Maruti Brezza vs Dzire in a drag race: Same engine, different result [Video]

Maruti Suzuki Dzire is the best selling compact sedan in the country right now. The Maruti Vitara Brezza is another top seller from the company that triumphs compact SUV sales chart. Like several other companies, Maruti Suzuki also shares its engines across different cars and platforms.

The same is the case with the Dzire and Vitara Brezza, which get powered by the exact same diesel engine. To be precise, it is a 1248 cc motor but with different outputs on both the cars. Can you guess which one of them would win if a drag race was held between them. Let’s find out in the video below.

https://youtu.be/fmpXcTgn2v4

As we have already seen in the video, the Vitara Brezza wins. A total of 5 rounds were held in which 2 were won by the Dzire and 3 by Vitara Brezza. Before we start explaining, let’s take a look at the engine output of both the cars. The 1248 cc diesel engine on the Dzire produces 74 Bhp of power along with 190 Nm of torque. On the other hand, the same engine churns out 89 Bhp of power along with 200 Nm of torque on the Vitara Brezza.

Another factor to keep in mind is the difference in weight between the cars. While being more powerful, the Vitara Brezza has a hefty 1170 kg kerb weight. Whereas the Dzire tips the scales at just 955 kg. This gives then an almost identical power to weight ratio of 77.4 Bhp/tonne for Dzire and 76.06 Bhp/tonne for Vitara Brezza. So as you see, more power on Brezza has nothing to do with the drag results. Let’s now find out why the lighter and more aerodynamic Dzire lost to the Bulky Brezza.

1. As this was a quarter mile drag race, the more early a car can access its full torque, the better it will perform. For the Vitara Brezza, peak torque of 200 Nm arrives at 1,750 rpm compared to 190 Nm@2,000 rpm of Dzire. Therefore, the Brezza gets an advantage in acceleration over the Dzire.

2. Being a heavier SUV, the Vitara Brezza has a turbo boost of 21 psi. This is greater than Dzire’s 18 psi turbo boost. This is another point of advantage for the Brezza.

3. Another important factor in drag races is gear ratio. Since the Brezza is heavier, it has a shorter gearing ratio than compared to the Dzire. This helps Vitara get off the line more quickly. However, this also means that it would lose out to Dzire in terms of top speed, but in drag race, it is an advantage.

4. Since this race is being conducted on an unpaved ground, tyres are playing an important role too. This is not to say that tyres are not important on tarmac but the Vitara Brezza is having bigger and more dirt friendly tyres since its a compact SUV. Had the race been held on tarmac, it is quite possible that the results would have been different.