MASS ENTRY

Maruti Suzuki's latest offering, Victoris, makes a big bang in India's buzzing SUV segment

- LEKSHMI C PILLAI

MIDSIZE SUV seems to be the most exciting and profitable product segment for car manufacturers in India today. Led by the Hyundai Creta, this market of the roughly 4.3-metre-long SUVs continues to grow leaps and bounds.

That is exactly why Maruti Suzuki has now added another model, the Victoris, to this category. Interestingly, this comes at a time when Maruti's own Grand Vitara and its Toyota sibling Hyryder are selling in healthy numbers.

Victoris is built on the same platform that underpins the Grand Vitara, but the designers have managed to give it a distinct, fresh look.

Recently, Maruti Suzuki invited a group of journos, including me, to Jaipur for a firsthand experience. I drove the AWD top variant. Here's what stood out.

Exteriors

The biggest strength of the Victoris is its front design. Dispensing with oversized grilles, it gets chiselled bumpers. The upper portion of the bumper is closed off, somewhat like on electric cars. Attractive LED headlamps and DRL clusters are linked by a chrome strip, standing apart from the current trend of fully connected lamps.

From the side, strong character lines and squared wheel arches with plastic cladding add muscle. In profile, you can notice faint resemblances to the Grand Vitara and Brezza. Blacked-out pillars complete the look.

The rear has a coupe-inspired top section and a full-width tail lamp cluster that drops down at the edges. The car's extra length over many rivals is evident in its stance.

Interiors