Comparison: Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon

Compact SUVs are the hottest-selling cars in India and the Indo-Japanese carmaker has rolled out its new Maruti Fronx compact SUV at the starting price of Rs 7.47 lakh (ex-showroom). The Maruti Fronx is based on the best-selling car in India, Maruti Baleno, and is the brand’s latest addition to its Nexa premium line-up. The appearance, feature-laden package, and expected price of the Maruti Fronx make it a competent rival of the best-selling compact SUV in India, Tata Nexon. In this comparison story of Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon, we compare both SUVs on decisive grounds and find out which of the two is more suited to your requirements.

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Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: Dimensions

The Maruti Fronx is marginally longer and has a 22 mm longer wheelbase as compared to the Tata Nexon. However, the Tata Nexon is 46 mm wider, 56 mm taller, offering a bit more head room and shoulder room than the Maruti Fronx. To sum it up, both SUVs have some dimensional differences but come across as amply spacious 5-seaters. Moreover, the larger 350 litres of the Tata Nexon offer more luggage-carrying convenience than the smaller 308 litres of boot space of the Maruti Fronx.

As far as looks go, both SUVs are built for very different tastes. The Maruti Fronx’s front end largely replicates the face of the Grand Vitara, with the upright face featuring NEXwave grille, a chrome bar running across the grille connecting slim triple-cube LED DRLs with Suzuki badge in the centre. The lower half of the bumper highlights the triple-cube headlamps with triangular housing. While the side profile has been largely carried over from Maruti Baleno, the overall coupe design does make things visually similar to the Tata Nexon, with the sloping roofline, rising waistline, the chunky black cladding delineating the bottom end of the SUV. The rear end of the Fronx presents a good mix of sophisticated and sporty aesthetics – while the stylish triple seven-pattern tail lamps linked by an LED light bar add a touch of elegance, the chunky rear bumper, and faux skid plate give the rear profile some muscle.

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The Tata Nexon on the other hand looks more muscular and is one of the best-looking cars in India. The aggressive front fascia of the Nexon sports an enclosed gloss black grille connecting the headlamps with Tata badging in the centre, chromed C-shaped surrounds around the fog lamps, a stylish tri-arrow pattern on the lower air intake, and the faux scuff plate adding to the butch appeal. The side profile highlights coloured strips at the base of the windows, a prominent shoulder line, the blacked-out A, B, and C pillars, flared wheel arches, and the black-cladding section at the lower end. The triple-tone rear end of Nexon is adorned with sleek tail lamps, muscular bumper, and chromed lettering of ‘Nexon’.

Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: Engine & Transmission

In the mechanical department, both cars have some advantages over each other. Speaking of the Nexon, both engines are more powerful and produce more torque than the engines of the Maruti Fronx. Moreover, Nexon gives the option of a diesel engine, which the Maruti Fronx misses.

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However, if we look solely at the turbo-petrol engines, the 1.0-litre engine of Fronx is offered with the option of torque converter automatic transmission which is smoother than the AMT offered in Nexon. In addition to that, both engines of the Maruti Fronx come with mild-hybrid technology and are considerably more frugal than the engines of the Tata Nexon.

Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: Features & Comfort

The cabins of both SUVs look and feel upmarket, however, differ in the overall ambience for the passengers. The interiors of the Fronx are largely carried over from the Baleno, like the dual-tone layered dashboard, free-standing 9-inch touchscreen with the trapezoidal frame, and trapezoidal central AC vents among other bits. The Tata Nexon on the other hand has a neat, well-laid-out, and sophisticated-looking cabin. The solid triple-tone dashboard and tri-arrow pattern on the seats give Nexon a style of its own. A major difference between the SUVs is their ground clearance. The 209 mm of ground clearance of Nexon makes the seating considerably higher than that of the Maruti Fronx which has 190 mm of ground clearance. Both SUVs offer comfortable seating for 5 occupants, however, the Maruti Fronx misses the armrest for the rear seat passengers.

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Feature-wise, the Tata Nexon is considerably richer than the Maruti Fronx. The advantages of Nexon include a sunroof, ventilated front seats, leatherette upholstery, a digital instrument cluster, drive modes, and an air purifier. While the digital instrument cluster and drive modes augment the driving convenience, the sunroof, ventilated front seats, leatherette upholstery, and air purifier enrich the overall ride comfort on offer. Nevertheless, the Maruti Fronx also has a couple of advantages over the Nexon such as a head-up display and LED headlamps.

Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: Safety Features

On the grounds of passenger safety, the Tata Nexon is miles ahead of the Maruti Fronx. The Tata Nexon is one of the safest cars in India and its 5-star G-NCAP safety rating is a testimony of its formidable construction. Moreover, to maximise passenger safety, the Nexon  offers most of the safety features from its base variants onwards. These features include ABS with EBD, dual airbags, rear sensors, brake assist, traction control, disc brake wiping, roll-over mitigation, ESP, and hill hold.

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The Maruti Fronx on the other hand sports a host of safety features to provide maximum safety to passengers. The availability of 6 airbags will make the Fronx one of the budget-friendly cars with 6 airbags. The Maruti Fronx is underpinned by the HEARTECT platform, it’ll be interesting to see how well it scores on the G-NCAP safety test.

Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: Price comparison

The comparison so far shows the Tata Nexon is a more powerful, feature-rich, and safer proposition than the Maruti Fronx. And the price comparison resembles that it will bring all these in almost similar price as that of the Maruti Fronx, making it a considerably more value-for-money package as compared to the Maruti Fronx.

Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: Summary

The Tata Nexon wins by a big margin for its more powerful set of engines, more features on-board, and a 5-star rated safety. All the same, the Maruti Fronx does have the upper hand of better fuel efficiency which is a trademark of the Maruti family. So, if you are looking for a comfortable compact SUV that delivers pocket-friendly mileage, Maruti Fronx should be a better choice. However, if you prioritise safety over mileage and want a solid compact SUV that is replete with upmarket features, then Tata Nexon is your car.

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Maruti Fronx vs Tata Nexon: FAQs