e Vitara First Impressions: Maruti Suzuki Goes Into The Future

Maruti Suzuki has finally taken the wraps off of their first ever electric car, the e Vitara, in India at the Auto Expo 2025. Just like every other existing Maruti car, this too will be entirely made in India and the brand plans to export it to global markets. e Vitara is an evolution of the eVX concept which made its debut at Auto Expo 2023. The production version looks largely identical to the concept model. 

Maruti Suzuki has invested their heart and soul in the creation of e Vitara and it looks very promising on paper. We spent a few hours with the vehicle at its India debut and while none of us got to drive it, we got to experience the SUV inside out, except for a few aspects. 

Maruti Suzuki has kept the pricing and a few other technical details of the e Vitara a secret. The remaining details are expected to be unveiled at the car's official launch event in March 2025. Until then, let’s use the information we have to try to understand the e Vitara's market positioning and offerings. 

In-depth analysis of the Maruti Suzuki e Vitara 

Build seems solid

The e Vitara is built on a brand new platform dubbed the HEARTECT-e. This is Suzuki's dedicated EV-only platform and in the real world, it should translate to superior driving dynamics. In this segment, manufacturers generally convert their ICE platforms in to EVs, but Maruti deserves appreciation for not taking that easy route and developing a separate skateboard platform.

At first glance, the quality of the materials throughout the car along with the fit and finish seemed good, except for the chunky plastic claddings. We also expect the SUV to perform well in crash tests, especially since the Dzire scored a 5-star crashworthiness rating. After all, Maruti plans to export it to global markets and this SUV needs to impress global audiences.

Quite a looker

The car looks futuristic, something straight out of a Sci-Fi movie from every angle. Mahindra has set the bar of modern EV design quite high with its new BE 6 and XEV 9 cars, in comparison the e Vitara is simpler. But it is quite interesting and out of the league as per Maruti's standards.

Its muscular front fascia is full of angular cuts and creases. The lower part of the front bumper is entirely made of black plastic which looks rugged, but how well will it stand the test of time is something we need to wait for. The car also gets a brand new set of LED projector headlamps along with 3-POINT MATRIX LED DRLs, which help it establish its distinct identity in the ocean of Maruti cars.

The car also gets chunky body cladding all around which helps enhance its visual bulk and makes it appear larger than it actually is. However, I personally am not a big fan of this massive plastic cladding on the doors. This is for all the carmakers, I get you are trying to make the car appear more rugged, but who is taking these pseudo SUVs with FWD setup off-road anyway? Please figure out a better design and use this cheap-looking plastic as little as possible.

Maruti has given the e Vitara 18-inch aerodynamic alloy wheels and they look nice in their dual-tone paint scheme. Some models had silver-coloured alloys and they looked boring. It also gets request sensors on both front doors for easy keyless entry.

Also, for all those feeling nostalgic about the 3rd Gen Swift, the e Vitara borrows its rear door handles, mounted on the C pillars of the car. 

The rear profile of the car also looks very sporty with wrap-around LED taillamps which, thankfully, are not connected, a trend I would love to see more manufacturers adopting this year. The taillights also carry the same 3-POINT MATRIX look as the front LED DRLs, which is a nice symmetrical touch. The rear bumper is finished entirely in rough black plastic to enhance the visual bulk, but, just like the front and sides, I would have preferred to see a little more body-coloured panels being used here.

Flooded with features

The interiors of the e Vitara are unlike any other Maruti vehicle we have ever seen. As far as features are concerned. It gets a new polygonal steering wheel along with a soft touch finishing on the dashboard. The quality of material on the door pads, roofline, upholstery and throughout the cabin feels premium and elegant. 

My favourite thing about the e Vitara's cabin is the buttons for HVAC and volume controls. Yes, finally a manufacturer has not stuffed all the controls in the touch screen! Let our cars be cars, please do not make them gadgets. If someone from Maruti is reading this, you have done a great job by staying away from the touch-based controls. Take a bow.

The car has twin screens, one is a 10.25-inch for instrumentation and the other screen is a 10-inch touchscreen unit for infotainment. All the basic features such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also available. The car also gets multicolour ambient lighting, an Infinity by Harman sound system, ventilated front seats and more to make you feel at home while driving.

The rear seat comfort of the e-Vitara may not be its strongest suit. The space was adequate but the recline angle and under-thigh support were not that good. We have experienced the same issue with the Tata Curvv EV, too, so maybe this problem exists in most modern EVs in this segment. The situation is not very bad, but it could have been better. We have found the seating posture in the ICE cars like the Creta, and Grand Vitara to be much better than these EVs. We hope manufacturers are also aware of this and they make proper arrangements in the future to avoid these upright seats. This happens because of the high floorboard of the EVs which is the result of the floor-mounted battery pack.

Safety features

The car gets all the basic safety features such as ABS, EBD, ESP, traction control, hill hold, hill descent control, etc. It also gets seven airbags as a standard feature which includes an extra knee airbag for enhanced safety. The car has not been tested yet by any of the established institutions, however, we do expect it to be better than the rest of India-only Maruti Cars, because Maruti has big plans for this one.

Performance 

The car is offered in two battery configurations: one with 49 kWh and the other with 61 kWh. Not much is known about the 49 kWh model yet. However, the brand claims a range of up to 500 km, 172 hp and 192.5 nm of peak torque for the 61 kWh model. These figures are very lucrative, we are eagerly waiting to drive this car when it comes out to see how these translate in the real world.

Expected pricing and rivals

The car is expected to start somewhere around the INR 20 lakh mark. At this point, it will lock horns with the likes of Mahindra BE 6, Hyundai Creta Electric, Tata Curvv, etc. This is a great thing because we will finally get another good EV option in the sub-INR 20 lakh segment.

Conclusion 

All in all, the e Vitara seemed like a well-designed, solid-built product with a lot of potential. The car will be sold via Maruti’s premium Nexa dealership networks. We believe it will benefit from people’s trust in Maruti. There is a weak link in this car, the rear seat comfort, but it is not a deal breaker because that is a problem with most cars of this segment. Now, everything depends on the pricing, if Maruti manages to surprise us by pricing it aggressively then there is no one stopping this car from being a best seller.