What is it?

While all of us spent the majority of last year waiting for the Jimny to become official, Maruti Suzuki was cooking up something a little extra and it’s what you see here. The all-new Fronx which may look like a small crossover but it’s actually based on the Baleno although that’s not a bad thing at all because the new Baleno is a pretty impressive car and if we take into account what we are seeing here, the Fronx could become just as popular and yet another strong seller for Maruti. So let’s take a look.

The Fronx is part of Maruti’s SUV and crossover lineup and it sits below the Brezza and the Jimny. So naturally it’s got all the butch design ingredients to make it look more substantial than the Baleno which its based on. You get a large bumper with these integrated headlights, a grille that’s more in your face and a pretty substantial dose of black cladding all around. It’s a genuinely good looking car and Maruti has done a good job of differentiating it from the Baleno. We especially love the detailing on the taillights and the one piece light bar that joins the taillight units.

In terms of size and road presence, the Fronx is 3,995 millimeters in length, 1,765 millimeters in width and its 1,550 millimeters off the ground. Now when you compare these with the Baleno you will see that the Fronx is a tad bit more substantial although the real world difference in size will be not be perceptible. Also, the wheelbase on the Fronx and the Baleno is identical so it’s not like you are going to get more room inside the cabin.

How is the Fronx on the inside?

The Fronx shares its cabin with the Baleno and you will notice that as soon as you step in. Everything from the steering wheel, the dials, the center console and the seats are from the Baleno. Now I do appreciate the look and feel of this cabin but it looks identical to other similarly priced Maruti cars. In fact, the basic design, the colors and textures used in the Baleno, the Brezza and the Grand Vitara are pretty much the same so a little originality here would have been nice, especially since so much work has gone into the exterior design of this car.

What kind of features does the Fronx get?

There are five variants including Sigma, Delta, Delta+, Zeta, and Alpha. As for the features, it doesn’t matter what variant you choose, you will get dual airbags, ESP, hill hold assist, reverse parking sensors, rear defogger, keyless entry, dual-tone interior, 60:40 split for the rear seat, front and rear power windows, automatic climate control and a flat bottom steering wheel as standard. Go for the most expensive Alpha variant and you will get all the new age features.

There’s a heads up display with turn-by-turn navigation, a 360 view camera, wireless charger, cruise control, 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels and a feature loaded infotainment system with a 9-inch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also get side and curtain airbags, tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel, height adjustment for the driver’s seat, rear AC vents, push button start, leather-wrapped steering wheel and LED headlights as standard on this top-spec variant.

What is the Fronx powered by?

Again, the engine and gearbox options are all too familiar. There is a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine which can be had with either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT gearbox. What’s big news though is the fact that the 1-litre, three cylinder Boosterjet engine has made a comeback with the Fronx. Now that engine is turbocharged and we have seen it earlier in the old Baleno RS. It makes nearly 100 horsepower and 150Nm of torque. In the old RS you could have had it with only gearbox option which is the 5-speed manual but with the Fronx you also get a six speed torque converter automatic which is basically the same gearbox that’s there in the Brezza and the XL6.

What about pricing and competition?

Bookings for the Fronx are already open but we do not know what the pricing is going to be like. Now we expect the 1.2-litre variants to be priced around a lakh or so more than the equivalent Baleno variant but it will be a different story for the 1-litre turbocharged engine variants because after all, it is an expensive engine to make. Also, we have seen that there is a big price difference between the automatic and manual versions of the Brezza and the XL6 so it is likely that the Fronx 1-litre turbo variant with the torque converter automatic will carry a big premium over the 1.2-litre AMT variants.