Maruti Invicto Review

If I were in the market for the mid variant, Invicto's 17 inch diamond cut wheels looks much better, gets 6 airbags vs 2 in Toyota's VX.

But most important factor would be Toyota's regular price hike! One could probably get the Invicto at current price. Meanwhile God know how many price hikes the Hycross will get by the time of delivery (minimum waiting period is 1 year, some even say 2 years!).

Early Delivery. Like I stated, early delivery is one of the reasons why someone will go for Invicto over Hycross.

1.75- 15K for 1 year more warranty. 1.6L cheaper? That's a meagre 4% of total purchase cost (35~L).
In a country like India and a car like Hycross/Invicto, the buying decision would definitely swayed by family. There is no one shorter in height in your friend's family, say at 5'8' or lower? Pretty sure the ottoman is useful at that height (my height is 5'8 and it was very comfy for me).

Usecase would be small, I agree. But isn't it better to have even for those
5% of journeys? Considering it costs just marginally over the non adas variant.
This is actually a reason to go for Hycross since you get better warranty not only in terms of duration but also the kms, wherein the standard toyota warranty is 1L Kms or 3 years, while the Maruti is 40K kms or 2 years!

Completely agree on this part. Just a little skeptical on the technical expertise of Maruti service personnel. Invicto has a advanced powertrain and many new features, which are never before seen on a Maruti (or atleast on mass market Maruti cars). But with Toyota the dealerships have been trained to Handle the Camry's, Corolla's , Fortuners etc.

My dad has used a Maruti product (M800) for 9+ years. No doubt the service quality was always splendid. Ditto with Toyota.

But if you compare the badge value, which one would definitely aspire at these price points, the Toyota badge commands a much better respect and weight than a Maruti Suzuki. No Nexa experience won't make any difference in terms of badge value.

This statement of yours confirms my earlier point, an early delivery date is one of the reasons why a prospective customer will go for a Invicto over the Hycross.

This could indeed be another reason to for Invicto over Hycross.

Great Review.

If I had to buy one, will go with Toyota. Certainly Hycross has better features than the Invicto. Moreover, buying a product from its original manufacturer is always good IMO. Both these brands have good After Sales service network, but having owned a Toyota and a MS car before I can definitely vouch for Toyota's service quality.

As stated by other BHPians, waiting period is the only one that will sway some people over to MS.

Maruti Invicto waiting period crosses 2 months.

Source

The biggest challenge for Invicto is that it is a Maruti Suzuki badged car. A friend - affluent enough about the car market, knows it's a rebadged Toyota - was looking at the Hycross and was unhappy at the wait times. When I suggested he waits for this launch, he simply refused saying it's a MS. I have heard similar sentiment since then from more and more folks.

Let's see how the market responds to a 25+ Lakh Suzuki...

When a person who knows the pros and cons for a car and simply rejects due to the badge difference probably values image more than what the car offers.

This same badge is on a Hayabusa and that does not reduce its desirability since the product by itself has its own weightage, even when the same badge is on a 1 lakh rupee Access scooter.

Rejecting an almost exact same car with arguably a much wider and in some cases better service network just because of a badge might not be a wise decision.

Same here, my friend wanted to buy Innova Hycross, but due to the high waiting period, I suggested him take a look at Invicto, and he replied: "hates having "S" (Maruti-Suzuki) badge on the car, and that too a 30 lakhs Maruti, NEVER". Maybe this is the broader ground reality that Maruti has to change, and it won't be easy.

Actually, it will be a good decision as it will help the people who actually want the car to get theirs allocated and delivered faster.

I was told I would get mine this month. Today, I'm told it might take another 1-2 months as my color choice change request took some time to process, whatever that means. I'm still okay with waiting for 2 months rather than 2 years.

Also there are currently hundreds of Zeta+ cars available in white and celestial blue, and these dealers are making every effort to make us obtain them. Both 7-seater and 8-seater options are available. My sales associate keeps saying that I can take delivery the very next day if I change my mind to switch from an Alpha+ to a Zeta+ in either of those two colors.

I am told that the deliveries have not started yet, and there is no car I have seen on the road(Only in the showroom) and no video on youtube or any blog of delivery is there.

Same here. At my local NEXA dealer, they have only received six bookings so far, and naturally, all of them are for the Alpha+. Personally, I visited their yard to see the Zeta+ model in person and observe how it looks on the road. Currently, they have a total of five Zeta+ cars, and they keep receiving unexpected deliveries every day. It's only a matter of time until they receive a bronze Alpha+ that I can take home. Today was the car's launch at my dealer, and I had the opportunity to meet all six people who made bookings. The relationship managers repeatedly asked if we wanted to change our minds, assuring us that they could quickly prepare the Zeta+ model as they have stock waiting for allotment. I also inquired at various dealerships in Kochi, where I work, and they confirmed that while that the Alpha+ cars they received weren't for the public and its more like a Media car, while the Zeta+ models are being prepared for delivery.

Good review as always. neat and to the point.

35L on Maruti is difficult to digest for me(no offense). Hycross is still a deal.
How this roof-mounted seat belt will work. quite interesting.
Are there two buckles for fastening?

Nice review but I frankly don't understand why they had to have a different media drive, that too in a specific location for what essentially is a Hycross!

Lots of opinions flying as to who will buy Invicto. I genuinely believe that most that commenting here (Maybe 9 out of 10) that they would only buy a Toyota one and not the S badge were never the prospective customers MSIL or Toyota are targeting. They are not going to buy both (Including me).

Let us Analyze the customer first.

1. Prospective customers but are extremely brand conscious. There are Three subtypes here.

1a. Those who would not touch the S badge even after knowing that Invicto is nothing but Hycross itself. For them, the display of the brand is everything and there can be no compromises there.

1b. Those who are aware that it is a badge-engineered car and that they can still trust their money on the S-badge. There are 2 big pluses here. One, you get the car much earlier and the second plus is that they now get the pampering of Nexa/MSIL. Ask any T-badge owner, the service experience though not bad is never great. For T-badge to give a pampering, you need Lexus cars.

1c. Those who are aware that it is a badge-engineered car, have no problem with the brand image but still won't buy Invicto as they don't care about a few lakhs and have no problem waiting. My friend is looking for a 7-seater and he falls in that category. His only problem is that Toyota guys are not accepting his booking. He is ready to wait for 2 years as he wants top end with 8 seater which is not there for Invicto and hopes it is available in Hycross after 2 years.

2. Prospective customers who are not brand conscious.

This would be the lot that they are looking to cater to. A solid car with strong structure and bullet-proof reliability with the added bonus of lower prices, earlier availability and most importantly a nearby Nexa service center that I am sure is going to pamper you.

3. Window Shoppers / Keyboard warriors

Many, including me, have tons and tons of opinions but not looking into buying a 7/8 seater MPV. Our opinions do not really matter and hope MSIL has done enough research on their prospective buyers. People need to realize that Japs do not do anything without thinking 1000 times over and over and this badge engineering process is a small step in their elaborate plans which would include even EVs.


I am curious to learn the market research strategy done by MSIL to bring out this car. There is a huge gap in the price range between Grand Vitara and Invicto. It is a huge leap of faith MSIL is expecting the customers to take. The ideal process should have been to bring something just above Grand Vitara and test the waters. But then will consumers trust a MSIL car at that price range?

Wonder if it was a calculated risk as Toyota might not be looking into having any car in India in that price range (mostly a SUV). Is this where the Grand Vitara 7-seater going to come? Interesting times ahead.

PS: Basic question folks -- Forgot if this was already answered - For the changes between Hycross and Invicto to be done, do we need a completely new assembly line at the Bidadi plant? If yes, I am wondering how this exercise will benefit Toyota at least in the short term when the delivery wait times are in the range of 2-3 years.

Hi, there are 2 buckles on the seat belt and corresponding receptacle on the seat. You pull out the belt, click one buckle in the receptacle on your left and then click the other buckle in the receptacle on your right.

This was the same implementation in the Etios twins as well.

Nikhil

Cool review as usual. Thanks to this rebadging exercise, we get to review the car twice!

In terms of pricing, the VXO seems to offer better value as it is 1L cheaper than the Alpha+. However, when comparing it to the ZX, the Alpha+ appears more favourable, offering a 1.9L reduction in price despite compromising on features such as the ottoman, average JBL, dual-tone interior, 18-inch so and so. These are the on-road pricing for Kerala.




M stands for Metallic colors (Everything except White)

At the moment, I do not have a fixed delivery date for both the vehicles. All the dealers has mentioned is that it will be within a month or two tops for the Invicto and 30 weeks for Hycross. If that's the case, I am willing to spend the extra 1L to MSIL. I won't understand why some people are really eager to have the T badge on their grilles. I have owned various SUVs from toyota and we still have them in our family including their flagship van. We just trust the brand and have faith in their cars. Hycross, on the other hand, seems like a joke to consumers like me due to their longer waiting periods IMO.