Maruti Suzuki Invicto: Same Detail, Different Retail

There are two things that must be made amply clear at the start of this report: 

• The Maruti Suzuki Invicto = Toyota Innova Hycross. They’re manufactured in the same (Toyota) plant and use the same components at the same places. Toyota’s product planning, research and development has shaped the DNA of both the Innova Hycross and the Invicto.

• Maruti Suzuki’s  alterations are limited to the variant lineup and cosmetic tweaks. The change in brand or appearance have no bearing on the core values of the car, including reliability.

Looks

 

The Invicto’s design tweaks its base car just right. The headlights and tail lights get the tri-light signature, the front grille’s larger and the front bumper gets a redesign as well. In person, it looks slightly more aggressive than the Innova Hycross but it’s unlikely that design alone would tilt the scales for/against it vs the Toyota.

The Invicto offers good road presence for a family MPV, especially in lighter colours that amplify its size. While it may not have the traditional SUV styling, put next to a Tata Safari or Mahindra XUV700, it has the size factor to massage your ego just as well. Even in the top-spec Alpha+, the Invicto rides on 17-inch alloy wheels. 18-inch wheels would certainly complement the car’s stance better but the end result is still balanced well enough.

Interior

 The MPV body style opens up space like no other and the Invicto is the right step up from what is now its little sibling, the Ertiga. The Ertiga and XL6 are very accommodating 3-row MPVs, offering a great deal of practicality for their size. The Invicto takes this up a few levels and seating a 6-ft-tall user in each seat row is no hassle. Every seat row offers both a good sense of space and actual space including headroom.

The sliding and reclining seats are supportive for larger frames as well and chauffeur-driven owners can push the front passenger’s seat and stretch out comfortably. This does make you miss two things though: 

1. A lever to adjust the front seat from the 2nd row

2. The electric adjustment of the rear seats, along with the extendable leg rest that you do get in the Innova Hycross.

Back seat owners will also appreciate the 2nd row roller-type window-blinds, roof-mounted rear AC vents with temperature control and type-C USB charge ports. While the 3rd row is certainly usable even for adults, seating 3 in the last row isn’t going to be the most comfortable affair even if they’re of a slender build.

What’s great about the Invicto is how much boot space is left even with the last row in use. A medium-sized trolley bag, along with a small trolley bag and a soft bag, can be placed here without a struggle. And when you need additional space, the 3rd row folds into the boot floor to free up enough space to store multiple full-sized suitcases.

Visually, the Invicto is identical in layout to the Innova Hycross and is just as sorted ergonomically. One change is Maruti Suzuki opting for a colour palette similar to the Grand Vitara hybrid’s: all-black with champagne gold contrast accents. While this does look premium, the Hycross’ brown and black combination does seem slightly nicer. Even the leatherette padding on the dashboard and door pads is finished in black, so these premium touches just look like any other plastic panel at first.

Features 

The Invicto packs features like 

• Front seat ventilation

• Panoramic sunroof

• Power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings

• Digital instrument cluster

• Cruise control

• 360-degree camera 

It also gets a 10.1 inch touchscreen that supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though the interface looks similar to an aftermarket head unit’s.

Aside from missing the 2nd row electric adjustment and ottoman vs the Innova Hycross, the Invicto also misses out on the 9-speaker JBL sound system, opting for a 6-speaker setup instead. 6 airbags, ISOFIX, stability control, hill-start assist, a reversing camera, all-wheel disc brakes and ABS come as standard. Front and rear parking sensors, along with tyre-pressure monitoring get added in the Alpha+. 

Unlike the Innova Hycross, there is no variant that offers advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features.

Drive

The 2-litre petrol-hybrid powering the Maruti Suzuki Invicto is a gem of a powertrain to use. At low speeds or while cruising on the highway, it’s refined and smooth with its EV-to-ICE transitions. High speed overtakes will see it get vocal but even with a full passenger load, there is enough punch to make highway driving convenient.

A highlight for the Invicto is the ride comfort it delivers with the car loaded up. Even sharper bumps are handled in a sophisticated manner and it’d take a lot for the car to lose composure. The Invicto scores high on the comfort factor and easy as it is to live with in the city, it’s also very capable at giving you fatigue-free long-distance drives.

The cherry on top is how fuel-efficient the Invicto’s heart is. While the claimed fuel-efficiency figure stands at 23.24kmpl, you can expect 18-20kmpl in real-world (combined) drive cycles. Basically, extracting a tank range of 850-900km is realistic, and that’s without hypermiling!

The Missed Opportunity

Unlike the Toyota Innova Hycross, the Maruti Suzuki Invicto doesn’t get a standard, non-hybrid petrol engine. While the hybrid powertrain is, hands-down, the superior drive option, it’s also more expensive, raising a car’s price by Rs 2 lakh at least. 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the Innova Hycross, the price jump from petrol to petrol-hybrid is Rs 5.60 lakh! This is a function of the powertrain upgrade being packaged with a variant upgrade (GX to VX). As a result, there’s a price gulf between Rs 20-25 lakh (ex-showroom) that could’ve been filled by an Invicto offering more features but with the standard petrol engine.

Verdict

If you liked the Toyota Innova Hycross, you’ll like the Maruti Suzuki Invicto. It’s a brilliant family MPV, delivering a sweet balance of space, practicality, ease of use, features, performance and fuel efficiency. 

The reasons to choose the Invicto over the Innova Hycross are straightforward:

• The money you save (Rs 50,000-90,000) vs the Innova Hycross is worth the features you give up or exchange.

• You have easier access to a Nexa dealer and service touch point vs a Toyota outlet.

• Having the Toyota badge or Innova name on your car is not that important for you.

• The Innova Hycross is on a waitlist of 2-2.5 years in some locations and your local Nexa dealer may just be able to give you delivery sooner than that.