo.

What was the brief given to you as the lead engineer for the Vitara Brezza and what were the challenges you faced in its development?

The brief given was to develop a sub-four-metre SUV using this global platform and established Suzuki technologies. The entire development process was done by Maruti engineers, with help from Suzuki’s global facilities in testing the vehicle. For example, we went to Shimukawa for cold weather tests and wind tunnel testing was done in Suzuki’s facilities. The Rohtak facility is still not there; it will take another year or more.

The Vitara Brezza has been built on the C-platform. The closest car that will come to this is the Vitara that is sold in Europe. So, one of the challenges was to find a suitable platform to create a sub-four-metre vehicle in this segment, and between the SX4 platform and the C-platform, we felt that the latter would be the more appropriate. The second challenge was to build with a height of about 1,640 mm or so and package it in a way that it would have adequate legroom at the rear seat and sufficient luggage space in the boot. Of course, getting the proportions right while also staying within the 4-metrelimit was also a challenge.

Were clinics done to gauge interests and preferences of customers in this segment?

Before the development of the vehicle started, we were conducting clinics to find out the demands of the customer in the compact SUV segment. The key factors that the customer is looking for in this segment from an exterior design perspective are that the vehicle should be masculine, that it should be distinct, have SUV-like features. From an interior design perspective, a key factor was it should be flexible and manoeuvrable, since often the buyer would possibly be a hatch back owner who is upgrading. And he might be using the vehicle for his daily commute too. The third point we considered was that this should be compliant with future safety and crash regulations.

A key factor was keeping costs in check. Every engineer was given the responsibility of cost. Everyone involved with each part of the vehicle like engine, transmission, body and interior was given targets to meet. The choice of equipment was also focused on keeping costs low. The model on display here features the DDiS 200 engine and not the DDiS 190, based on the vehicle and its target audience. The petrol engine variant will come later and we are considering various options.

What is the kind of trim variants and personalisation that will be possible with this vehicle?

There will be three trim variants — urban, sporty and glamour — that offer a certain degree of personalisation. It will be possible to change the floating roof concept and the colour theme for the exterior of the car. There will be customisation options for the interior too. A number of these specific option changes will be possible at the dealer level. A lot of features will be part of standard fitment.

The Brezza has been homologated for the offset and side-impact regulations which are going to come into force in 2017. This is the first car in India to be homologated for future norms.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW