Maruti Suzuki Invicto

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The Japanese partnership of Suzuki and Toyota has delivered some excellent cars. While a few models have strong design differences — like the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara — others are near-identical. The Maruti Suzuki Invicto is the latter, with not much setting it apart from its Toyota cousin —  the Innova Hycross. It is also Maruti Suzuki’s flagship product, being the largest, costliest, and the most powerful car on offer from the brand in India. And while the Innova moniker is legendary and Toyota inspires trust in reliability, the Invicto name is completely new, and Maruti Suzuki as a brand is better known for budget cars. Yes, the Invicto is more affordable than the Innova Hycross, but it has also dropped a few important features to keep the price in check. So why should one choose an Invicto over a Hycross? And is the Invicto a good product? Read on to find out.

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Pros and Cons 

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Exterior Design 

Up front, the Invicto has a very imposing stance, with a huge hexagonal grille taking centre stage. The Maruti Suzuki badge sits in the middle of the grille, atop two thick chrome strips. There’s plenty of chrome used throughout, including an outline to the lower section of the grille, a strip lower down in the front bumper, along the shoulder lines, and underlining the rear windscreen. LED DRL strips sit in the fog lamp housings instead of fog lamps themselves, and double up as turn indicators. The Invicto also gets different LED headlights and tail lights compared to the Hycross, with Nexa’s signature 3-dot LED inserts. Another key difference is the wheels. While the Innova Hycross’ top end variants get 18-inch wheels that already look too small for the car, the Invicto gets even smaller 17-inch alloys. 

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Interiors 

The Maruti Suzuki Invicto is based on Toyota’s TNGA monocoque platform, which allows the Invicto to have a lower floor, making cabin access easier than some ladder-frame MPVs like the Innova Crysta. The interior is a significant improvement over the Crysta too, with rich black upholstery and champagne inserts. Having said that, the quality of certain plastics is still low despite being the priciest Maruti, which takes away from the experience. Physical buttons for key functions like drive modes and climate control are welcome additions. 

All three rows of the Invicto get plenty of space, and the boot space with all rows up is also big enough for a few bags. The Invicto also gets an electric tailgate which adds to the convenience.

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Comfort 

The top-end variant of the Invicto only gets captain seats in the middle row, but you can opt for either captain seats or bench seats for the middle row in the lower variants, allowing seating for up to eight passengers. Both middle row seats get a recline option, but the Invicto misses out on the electrical ottomans which the Hycross gets in the top-end variants. There’s generous legroom in the middle row, and passengers also get window shades, separate climate control, and a foldable tray between the captain seats which houses cupholders. Panoramic sunroof also adds to the sense of space in the already roomy cabin. Access to the third row is easy too, and it offers great levels of space and comfort.

In the interest of highway stability, Maruti Suzuki has slightly compromised the comfort levels of the Invicto. The suspension has a hint of stiffness, and it doesn’t round off bumps and potholes completely. While driving over rough roads is slightly worse, where the Invicto excels is highway cruising. The stiffer suspension keeps body movement in check, and the MPV stays planted at cruising speeds.

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Performance and Handling

Thanks to the stiffer monocoque chassis, the Invicto handles well considering its size. The track width is also narrow, which increases manoeuvrability and makes it easier to park. The electric power steering is light at lower speeds and weighs up as you go faster, while also not transferring any jarring movements of the front wheels to the steering wheel. Suspension is slightly on the stiffer side, and while that takes a small toll on rough roads, the Invicto’s highway stability is great, and body roll is also limited considering its size.

The Toyota Innova Hycross is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine, which can be had as a naturally aspirated unit, or a hybrid. However, only the hybrid powertrain has been carried over to the Invicto, making the starting price much higher than the Hycross. The hybrid engine runs on a more efficient Atkinson cycle, as opposed to the Otto cycle which most other engines run on. The Atkinson cycle trades power for fuel efficiency, and in this unit, the loss in power is compensated by the electrical assist from the motor. The result is a very economical powertrain that has a claimed fuel efficiency of 23.24 km/l! That is higher than even some B-segment hatchbacks and translates well to real world figures too, returning between 14-20 km/l depending on driving conditions. The Invicto can also be driven on electrical power only (so long as there’s charge in the battery), greatly improving fuel efficiency in traffic. The hybrid powertrain offers brisk and linear performance, leaving no room for complaints. Refinement is good at lower RPMs too, and you won’t notice the engine turning on to assist the electric motors when driven with a light foot. When pushed though, the eCVT gearbox makes the engine sound strained, subconsciously making you adopt a more sedate driving style.

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Key specifications 

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Safety Features

Toyota cars are known for their impeccable reliability, and a lot of it comes for the build quality, which in turn helps the overall safety of the cabin. The Invicto is a Toyota under the skin, and carries over all of those qualities. It is yet to receive a Global NCAP crash test rating, but it does pack a lot of safety features, and the new TNGA monocoque platform promises better safety. The list of safety features include six airbags, ABS, EBD, vehicle stability control, hill assist, a TPMS, ISOFIX child seat mounts, 360-degree parking camera, and more. However, the Invicto doesn’t have ADAS on offer, unlike the Hycross.

Maruti Suzuki Invicto Technology and Infotainment

The Invicto gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment unit at the centre of the dash, which looks a tad small in the huge cabin. The unit gets wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the overall interface and resolution feels outdated. There’s also a semi-digital instrument cluster with a 7-inch screen and analog dials flanking it. The instrument cluster shows a lot of nifty information, including the displays for the hybrid systems. Overall though, for its price, the Invicto does come across as a little under equipped, but most of the features do their job well.

Is the Maruti Suzuki Invicto for you?

The Maruti Suzuki Invicto is a great MPV for its price. It is spacious, has a frugal powertrain, can munch miles like nobody’s business, and gets Maruti Suzuki’s great service network. However, the biggest thorn in its side is the existence of the Innova Hycross. When compared variant to variant, for less than ₹1 lakh extra, you get some prominent features that are missing on the Invicto, such as ADAS and rear seat ottomans. Not just that, but the base variants of the Invicto are also less equipped than comparable variants of the Hycross, dropping features like 360-degree camera, parking sensors, TPMS, rear defogger, and auto dimming IRVM, making the cost savings sound less appealing. The 18-inch wheels available on the top variants of Hycross also make it appear more proportionate, which the 17-inchers on the Invicto fail to do. And then there is the Toyota badge that you get on the Innova Hycross, which commands respect of its own. Add it all up, and the Innova Hycross starts to sound like a much better deal than the Invicto, despite the higher price tag.