Maruti Suzuki Victoris Long Term Report: Month 2 - Mr Frugal

I drove to the hills of Himachal for the year-end holidays with our long-term Victoris, the strong hybrid version. Now, anyone considering this variant is likely prioritising fuel efficiency above everything else. So, during my recent 1,200km journey, the aim was simple: to find out just how efficient it really is across different driving conditions – city roads, expressways, and mountain roads.

Day 1 involved a Delhi-Chandigarh run, roughly 300 kilometres. Thanks to the newly inaugurated Delhi-Katra Expressway and the Trans-Haryana Expressway, I often cruised at 100-120km/h. Interestingly, while the Victoris was returning a stellar 21 km/l in the city, it dropped to 17.5 km/l by the time I reached Chandigarh. The next day, I began climbing towards Kalga, a quaint little village in Himachal. Just as I was exiting Chandigarh, the Victoris hit reserve. I tanked it up – it gulped down 36 litres of fuel, reset the trip meter, and decided to run a reserve-to-reserve fuel economy test.

As expected, fuel efficiency took a further hit while climbing, dropping to 13 km/l. Honestly, this wasn’t surprising – when you demand sustained power from a hybrid system, efficiency is bound to suffer. However, on the return leg, the Victoris bounced back with an impressive 22km/l. By the time it hit reserve again, I had covered 632km on the odometer – an average fuel efficiency of around 17-17.5km/l. Not bad at all, considering the mixed driving conditions.

Beyond efficiency, the Victoris proved quite comfortable on such a long journey. Any drawbacks? A few. The brakes, especially when working in tandem with regenerative braking, feel wooden and don’t inspire much confidence. The Infinity sound system doesn’t sound particularly special either. Lastly, the strong hybrid versions miss out on ADAS features – something I did miss, especially adaptive cruise control, while cruising on the new expressways.