Goodbye Suzuki Vitara Brezza

The new Suzuki Vitara Brezza will not be coming to South Africa, meaning the popular crossover’s days in the country are coming to an end.

Suzuki South Africa confirmed to TopAuto that Maruti Suzuki, which manufactures the car in India, has made the decision not to bring the new Vitara Brezza to South Africa as an export model.

With no new models entering the country, the remaining local stock is expected to last another three months.

Goodbye Suzuki Vitara Brezza

The Vitara Brezza is one of the country’s best-selling cars. It has a local starting price of R262,900, making it the cheapest crossover in Suzuki’s catalogue and one of the most affordable mini-SUVs in South Africa overall.

It runs on a 1.5-litre petrol engine generating 77kW and 138Nm, and is available with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox giving it a frugal fuel consumption of 6.2l/100km.

Standard equipment then comprises 16-inch wheels, electric windows, a multifunction steering wheel, automatic air conditioning, fabric seats, rear parking sensors, a reverse camera, and a 7-inch infotainment unit with smartphone connectivity.

Higher-trim levels additionally receive alloy wheels, LED headlights and daytime running lights, auto-folding side mirrors, climate control, keyless start and entry, a leather steering wheel, cruise control, and a digital driver display.

What’s replacing the Vitara Brezza

The Vitara Brezza’s discontinuation follows similar news from Toyota that the Urban Cruiser is ceasing production at its plant in India.

The two cars were effectively half-siblings, developed in a joint venture between the two carmakers, and as such the Brezza and Cruiser had near-identical spec sheets.

Toyota and Suzuki both have new crossovers coming to South Africa this year in the form of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Grand Vitara respectively, though these cars are unlikely to be apples-to-apples replacements for the ones we are losing.

Toyota has warned that the new Cruiser will see a significant price bump over the outgoing model, and the Grand Vitara is shaping up to be a higher-spec model than even the current Vitara, which starts at R438,900.

Instead, it looks like the upcoming Suzuki Fronx will replace the Vitara Brezza as the automaker’s most affordable crossover in South Africa.

The Fronx is based on the Baleno hatchback which launched last year, giving it a crossover-coupe body style that is currently only found on something like the VW Taigo.

The sloping roof design is complemented by new LED headlamps, a singular rear lightbar, “crystal block” daytime running lights, dual-finish alloy wheels, and various chrome finishes.

Suzuki has yet to confirm the equipment levels of the Fronx, but the Indian version of the crossover comes with a 9-inch media screen, a multifunction steering wheel with paddle shifters, a heads-up display, a 360-degree camera, a wireless phone charger, and dual-zone climate control.

In South Africa, the Baleno is sold with the 1.5-litre engine found in the Vitara Brezza, but in India the Fronx is available with either a 1.2-litre powerplant with 66kW and 113Nm, or a 1.0-litre turbo with 74kW and 148Nm.

The South African pricing and spec sheet for the Suzuki Fronx will be revealed closer to its launch date, though the automaker has yet to confirm when this will be.