Maruti Suzuki S-Presso ‘Mini SUV’ Launched To Rival Renault Kwid
Prices for the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso start at Rs 3.69 lakh and go up to Rs 4.91 lakh.
Maruti Suzuki has launched the S-Presso at a starting price of Rs 3.61 lakh going up to Rs 4.91 lakh across six variants. It will compete with cars like the Renault Kwid, Datsun Redigo, and its own sibling the Maruti Alto K10.
The thing is Maruti is calling the S-Presso (pronounced like the coffee) a "mini SUV", which is a sort of a misnomer. Make no mistake it is a small car with a tall-boy design. Sure, it has SUV-inspired styling when you look at it especially from the front, looking like a mini Vitara Brezza. But true SUV, it's not. It's aspirational at best. The kind of car that will run around with a bumper sticker that reads: "When I grow up, I will be a Vitara Brezza".
Prices of Maruti Suzuki S-Presso
- S-Presso Standard: Rs 3.69 lakh
- S-Presso LXi: Rs 4.05 lakh
- S-Presso VXi: Rs 4.24 lakh
S-Presso VXi+: Rs 4.48 lakh
S-Presso VXi AGS: Rs 4.67 lakh - S-Presso VXi+ AGS: Rs 4.91 lakh
The Maruti Suzuki S-Presso will be sold under the Maruti Arena network of dealerships. It comes with a 1-litre, BS-6 compliant, three-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 68 PS of power and 90 Nm of torque, with a choice of either a five-speed manual transmission or a 5-speed AMT (automated manual transmission).
S-Presso Design & Features
The whole point about the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is its design. It had to look like an "SUV", which is sport-utility vehicle for the uninitiated. It has been built on a modified Heartect K platform, which is what most of the Japanese Kei cars (small car segment, under 4 metres) are built on.
The platform had to be modified for India to raise the ground clearance (about 180 mm) to give it that SUV stance. It runs on 14-inch steel wheels with 165/70 R 14 tyres. The front looks SUVish, inspired from the Vitara Brezza.
However, when you view it from the side, it looks like an Alto that's running on stilts. It has a bit of a tall-boy design, but most of the bulk is in the lower portion of the car.
From the rear, it looks again like a small car that has been beefed up. The C-shaped tail-lights blend into the boot, sort of like its rival the Renault Kwid.
That said, it comes with a spacious boot which can lug about 240 litres of luggage as it is fairly deep. That's quite impressive for a small vehicle like this.
Step inside and you'll notice that it has a unique dashboard. The centre console houses the infotainment system and the instrument panel, sort of like the Mini Cooper.
It features steering-mounted audio controls, Android Auto and Apple Car Play in the top-spec VXi+ variants.
There are enough cubby holes for storage as well. It comes with front power windows and manual airconditioning. Mirrors are manually adjustable only.
S-Presso Specifications
The Maruti Suzuki S-Presso isn't a very large vehicle. It measures just over 3.5 metres in length (3,565 mm) and is 1,564 mm tall. It's width is 1,520 mm and it sits on a wheelbase of 2,380 mm.
Maruti claims a fuel efficiency of 21.7 Kmpl on the S-Presso from its BS-6, three-cylinder, 1-litre petrol motor. It is available in six-colours: white, red, grey, silver, blue and orange.
It comes with driver's airbag (dual airbags on VXi variant), ABS, parking sensors, speed warning, seatbelt warning for driver and passenger as standard fitment on the safety front.
A detailed test drive of the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso will follow in a week's time on The Quint.
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