How Maruti can make the Brezza facelift better to drive and more affordable

The second-gen Maruti Suzuki Brezza went on sale three and a half years ago, so there’s an update due, and recent spy shots of a camouflaged Brezza indicate it’s right around the corner. Aside from the usual rounds of cosmetic and feature upgrades, though, Maruti Suzuki can also rectify two of the Brezza’s pain points in one fell swoop with the facelift: by offering it with the 1.0-litre Boosterjet three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

The Boosterjet story so far

Maruti Suzuki debuted the Boosterjet motor in India under the hood of the Baleno RS back in 2017. At that time, Maruti Suzuki was fully importing the Boosterjet engine into India, which drove the Baleno RS’ price up and resulted in the sporty hatchback garnering a lukewarm reception.

The Baleno RS and its imported Boosterjet engine were discontinued in early 2020, but Maruti Suzuki gave the turbo-petrol direct-injection mill another shot by localising it, adding mild hybrid tech, and plonking it under the hood of the Fronx compact SUV in 2023.

Interestingly, even nearly three years since the Boosterjet was localised, this powerplant only finds its way under the hood of the Fronx and its badge-swapped sibling, the Toyota Taisor. Clearly then, Maruti would want to capitalize further on the Boosterjet’s local assembly.

Power play

When the first-gen Brezza (dubbed the Vitara Brezza) launched in 2016, it was exclusively available with the revered 90hp, 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine. However, Maruti Suzuki exited the diesel market in 2020 due to stringent BS6 regulations, which meant the Vitara Brezza facelift was sold with only the carmaker’s 1.5-litre K15B naturally aspirated petrol engine.

Since diesel was off the table and the Boosterjet hadn’t been localised yet, the second-gen Brezza launched solely with the K15C (the BS6.2-compliant evolution of the K15B) engine, a CNG version of which joined the compact SUV’s line-up in 2023.

Though the K15C is the strongest petrol engine in Maruti Suzuki’s current arsenal – 103hp and up to 139Nm – it’s tuned to maximise fuel efficiency (claimed figures of 17.80-19.89kpl), which, as we noted in our 2022 Brezza review, makes the motor feel rather insipid in the mid to high bounds of the rev range. Considering that rivals like the Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Skoda Kylaq and Mahindra XUV 3XO offer turbo-petrol engines with outputs ranging from 111hp to 131hp, enthusiastic buyers are likely to steer clear of the Brezza.

In comes the Boosterjet engine. Though the localised Boosterjet develops slightly less power than the K15C – 100hp vs 103hp – the former develops marginally higher torque, and the turbocharger should make for stronger highway performance. Fuel efficiency shouldn’t take a major hit either, as the Fronx’s Boosterjet variants deliver claimed mileage figures of 20.01-21.25kpl. The Brezza is marginally heavier, so with the Boosterjet equipped, it would likely manage similar fuel efficiency numbers as those of the K15C.

Price and performance

While performance may not be a Maruti pillar, what’s likely to be a big kicker is a lower price. Taxation plays a big role in how cars are priced in India, and the 2025 GST reform brought forth a widespread reduction in car prices. Under the new GST norms, compact cars – length under 4 metres with a petrol engine under 1,200cc or diesel engine under 1,500cc – reaped the largest benefits, as their tax rate went down to 18 percent from the prior 28 percent.

This meant savings stretching up to Rs 1.86 lakh for buyers looking to bring home a hatchback or compact SUV. However, the Brezza didn’t see price cuts to this extent, because even though it measures just under 4 metres long, the compact SUV’s 1,462cc engine exceeds the 1,200cc restriction to qualify for the 18 percent tax rate. Thus, the Brezza is taxed at 40 percent post-GST reform – down from 45 percent, but still quite high.

In comes the Boosterjet again, which at 998cc is eligible for the 18 percent GST rate in a sub-4-metre car. The Brezza price range is currently Rs 8.26-12.86 lakh at 40 percent taxation, and below, we’ve speculatively calculated how much the compact SUV would cost if it was powered by the Boosterjet engine.

Moreover, using the Boosterjet in the Brezza would help Maruti Suzuki improve economies of scale for the engine, since the compact SUV sells just as much, if not more than the Fronx every month – 10,000 to 12,000 units on average. Not only would the Brezza become a more compelling purchase for buyers thanks to a reduced price, Maruti Suzuki would also have a stronger business case for keeping the Boosterjet around.

A Boosterjet-powered version of the Maruti Brezza facelift is certainly worth a shot then. ‘Two birds, one stone’ is hard to argue with.

All prices are ex-showroom, India.