KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Maruti Victoris clocks 25,000 bookings in 14 days
- Waiting period already upto 10 weeks for select variants
- More feature-rich than Grand Vitara while being more affordable
Maruti Suzuki's newest SUV, the Victoris, has hit the ground running. Introduced on September 15, the model has already crossed the 25,000 bookings mark within just a fortnight of its price announcement, underscoring the strong customer interest in the segment. During its latest monthly sales briefing, the company also confirmed that the waiting period has stretched beyond 10 weeks for certain variants of the Victoris, though it refrained from specifying which trims are currently most in demand. In this section, we take a look at things that make it so popular, right off the bat, but before that, make sure to join the 91wheels WhatsApp Community, specifically curated for petrolheads like us to keep up with the latest news and automotive updates.
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1. A Creta-Rivalling Maruti Nameplate
The mid-size SUV space is the current hot favourite that sits completely in the modern Indian buyer's alley. And there is one reigning champion for a long time, the Hyundai Creta. While the Maruti Grand Vitara has challenged it pretty okay with decent numbers, the Maruti Victoris, with its lower price tag, more bells and whistles, and more cohesive styling cues, might just be the guy to do the job. While people are now ready to look past the safer options and explore more, the Maruti nameplate still carries significant weight, and when you marry all the things that the Victoris offers, the booking numbers themselves, tell their tale.
2. A 5 Star Rating From Bharat NCAP As Well As Global NCAP
The Victoris's dual 5-star safety rating from both the domestic Bharat NCAP and the international Global NCAP has been a monumental success factor, completely rewriting Maruti Suzuki's safety perception in the market. In an era where safety has become a non-negotiable priority for Indian buyers, this score alleviates previous consumer concerns about Maruti vehicles. This top rating immediately positions the Victoris as a segment leader in occupant protection, where it performed the best out of any car that went to the Global crash tests from India in the adult occupant safety, surpassing all of the Mahindra and Tata SUVs as well.
3. More Feature-Rich Than The Grand Vitara At A Lower Price Point (At Least For Now)
Maruti Suzuki has cleverly equipped the Victoris to capture the value segment by making it more feature-rich than its premium sibling, the Grand Vitara, while pricing it lower. The Victoris features high-end technology, including a gesture-controlled smart-powered tailgate, Level 2 ADAS, ventilated front seats, and a premium 8-speaker audio system with Dolby Atmos, features either missing or reserved for the most expensive variants of the Grand Vitara. This strategic bundling of technology at a lower starting price point of Rs. 10.49 lakh positions Victoris as the superior value proposition, creating massive buzz and drawing customers who want luxury features without the luxury price tag. Not to mention that Victoris is also longer than Vitara, along with more boot space in both regular petrol as well as CNG trims.
4. CNG Tank 'Tanks' Underbody- Mileage Numbers Impress
The innovative CNG system is an itegral part of Victoris's popularity, particularly for the placement. Instead of the traditional, space-consuming arrangement in the boot, the Victoris features an underbody placement for its CNG tank. This radical design frees up the entire boot space, eliminating the primary drawback of CNG vehicles. Coupled with an impressive certified mileage of around 27.02 km/kg, this vehicle delivers the lowest running costs in the segment without compromising luggage capacity, making it a highly practical and financially prudent option that appeals across a wide customer base.
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5. Tested Engine Options Shared With The Grand Vitara
The Maruti Victoris relies on the proven 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol and 1.5-litre strong hybrid powertrains, shared with the Grand Vitara, which assures buyers of reliable and maintenance-friendly performance. This strategy of adopting trusted engines ensures that Victoris benefits from the Grand Vitara's established reputation for fuel efficiency and low running costs, and gets right off the bat to a sky rocketing start. By offering both a standard, robust petrol engine and a highly efficient, strong hybrid option (delivering mileage up to 28.65 kmpl), Maruti gives consumers confidence in the longevity and serviceability of the mechanicals while providing power choices that take care of all kinds of needs. Not to forget that you do get an AWD system as well in the higher trims, but that is limited to just the mild-hybrid automatic Torque converter gearbox.
Verdict
With 25,000 bookings in two weeks and growing waiting periods, the Victoris is shaping up to be yet another blockbuster for Maruti Suzuki. By blending the strengths of the Grand Vitara with the reach of the Arena network, the Victoris is positioned to capture a much larger audience. If early trends are anything to go by, Maruti may have just found its next big volume driver in the compact SUV space, and maybe, just maybe this time, even go above the Creta in sales number someday soon.
