Maruti Invicto Long Term Introduction: Time To Get Greedy

For a long time I did not pick a Long Term Test car because it was time to give others in the team a chance to experience the format. Not this time though. 

I have an MPV fetish. My dream car to own is a Volkswagen ID Buzz however I can also settle for a Kia Carnival. But till the time VW decides to launch it here or my job pays me well enough to buy a Carnival, my realistic vehicle of choice is the Maruti Invicto. So naturally when we got confirmation from Maruti about having the Invicto for 3 months, it was time to pull rank and grab the keys. 

There are a few reasons why I have always preferred the Invicto over the Toyota Innova HyCross. If you don't know, these two are identical cars with just a few feature differences and different brand logos. Firstly, the Invicto misses out on the rear seat powered functionality and the leg support that the Innova has. This is a feature which feels very useful on day one but keeps on losing novelty as you spend time on the back seat. And secondly, unlike the HyCross, the Invictos does not get ADAS. I am yet to drive a car where I feel that the ADAS is non intrusive. To me, if there is a choice to disable ADAS, I will always do it. And because it does not get both of these features, it costs Rs 2.5 lakhs less. That just makes a lot of sense in my books. 

From the day I have had the keys to the Invicto, there are a few things that I am having a hard time adjusting to. Firstly, the infotainment. It's bad. This standalone unit has a display from the early 2000s and absolutely no functionality connected to the car itself. It wont tell you the mileage, battery status, or any other vehicle related details. In a time where cars are using the touchscreen as an interface between the driver and the onboard computer, this touchscreen is simply not acceptable. 

The Apple CarPlay is wireless but the Android Auto is wired. Why? And finally, the sound system. It's sub-par. Definitely not up to mark for a Rs 30 Lakh car. It's not branded and the quality feels more in place for a Rs 10 lakh hatchback and not a brand flagship. 

Second is the overall quality of the cabin that just feels cheaply put together. The plastics on the dashboard, doors and every control on the steering feels light and flimsy. I am having a hard time adjusting to these even after moving to the Invicto from the Kia Sonet which costs half of the Invicto.

But, and there is a very huge but. The Incivto is SPACIOUS! Kids or adults anywhere in the car feel like they have more than enough room to spare. Every seat feels like it's designed for comfort and no occupant has ever complained about anything. 

It's super spacious and very comfortable over bad roads. That is very important to me because I usually have a lot of friends accompanying me everywhere and the roads in and around Pune are currently in very bad shape. 

So as of now, there is a mixed bag of emotions which will become clearer over the next three months. I plan on a long road trip, everyday office commutes, and requests to borrow the car have already started arriving from colleagues who need it for family functions. Fun times ahead. 

Finally, I name all my long termers, and for the Invicto, I will call it Alfred. Yes, Batman's butler Alfred. Because it feels old and mature, and takes good care of the family. Honestly, it is a bit boring but in a good dependable way.