Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara electric SUV: Top five highlights explained

Maruti Suzuki India will soon launch the new Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara electric SUV in the Indian market. The e-Vitara will mark the company’s first electric vehicle for India and will be manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat plant, from where it will also be exported to more than 100 countries, including markets in Europe and Japan. Ahead of its launch, let’s take a look at the top five things you need to know about the new e-Vitara. Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara: Design The Maruti e-Vitara looks very similar to the eVX concept and packs in a muscular design. At the front, it features tri-LED daytime running lights with a closed-off grille. The lower bumper resembles the Brezza's and houses a small fog lamp, with skid plates. The charging port is located on the front flanks and has a prominent bulge over the rear wheel arch. At the sides, it gets aerodynamically designed alloy wheels, which likely measure 18 inches, and the rear door handle is placed on the C-pillar. At the rear, it features connecting taillights with an integrated spoiler. Other highlights include e-Vitara lettering on the centre, a high-mounted stop lamp, a skid plate, and there’s also a small squarish fog lamp at the lower part of the bumper. In terms of dimensions, the e-Vitara measures 4,275mm in length, 1,800mm in width, 1,635mm in height and has a generous 2,700mm wheelbase. It has 180mm ground clearance and has a kerb weight of up to 1,900 kgs.Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara: Interior Moving inside, the interior of the e-Vitara looks completely fresh and doesn’t look similar to any other Suzuki product globally. It features floating dual screens for the instrument cluster and the infotainment screen. It also gets a floating centre console finished in gloss black,k which packs in controls for gear selection, e-brake, and drive mode selection and also has a wireless charging pad. Other highlights include a two-spoke steering wheel, rectangular AC vents with their brushed silver surrounds, rotary drive state selector and leatherette upholstery. Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara: Features and safety Features-wise, it gets a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.1-inch infotainment screen supported by wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, cloud-based navigation, panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting with 12 colour options and ventilated front seats. Apart from that, it gets features such as wireless charging, a JBL sound system, automatic climate control, multiple USB ports, and an in-cabin air purifier. In terms of safety, the model gets seven airbags as standard, ABS, EBD, ESP, a 360-degree camera, and Level 2 ADAS functions such as Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Monitor, Adaptive Cruise Control, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and more.Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara: Battery The new Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara is built on an all-new Heartect-e platform designed exclusively for EVs. The company claims that it merges the characteristics of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) with the durability of an SUV. The EV features eAxles, which integrate the motor and inverter into a single unit. The e-Vitara will be offered with two battery options – 49kWh and 61kWh. The batteries use LFP (Lithium Iron-phosphate) ‘blade’ cells sourced by BYD.Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara: Motor and range The 49kWh battery will come paired with a single motor placed on the front axle, which puts out 144hp. The bigger 61kWh battery also gets single-motor but here it puts out 174hp. Both motors produce identical 189Nm of torque. Talking about range, the EV has a claimed range of 440 km with the 49 kWh battery pack, while the larger 61 kWh version is rated at 543 km on a single charge.