Honda Vezel vs Maruti Suzuki XA-Alpha SUV

The SUV market in India is hotter than ever due to the entry of some impressive compact SUVs. Cars like Ford EcoSport have created an entirely new class of vehicles which are small yet powerful, practical yet capable and efficient yet fun to drive. This has made them quite popular among buyers who wish for a SUV but have otherwise been settling for premium hatchbacks or budget sedans. There are many new SUVs entering the Indian market soon as all the manufacturers rush to register their presence in this fast growing segment. Maruti Suzuki showcased the XA- Alpha at the 2012 Auto Expo and is expected to launch it in the Indian market soon. On the other hand, Honda is preparing its Vezel SUV.

There was another SUV showcased by Suzuki called the iV-4 which appeared to be a grown up version of the XA- Alpha. It isn’t very sure for now what car will they choose to bring to the Indian shores. This is because the IV-4 is a slightly bigger car and if they manage to price it competitively, it might give tough competition to the Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster.

The Honda Vezel on the other hand looks like a proper SUV. It has got the typical Honda family design and the H design scheme is prominent from its front face. It looks more like a scaled down Honda CR-V which itself is an impressive looking vehicle. It has got a grille similar to the current City with a thick chrome stripe on it. It has got large flared wheel arches that give it an impressive presence though the design suggests that it is meant to stay on the road than off it. The dimensions are similar to the Scorpio or Safari.

Both the cars will be targeted at the same segment though the Vezel might come with a higher price tag than the Suzuki vehicle. The petrol engine on the Vezel will be the same 1.5 litre i-VTEC unit that we find on the current generation Honda City generating a peak power of 116 bhp. The diesel variant would obviously come with the 1.5 litre i-DTEC engine that is serving in the Amaze, City and recently launched Mobilio MPV.  This is quite an impressive engine as it not only generates a decent amount of power, it is also quite efficient.

There is no official word about the Suzuki SUV yet so we don’t know for sure what engines it will offer. For the petrol variant, we are betting on the 1.4 litre engine that powers the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. However for the diesel, they are short of engine options until they develop a new one themselves. However it isn’t happening very soon and it is quite obvious that they will use the popular Fiat Multijet diesel engine. Expect the 90 bhp variant of 1.3 multijet diesel here as 75 bhp would be underpowered for a SUV. We are more inclined towards the Vezel for now but that might change when these cars actually enter the market.

Honda Vezel vs Maruti Suzuki XA-Alpha SUV, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating