Maruti Suzuki is preparing to launch a new SUV in India. One of those major launches is the Baleno-based Maruti Suzuki Fronx. The crossover compact SUV was unveiled on 12 January, with bookings for the car opening on the same day. Since then, the car has received over 5,500 bookings ahead of its official launch in April 2023. With this launch, the Indian automaker will have two models in the compact SUV segment. Apart from this, the company is also planning to launch the Maruti Suzuki Jimny in the Indian market soon.
Looking at the design of the Maruti Suzuki Fronx, it is very clear that the crossover takes design cues from the Baleno and the Grand Vitara. Apart from this, the car also shares features of the above model like DRLS, LED headlamps, 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless charger, HUD, 360-degree camera, and more. The car will also be high safety with 6 airbags.
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These features will be distributed across five trims of the Maruti Suzuki Fronx, i.e. Sigma, Delta, Delta Plus, Zeta and Alpha. These variants will have two engine options in the form of a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder NA engine and a three-cylinder turbo-petrol Boosterjet engine. These engines will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox with the options of a 6-speed torquey AT in the Zeta and Alpha variants.
The 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine produces 100 hp of peak power and 147.6 Nm of peak torque. While the 1.0-litre naturally aspirated engine makes 90 hp and 113 Nm of peak torque.
The Indian automaker has not made any announcement on the pricing of the car. However, expect the Maruti Suzuki Franks to be priced in the range of Rs 8-11 lakh (ex-showroom). Being a compact SUV, the model will face stiff competition from rivals like Kia Sonet, Renault Kiger, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venu, Nissan Magnite and Mahindra XUV300 in the Indian market.