Maruti Suzuki Brezza Facelift Review: The Turbo-Petrol Manual Driven

Introduction

For years, the Maruti Suzuki Brezza has been the sensible choice in the subcompact SUV segment — dependable, easy to live with, and a consistent sales leader, but rarely an exciting one. The 2024 facelift had one clear job: keep everything buyers already love about the Brezza, while finally giving the car some personality. Maruti's answer lies under the bonnet. For the first time ever, the Brezza is available with a turbo-petrol engine paired with a proper 6-speed manual gearbox. We got behind the wheel of this new Brezza turbo variant to find out if the segment's "sensible shoe" has finally grown a heel.

Maruti Brezza Facelift: What's New

It's important to set expectations correctly. This is a facelift — a mid-life update — and not a generation change. It is, however, the first significant update since the second-generation Brezza launched back in 2022. The core structure, doors and roofline of the SUV are unchanged. What Maruti has focused on is detailing, features, safety, and — most importantly — the powertrain.

Exterior Design: Subtle but Purposeful Updates

The Brezza facelift doesn't reinvent the design, but the changes are tasteful. Up front, a redesigned grille with dark chrome accents gives the SUV a chunkier, more mature face. The headlamps and LED daytime running lights have been reworked, with dual-LED projector headlamps reserved for the top variants, while lower trims continue with halogen units.

New alloy wheel designs and thicker dual-tone body cladding round off the visual changes. The turbo-petrol variants get a distinct treatment, with red accents on the grille and cladding, making it easy to identify a turbo Brezza on the road.

Nobody will mistake this for an all-new SUV, but the update makes the Brezza look a shade more premium and purposeful than before, without straying from its familiar, likeable shape.

Interior and Features: A Genuine Step Up

Step inside, and the changes feel more substantial. The cabin now gets a dark brown and black theme with a semi-matte, soft-touch dashboard finish, making it feel noticeably nicer than the outgoing model.

The biggest talking point is the new floating touchscreen infotainment system. The fully-loaded variant gets a large 10.1-inch display running Maruti's SmartPlay Pro X software, with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, built-in Alexa voice assistant support, and over-the-air (OTA) updates. This replaces the older 9-inch unit. Lower variants continue with a smaller 7-inch touchscreen, so the bigger screen is a top-trim exclusive.

Depending on the variant, buyers also get:

• An electric sunroof
• 64-colour ambient lighting
• A wireless phone charger
• Ventilated front seats — a segment-first addition for the Brezza
• A 360-degree camera with a sharp, usable top-down view for tight parking
• A head-up display that projects speed onto the windscreen

Space and Practicality

Space was never a weak point for the Brezza, and nothing has changed here. Four adults fit comfortably, the rear bench is genuinely usable by grown-ups, and the tall roofline ensures generous headroom throughout. The boot is large enough to swallow a family's weekend luggage without a struggle. It remains a proper five-seat SUV built for daily family use.

Safety: Now a 5-Star BNCAP-Rated SUV

Safety has received a meaningful upgrade across the range. Six airbags are now standard on every variant, along with electronic stability control (ESC) and hill-hold assist. Turbo variants add blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, front parking sensors, and a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

The Maruti Brezza facelift has also secured a 5-star Bharat NCAP (BNCAP) safety rating — a significant jump from its 4-star rating eight years ago. This makes the Brezza the sixth Maruti Suzuki car to achieve a full 5-star BNCAP rating. It's worth noting that no variant of the Brezza gets ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), which some rivals now offer.

Engine and Performance: The Turbo-Petrol Brezza Driven

This is the headline change. The new Brezza turbo is powered by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol Boosterjet engine producing around 109 bhp and 170 Nm of torque — notably a stronger state of tune than the same engine offers in the Maruti Fronx. It's mated exclusively to a 6-speed manual gearbox; there is no automatic option on the turbo variant, at least for now.

Engine specifications:

• Displacement: 998cc
• Max Power: 109 bhp @ 5,500 rpm
• Peak Torque: 170 Nm @ 2,000–3,500 rpm
• Transmission: 6-speed Manual

In everyday terms, torque determines how eagerly a car gets moving from low speeds, and this engine delivers meaningful torque fairly early in the rev range — a big advantage in city traffic. There is a caveat, though: some turbo lag is noticeable right off idle, with the turbocharger waking up closer to 2,000 rpm. Once past that initial pause, the mid-range — the 40-80 km/h band where most real-world driving happens — feels noticeably more responsive than the naturally aspirated Brezza. Overtaking on two-lane highways is a far less stressful affair as a result.

The Brezza continues to offer a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine as well, including a CNG option, and its tuning and character remain unchanged from before. The turbo unit is the one that brings genuinely new driving dynamics to the lineup.

The 6-speed manual gearbox is light and easy-going, with a smooth rather than sporty shift action — clearly tuned for daily usability over outright sportiness, which suits the car's character. Being a three-cylinder engine, it does get a bit gruff and thrummy past 3,000 rpm, but stays refined at cruising speeds, making it equally capable in city and highway driving.

Ride and Handling

The Maruti Brezza has traditionally ridden well for a small SUV, and this largely carries over — speed breakers and broken roads are absorbed with a reassuring thud rather than a jarring crash, and the car stays composed over rough patches. That said, the suspension setup on the facelift feels marginally stiffer than before, with the rear in particular showing more bounce over undulations than the previous model.

Given its tall SUV stance, there is some body lean through quick corners, as expected — this isn't a car that pretends to be a hot hatch, and it doesn't need to be.

Mileage and Fuel Efficiency

Maruti's official ARAI-certified fuel efficiency figure for the Brezza turbo-petrol manual stands at an impressive 20.47 km/l, a strong number for a turbocharged SUV in this segment.

Maruti Suzuki Brezza Turbo Price

The introductory ex-showroom price for the Maruti Suzuki Brezza turbo-petrol has been set at ₹7.39 lakh, making it the most affordable turbo-petrol subcompact SUV in the segment (excluding the Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger, which sit in a slightly different pricing bracket). Full variant-wise pricing for the rest of the Brezza range is yet to be announced.

Verdict: Does the Turbo Change the Brezza?

Yes — more than expected. The turbo-petrol engine and 6-speed manual combination gives the Brezza a genuine dose of driving enjoyment that was missing before, without compromising the practicality, safety, and comfort that made it a segment favourite in the first place. Combined with a strong features list, a 5-star BNCAP safety rating, and an aggressive starting price, the new Brezza turbo looks well placed to hold its position at the top of the subcompact SUV sales charts, even as rivals circle.

Maruti Suzuki Brezza Turbo — Quick Facts