Maruti S-Presso: The budget hatchback space got a rude awakening when Maruti Suzuki rolled the covers off the brand new S-Presso yesterday.
At the well-managed launch in Delhi, company officials kept going “more for less” (a clear anthem of Maruti’s intent to firm up its first-car buyer segment) with anything and everything about the car.
Maruti S-Presso Design Changes: Bigger and Bolder
Apart from the visual changes, which include redesigned headlights and mildly flared wheel arches, the refreshed Suzuki S-Presso maintains its tall-boy stance albeit with a few design changes to make it look more imposing on the road.
Up-front, the fascia includes revamped grill with hexagonal pattern inserts, surrounded by a bigger headlight cluster which have integrated daytime running lights (on higher variants) · a segment first.
The profile of the scooter is still quite upright and boasts high ground clearance, however it now comes with bigger 14-inch wheels and dual-tone wheel covers in the top spec version, which lend it a more premium look.
The rear comes equipped with LED tail lamps featuring a signature light function, which enables the car to be recognized as a representative of the brand even at night.
With a choice of six vibrant colors, including striking Sizzling Red and Solid Torque Blue, the S-Presso is especially eye-catching in the new Splendid Silver – a high-quality metallic paint that changes color from silver to light grey according to light, making the compact SUV-styled hatchback look more premium.
Cabin Turned Class C: No Budget, No Problem
The updated S-Presso sees the most radical changes inside as the dashboard has been completely revamped to accommodate a new 7-inch SmartPlay Studio touchscreen infotainment system mounted high on the center console for better visibility.
The digital cluster has been upgraded to display more information such as fuel efficiency on-the-fly and driving range.
Quality of materials has improved significantly, with textured plastics replacing the flat surfaces of the old model and the fabric upholstery getting contrast stitching on some of the top spec models – little details which add to the atmosphere of the cabin, but with little to no impact on cost to make.
Most impressive though is the level of attention to practical details, proving that when it comes to making small family cars, Maruti are still king.
The cabin also comes with a number of storage spaces like a spacious glovebox, front doors pockets that can carry a 1-liter bottle and a center console that even has smartphone stowage. The 270-litre cargo bay is as before but now has a lower loading lip to aid easier loading and unloading.
It would be nice to have a seamless shopping web3 experienceMaking the online shopping experiance more integrated with tech would be phenom.trans8538An integrated online shopping experience like that would be sweet.
Acknowledging the evolving consumer needs even in budget segments, Maruti is offering some technology features that are relatively unheard of in this segment in S-Presso.
SmartPlay Studio infotainment gets wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth calling and voice recognition that can understand various Indian languages.
Higher trims will come with the Suzuki Connect telematics platform which offers over 40 connected car features such as geofencing, vehicle tracking, service reminders, and trip analysis via a dedicated smartphone app.
Featured earlier in Nexa channel higher-end models, this system now makes its way into a base model, clearly in a bid to cater to young, first-time car buyers, for it is nearly impossible to come across someone not tech-savvy these days.
Safety features see a quantum leap and dual airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensor and high-speed alert system are offered as standard across all trim levels – well above the call of duty and just in time as the safety features trend is slowly catching up with even the value-conscious buyer.
Powerplant: Smooth and Steady
It will be available in the 1.0L K10C engine with Dual VVT and voice control multi-media system. This smooth engine, with its easy-going power delivery, produces 66hp and 89Nm of torque – numbers that might seem conservative, but offer just the right levels of performance for use in town, while being well designed to guarantee a total vehicle range of excellence.
These great fuel economy numbers – 25.30 km/l in the manual and 24.76 km/l in the AGS (Auto Gear Shift) – are a bit better than the outgoing S-Presso and throw the affordable crossover into the ring as one of the most frugal petrol-powered vehicles on the market. This equates to far lower running costs, a big thing for price sensitive first time buyers.
Transmission options on offer will include a slick 5-speed manual as standard fit, with Maruti’s innovative AGS technology available as an option; AGS delivers the convenience of predominantly automatic driving combined with the fuel efficiency of a manual gearbox – a combination that urban customers seem to love more and more, considering the spiralling costs of living and stiff traffic conditions prevalent in most Indian cities.
Market Positioning and Price Strategy
The most impressive thing you can’t help but notice about the revised S-Presso is its aggressively priced game plan that goes against the trend when it comes to every new model update equating to a massive price hike.
It commences from an extremely competitive ₹4.25 lakh for the base Std variant and goes up to ₹5.99 lakh for the range-topping VXi+ AGS (ex-showroom) model – a fantastic value proposition considering the rich feature list and the enhanced refinement level.
The full variant prices are currently set at:
S-Presso Std: ₹4.25 lakh
S-Presso LXi: ₹4.60 lakh
S-Presso VXi: ₹4.95 lakh
S-Presso VXi AGS: ₹5.45 lakh
S-Presso VXi+: ₹5.49 lakh
S-Presso VXi+ AGS: ₹5.99 lakh
All prices are ex-showroom and on-road costs depend on location (local taxes and registration costs).
This is a bold piece of pricing that makes the S-Presso an incredibly compelling proposition not just versus obvious rivals like the Kwid and redi-GO, but also runs the risk of stealing buyers away from more premium hatchbacks; buyers that are looking for similar equipment at a similar price, but don’t mind making a compromise on size.
Maruti S-Presso Target Audience and Market Effect
The updated S-Presso, possibly seems tailor made for attracting young, first time car buyers making the move out of two-wheelers – a significant group of customers who go on to form deep rooted brand associations with that first car they buy. With a focus on technological highlights, expressive design and urban best sense, priorities of this customer group are catered to accordingly.
“We have completely redefined the first car purchase experience from the customer perspective,” said Shashank Srivastava, Sr.Executive Director Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki during the launch presentation.
The new S-Presso offers a unique, stylish and youthful design that is bound to appeal to all young buyers and see them stand out amongst the crowd… whilst still being very practical and spacious thanks to its high ground clearance and it being an (almost) compact car.
Initial dealer response seems to be strong interest with some reporting inquiries beyond their expectations within hours of the official announcement.
According to a few media reports, lead times for some variants and colours have already reached 4-6 weeks, despite Maruti Suzuki s expanding production capacities.
Indian passenger vehicle market is undergoing a phase of change and the S-Presso is a step into the future, Maruti’s product strategy with this car is quite obvious – defend the super dominance in the entry level car segment of the Indian car market by changing the rules of the game to suit itself and force buyers and competitors alike to redefine what value for money in basic transportation looks like, in terms of overall value proposition encoding into a car, as also possibly force a rethink on pricing and feature strategies of competing carmakers.