2026 Maruti Brezza Short Review: All You Really Need

The Maruti Brezza is one of the simplest cars you can buy in the sub-4m segment today. It isn’t as flashy, as rich, as feature-loaded or even as powerful as some of the options available today, and with this facelift, that still remains true. However, with whatever small changes Maruti has done, the Brezza’s appeal and usability have definitely been lifted.

How do the changes come together and what do they do for the new Brezza? We spent a day with it on very wet Mumbai roads to find the answer.

Design

A facelift arriving after four years is expected to carry more changes than what the 2026 Brezza does. Yet, we are actually quite content with how the Brezza looks in a day and age where most cars are trying too hard for attention. 

The nose has minute tweaks to the grille, bumper and the fog light housing, which don’t look better or worse; they just look slightly different, giving it a fresh look. The dual LED projector headlights with the integrated LED DRLs are unchanged, and still look quite nice to look at.

The profile is boxy. It sits on 16-inch alloy wheels, the design for which is new, but it looks very similar to the outgoing model. The heavy use of cladding and the roof rails continue to make it look beefy.

Styling at the rear too is simple. It has the same roof-mounted spoiler, same LED tail lights and same shark fin antenna. Only the bumper has been reworked, but again, minor revisions only. 

In the turbo variants, you get the turbo badging all around. Overall, the visual changes don’t do much to improve the appeal of the Brezza. They are so tiny that most people would think that nothing has changed at all. We personally would not go for the beefed-up accessories with the red inserts as they look a little extra and gaudy on what is otherwise a simple-looking SUV.

Interior

Even on the inside, Maruti’s designer has done the bare minimum in terms of visual changes and called it a day. It continues to get a dual-tone theme with black and brown upholstery, which honestly feels a bit dull. But the piano black accents do add some richness, along with the ambient lighting, which improves the ambience at night with 64 colours to choose from.

Also new is the bigger infotainment system, which has been lifted straight from the Victoris. There’s also semi-leatherette seats now, which do the heavy lifting for improving the feel inside. The plastics are smooth and consistent all around, but we particularly liked the texture of the middle brown panel, which feels rich. Leatherette is only used on the steering wheel and front central armrest.

As for the seats, comfort is good for the front passengers with ample adjustments for the driver and a front central armrest.

At the rear, the Brezza continues to offer a comfortable space. You can seat two 6-footers back to back, but squeezing three adults, especially if they are heavily built than an average person, will feel a bit of a squeeze. There’s also a pretty tall and evident central tunnel, and no headrest for the middle passenger. We do like the slight supports for the headrests towards the edge, which hold up your head when you fall asleep. 

The practicality is adequate, and the boot space too is good enough for a family of four to store their luggage for a 3-5 day vacation.

You also get an underbody CNG kit now, so no compromise in case you are concerned about running costs. 

Features

The segment has moved way beyond what was expected from cars this size with features that could genuinely put luxury cars to shame. However, the Brezza isn’t one of those overachievers, but it is no underachiever either.

Basics that you use in your daily drives are all well covered. What it improves on is the convenience factor with ventilated seats that keep you cool on hot sunny days. They have three levels of cooling, and do a good job of cooling your back, but I wish they were a little quieter. 

The bigger 10.1-inch infotainment system isn’t an upgrade that was needed, but is a welcome addition, still. It has a sharp resolution with good response times and a simple enough user interface. Connecting your phone for wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is straightforward, and it functions as intended. You would expect Maruti to also upgrade the instrument cluster, but it continues to be analogue with a tiny coloured MID in the middle, and you know what? We actually don’t mind it at all.

The 6-speaker sound system with ARKAMYS Surround Sense tune is nothing exceptional. You’ll enjoy listening to music on it, but it is not as punchy or engaging as the other branded audio systems of the rivals.

If there’s anything we think that Maruti has missed in upgrading, it would be the availability of more Type-C charging ports. Only rear passengers get a single Type-C port, while the front passengers still get a 12V socket and a USB port. In 2026, this should’ve been upgraded. On the charging front, there is a wireless phone charger with cooling vents as well, but my phone kept moving around the tray, and the charging would disconnect often as a result.

Safety

One of the bigger updates with this facelift is the safety package of the Brezza, as the car now boasts a full five-star rating from Bharat NCAP. Aiding that crash test report is a strong on-paper package which gets equipment like six airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX mounts, rear parking sensors and electronic stability program as standard. 

You also get a crisp 360-degree camera with front parking sensors, rear wiper and washer, and a tyre pressure monitoring system in the higher variants. You might be confused into thinking that the Brezza now has an ADAS suite, but it only gets lane change warning, blind spot warning and rear-cross traffic alert. All of these features work well, and you’ll appreciate them especially if you’re a new driver.

Drive Experience

The biggest update of this facelift is under the hood, where the Brezza now gets the 1-litre turbo-petrol engine sourced from the Fronx. However, Maruti has tuned it to produce slightly more power and torque, and this is the engine we sampled on our drive.

MT - Manual Transmission / AT- Automatic Transmission (torque converter)

Ever since the diesel was axed from the lineup, the Brezza was missing a powertrain that felt effortless to overtake and munch the miles. This engine, to some extent, brings that missing torque back and adds zing to the drive experience.

Yes, it is a three-cylinder engine, but Maruti has done a good enough job of masking the harshness that typically comes with losing a cylinder. The vibrations are very minimal while idling, and I personally found the engine note to be sporty rather than harsh.

This engine is only available with a manual transmission, and this combination is perfectly suited for all kinds of use cases. In the city, at slow speeds, the stick and the clutch are easy to operate, and the low-end torque is enough for you to keep pace with the traffic, which keeps gear changes to a minimum. The performance in the mid-range is punchy, so all your overtakes are effortless. 

Where this engine makes a difference is reaching highway cruising speeds and overtakes beyond those speeds. Not only does it feel more eager, but it also feels easier to make overtakes at those speeds. The acceleration is very gradual and enjoyable, but you will have to downshift for overtakes on the highway. 

A fuel efficiency run wasn’t possible with the time we had, but we reckon it’ll do around 12kmpl in the city if driven respectably. However, with the nature of this engine, we wouldn’t be too surprised if you wring its neck at every possible occasion you get.

Ride And Handling

The Brezza continues to be a comfortable car. Despite the pothole-ridden monsoon roads of Navi Mumbai, the front occupants were really happy. No sudden jerks or tossing around of the body was felt over regular potholes and road patches. However, the recovery over a really deep pothole did make the rear passengers ask the driver to slow down. But overall, the ride comfort is solid.

What surprised me was the balance around corners. Sure, the steering is light and not exactly direct, but it is predictable. The body roll around tight bends at moderate speeds was controlled, and the car feels light and willing to change direction. Don’t confuse it with being as poised and sharp as a Kylaq, but it is good enough for a tall SUV that’s more family-oriented. So as a combination of ride comfort and balanced handling, the Brezza is hard to fault. 

Verdict

If you were in the market, looking to buy a simple, comfortable and practical family car which won’t throw you any surprises in your ownership experience, the Brezza continues to be a good option.

But what this facelift adds to those traits is a better feature experience which keeps you more comfortable and an engine option that gives the car a better overall drivability.