Comparison: Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza

Launched in 2016, the Maruti Suzuki Brezza is the longest-running compact SUV, and today, it stands strong as the best-selling car of its segment. In terms of competition from Korean cars, the Brezza has long remained fiercely competitive with the  Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet. However, now the Brezza has an all-new Korean rival, the Kia Syros, which strongly challenges one of Brezza’s most attractive qualities – practicality. In addition to a high practicality, the Kia Syros offers a lot that can lure you away from buying the Brezza. If you are confused between the two, do not worry, as in this comparison of Maruti Suzuki Brezza vs Kia Syros, we compare the most important facets of both and determine which one you should buy.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: Dimensions & Design

Dimensionally, the Kia Syros is almost as large as the Maruti Brezza as the 15 mm difference in widths and 5 mm difference in heights do not make any tangible impact on the space offered on the inside. However, what does make a difference is the 50 mm longer wheelbase of the Kia Syros, which offers better legroom for the rear seat passengers. A special advantage that the Kia Syros has is the slidable rear seat. In the furthest position of the rear seat, the Kia Syros offers a rather generous 465 litres of boot space, and in the rearrest position of the rear seat, it offers 390 litres of boot space and a lot of legroom for the rear passengers.

Of all its rivals, the Kia Syros is closest to the Maruti Brezza in terms of appearance due to its boxy silhouette. Much like the Brezza, this boxy silhouette makes the Syros look practical and spacious. Nonetheless, the Syros also appeals as something more modern and futuristic compared to Brezza and its other rivals. This is especially due to a rather digital look it carries on its upright face, where it features neat triple ice cube headlights bracketed by slim vertical LED DRLS fixed in the black cladding, and a concealed grille area, which is perhaps a cue of its electric-powered avatar that will launch soon. Its side profile again highlights the boxy design and chunky black cladding, covering the bottom end of the SUV and adding some muscle. The upright rear is clean, and like the front, it exudes a futuristic vibe, especially with cool-looking L-shaped DRLS that flank the rear windshield, while the tail lamps are integrated into the black cladding near the rear fenders.

The Maruti Brezza, on the other hand, look more traditional. Its upright front end features a flat grille, a bull bar-like bumper, and a contrasting scuff plate lower down. The slender headlamp units house slim dual-DRLS. The side profile maintains the boxy silhouette with blacked-out pillars and chunky black cladding that runs across the bottom end of the SUV. Like the front end, the rear end is upright, and it features the prominent ‘Brezza’ badging, wide swept tail lights, and a chunky dual-tone bumper with the contrasting scuff plate.

The Kia Syros is almost as large as the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, however, it is more spacious on the inside. Meanwhile, the Kia Syros looks more modern and futuristic than the Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: Engine & Transmission

In terms of powertrains, despite having a larger 1.5-litre petrol engine, the Maruti Brezza produces less power compared to the smaller 1-litre turbo engine of the Kia Syros. While the 103 PS power of the Maruti Brezza does a decent job in city driving, on highways, you might feel the need for more power while accelerating. This puts the Brezza at a major disadvantage not only in comparison with the Syros, but also with its other turbocharged rivals like Tata Nexon, Kia Sonet, and Hyundai Venue. In addition to that, the Brezza misses a diesel engine, which most of its direct rivals, including the Syros, offer.

At the same time, due to a turbocharger, the 1-litre petrol engine of the Syros produces more than enough power to meet your city and highway driving needs. Moreover, compared to the torque converter automatic of the Brezza, the Syros offers a sportier dual-clutch automatic.

In terms of ride quality, both Kia Syros and Maruti Brezza satisfactorily smother most bumps, especially at low speeds. At high speeds, both these SUVs can feel slightly jerky on bumps, but not to the point of causing discomfort.

The Kia Syros is more powerful than the Maruti Brezza and is equipped with a sportier automatic transmission. Moreover, while the Maruti Brezza has the advantage of offering CNG variants, the Kia Syros is the only option between the two if you want a diesel-powered SUV.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: Features & Comfort

On the inside, the Kia Syros feels substantially superior and far more modern than the Maruti Brezza. In its front section, the Kia Syros sports a clean dual-tone dashboard that has a 30-inch glass panel, integrating a 12.3-inch central touchscreen for infotainment, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with customisable displays, and a 5-inch HVAC touchscreen in the middle. A special thing about the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) controls is that while you can control them from the 5-inch touchscreen, Kia has also given more easy-to-use physical buttons to do the same. Moreover, even though the squarish two-spoke steering wheel is not a standout feature, it does make things look futuristic.

On the other hand, the Maruti Brezza’s interior looks slightly dated, especially in comparison with the Kia Syros. It has a layered design for the dashboard and a rather traditional three-spoke steering wheel. Moreover, there is a free-standing touchscreen for the infotainment and an analogue digital instrument cluster, which again, makes it lag behind the Kia Syros when it comes to modernity. At the same time, for the rear passengers, the Brezza packs ample headroom and legroom, something which has always been its strong point.

As far as features are concerned, the Kia Syros is generations superior to the Maruti Brezza. Some of the key advantages of the Kia Syros include a panoramic sunroof, a much better-sounding 8-speaker Harman Kardon music system, ventilated front and rear seats, reclinable rear seats, a digital instrument cluster, a 4-way powered driver seat, and a dual-camera dashcam.

On the inside, the Kia Syros is far more modern and premium than the Maruti Suzuki Brezza. Even in terms of feature wealth, the Kia Syros is far superior to the Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: Safety Features

While both the Kia Syros and Maruti Suzuki Brezza have all the essential safety features, the Kia Syros has proven itself as one of the safest cars in India, scoring a full 5-star rating in the Bharat NCAP safety test. Meanwhile, in its top variants, the Kia Syros also offers the coveted Level-2 ADAS safety suite, which mitigates the possibility of accidents. This suite consists of front collision warning and avoidance assist, leading vehicle departure alert, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane follow assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, high-beam alert, driver attention warning, and parking collision avoidance assist. All the same, the latest Maruti Brezza is based on its pre-facelift model, which scored a 4-star rating in the Global NCAP safety test. This means the Brezza is more than satisfactorily safe.

Having scored a full 5-star Bharat NCAP safety rating, the Kia Syros is safer than the Maruti Brezza and offers the advantage of the Level-2 ADAS safety suite.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: Price comparison

The Kia Syros is priced higher than the Maruti Brezza. However, for the advantages the Kia Syros offers in terms of flexibility, modernity, features, and safety, it comes across as a more value-for-money option than the Maruti Brezza. Meanwhile, prices of the Maruti Brezza with respect to its package have long been considered higher. However, this might have something to do with its resale value, as the Maruti Brezza commands a fantastic resale value in the used car market.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: Summary

Overall, the Kia Syros is a better car than the Maruti Brezza. In comparison, the Korean compact SUV is more spacious, feels more modern both on the inside and outside, is safer, and packs a far more appealing feature package. This is the car you should go for if your budget allows you to and if you intend to use your car for the long term.

At the same time, if you want a car that you might resell soon, the Maruti Brezza can offer you better resale value. But this is not all it has to offer. The Indo-Japanese is the best-selling car in its segment for a reason. The Brezza offers ample space for five passengers and appealing fuel efficiency. What further adds to its appeal is the widest service network of Maruti Suzuki and the cheap maintenance cost. Last but not least, if you want a CNG-powered compact SUV, the Maruti Brezza is the only option between these two cars.

Kia Syros vs Maruti Suzuki Brezza: FAQs