For a car that does 0-100 kmph in under 10 seconds and – thanks to a monocoque chassis – feels nimble despite its aggravating haunches, there’s a problem with spirited driving of the Maruti Suzuki Invicto. Its armrest is either of the wrong size or in the wrong place. Attempt a swerve, and one finds her elbows constantly hitting the excessively large armrest. And that’s a bit of a shame because the Invicto’s 2 litre petrol engine mated to a hybrid powertrain and a smooth automatic gives it impressive straight line performance. But, that is also where the point of the Invicto becomes clearer. At close to Rs 30 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), the Invicto is Maruti Suzuki’s most expensive offering yet. And despite that, it is not a new car at all. A rebadged version of the Toyota Innova Hycross, Invicto’s buyers are likely to inhabit the middle row’s plush captain seats — although the middle row is a step down since the Invicto misses out on the ottoman seats, unlike its Toyota cousin. Of course, Maruti could have priced the car lower still but it has curiously opted only for the hybrid powertrain version of the car and has skipped the non-hybrid version of the engine. The hybrid though has a far superior claimed fuel efficiency of around 23 kilometres per litre (kmpl) compared to the 16 kmpl the non-hybrid variant offers. The car will be produced at Toyota’s Bidadi plant, on the same assembly line where the Innova Hycross rolls out – it is Toyota’s reliability, the Innova’s iconic middle row seats, married to Maruti Suzuki’s strong dealership and service network that make the Invicto a compelling product. The car could be a very important product for Maruti Suzuki, because in its segment, people are looking at a lot more than peace of mind and reliability. The badge on the front and rear means a lot above the Rs 25 lakh mark. Take this as an example - in the same segment as the Invicto’s, there are cars like the Tata Safari, Mahindra XUV 700, Jeep Compass, and of course the Innova. These are cars that have developed a cult following. Will people buy such an expensive Maruti Suzuki? This was a key question that the company’s executives were faced with at the launch of the car and subsequent test drives. Names like the Kizashi and the original Vitara were thrown around as examples of when the company had a good car, but found it difficult to sell them simply because people would not buy an expensive Maruti. And it’s not like the Invicto comes with all the bells and whistles of its Toyota counterpart – the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) which the Innova Hycross gets is missing from the Invicto, which also sits on smaller 17 inch alloy wheels compared to the 18 inch wheels which the Toyota gets. Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India told The Indian Express that the company expects the Invicto to have a “rub off” effect on its other cars. “Our target is 50 per cent market share and it is not possible unless we are present across all segments. That is why we started Nexa for a higher level of buying experience,” he said. “Under Rs 10 lakh category, we are by far the market leader with about 62 per cent share and in the Rs 10-20 lakh category also we are the market leader with close to 23 per cent market share.” He said that the segment in which the Invicto operates is small, with about a 5 per cent share of total car sales, but one that is growing. “Volumes in this segment are not very large, but it will have a positive rub off on the other products in our portfolio,” Srivastava said. The Invicto has so far received more than 7,500 bookings and with the waiting periods on the Innova Hycross being close to two years, some buyers may find themselves flocking to Maruti’s stable to buy the Invicto. If you are one of them who wanted the Innova but had to buy the Invicto simply because you were getting it sooner, don’t forget to take a peek at the door hinges— where you can find Toyota’s badging. You are in an Innova. (The writer’s trip to Jodhpur was organised by Maruti Suzuki)
