Maruti Suzuki S-Presso

The Maruti Suzuki S-Presso was launched in India on September 30, 2019, and the company is calling it a Mini SUV, rather than a small hatchback. The new small car from Maruti Suzuki India is based on the Future-S concept car, which was showcased at the Auto Expo 2018, in Delhi. The new Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is offered in six colour options, including two all-new colours – Solid Sizzle Orange, Pearl Starry Blue, along with Superior White, Solid Fire Red, Metallic Granite Grey, and Metallic Silky Silver. The S-Presso will be offered in four key variants - Standard, LXI, VXI, and VXI+, and these are furthers extended into 10 iterations based on optional trims and transmission choices. The variations include - Standard, Standard (O), LXI, LXI (O), VXI, VXI (O), VXI+, VXI AGS, VXI (O) AGS, and VXI+ AGS.

The new Maruti S-Presso is built on a derivative of the fifth generation HEARTECT platform, called the HEARTCT K, which has been adapted for the Indian market. The platform uses 40 per cent high tensile steel in its construction ensuring a stronger, safer and sturdier structure, and the company says that new S-Presso is a Made-In-India product and comes with 98 per cent localisation. In terms of dimensions, the new Maruti Suzuki S-Presso 3665 mm in length and 1520 mm in width and a 2380 mm long wheelbase. Also, the car will come in 2 wheel sizes, 13-inch and 14-inch, and thus come with two height options as well - 1549 mm and 1564 mm respectively.

Visually, the new S-Presso comes with SUV-inspired design and styling, featuring a tall stance, high ground clearance, beefy bumpers, and underbody cladding. Upfront, the new Maruti Suzuki S-Presso comes with hexagonal elements on the grille, which is flanked by a pair of new wraparound headlamps, with separate chambers for headlights and indicators. The bumper also comes with bold muscular lines that give it a chiselled look, while the lower half is made of black cladding adding to its SUV styling. The S-Presso also comes with full wheel cover with the VXI and VXI+ variants. The profile of the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso mini SUV comes with blacked-out B-pillar, body-coloured ORVMs. At the rear, the S-Presso gets a big boot lid and C-shaped tail lamps, with a muscular bumper housing horizontal reflectors, and black bumper cladding.

As for the cabin, the S-Presso gets a newly designed dashboard, which Maruti says is inspired by a sports watch, and comes with black base colour and body-coloured bezels for the air-con vents and the infotainment area. The top-spec model comes with a 7-inch touchscreen display with the Smartplay Studio, offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The instrument cluster is also positioned at the centre, which is a digital unit. Below you have the air-con system and a set of USB and 12V charging sockets. The steering comes with mounted audio controls and toggles for telephony. Also, the car only gets manual controls for the ORVMs, but front power windows and power steering are likely to be a part of the package, the rear passengers will have to do with a lever to roll down the windows.

On the safety front, the S-Presso gets dual front airbag and three-point seatbelts of four passengers and a two-point hip seatbelt for the rear middle passenger. Safety features that will be offered as standard will include – driver-side airbag ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, seatbelt reminder, and high-speed alert, along with pedestrian and crash protection.

The Maruti S-Presso SUV gets the same 1.0-litre petrol engine from the Alto K10 hatchback and it makes 67 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 90 Nm of peak torque at 3,500 rpm. The engine is BS6 compliant and is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox along with an AMT option as well.

The new Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is priced in India at Rs. 3.69 lakh to Rs. 4.91 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The car will be exported from India to South America, Africa and Asia. The car will rival the likes of Renault Kwid and Datsun redi-GO.