The Victoris CNG runs the 1.5-litre K15C 4-cylinder engine with a 5-speed manual. In CNG mode it produces 87 PS and 121 Nm. In petrol mode those numbers are higher, and the smart hybrid assist available( largely a gimmick, tbh) on petrol variants is absent here.

In the city, the car is relaxed. It pulls cleanly from low revs, the gearbox action is light, and the 2,600 mm wheelbase works in its favour by spreading bumps over a wider span so impacts feel less sharp than in shorter cars.

That long wheelbase comes with its own set of problems too.

Do not expect it to handle well in a closed knit situation. The long visibility limiting bonnet combined with a super long wheelbase makes Victoris a bit of a headache when reversing, turning close to dividers or parking in general.

I had to ask our teammate Arjun to get a spot for me while reversing out of our office basement. It was a bit embarrassing but better than dinging a 12 lakhs rupees review unit!

You can read about the most powerful SUVs under 10 lakhs if performance is more important to you than sheer size.

360 degree cameras should have been standard on every Victoris, period!

Now coming back to driving Victoris Push past 80 km/h and the engine gets vocal, the steering lightens up rather than weighting down, and 87 PS on CNG starts to feel like its natural ceiling.

It is not unpleasant, just honest about what it is. For city commuting or occasional highway use this is not a real problem. Regular aggressive highway runs will surface the limits sooner than you want.

The start-stop system defaults to a Comfort setting that is smooth and unobtrusive. You can switch it off entirely.

Maruti claims 27.02 km/kg. In structured testing, the Victoris CNG has returned around 18 km/kg in the city and approximately 26 km/kg on the highway, the latter coming remarkably close to the official figure.

This places it close to the best mileage CNG cars you can buy in 2026.

Mixed use typically lands between 22 and 25 km/kg. Our own dash reading during a city drive in heavy traffic with the AC running showed 17 km/kg, which is exactly what you would expect in stop-go conditions.

If you prefer the convenience of an automatic for such conditions, you may want to look into every CNG automatic car available in the market today.

The LXi CNG we drove as you can see above gets a black and white dual-tone fabric interior, which is genuinely surprising at this trim level. The lighter cabin makes the car feel bigger and airier than budget alternatives, though it will need more effort to keep clean in dusty conditions.

We have also compiled the best cars under 20 lakh with built in air purifiers if cabin air quality is a priority for you.

The headrests are on the thinner side, which starts to matter on longer drives.

The dashboard has a 3-layer design with a crisscross textured finish across the upper panel and door cards. Plastics are not soft-touch, but they fit together firmly with no flex or creaks. It is a step above what you would find in a comparably priced Brezza.

Infotainment And Layout

The 7-inch touchscreen is functional and responsive, though the housing looks a generation behind the slimmer bezels now standard in competitors. Dual front tweeters are included even at this trim, and audio clarity is noticeably better than entry variants usually deliver. Headroom is generous across all 5 seats. 

Boot Space

The boot is the standout feature of the entire interior story. The CNG tank sits underneath the car rather than eating into luggage space, which means you get 1 of the largest boots in the segment, completely uncompromised. That is a genuine and immediate practical advantage over most CNG setups in the market.

The Victoris is a long car. It is noticeably longer than a Creta when parked side by side, which is not something you expect from an Arena product.

The only slight distinction between this and the Grand Vitara, in our team's opinion, is that this looks like a blend of a crossover and a wagon, while the Grand Vitara has a more traditional SUV stance with its squared-off design. 

The front end on the LXi gets halogen projector headlamps with LED DRLs, a genuine step up from what entry buyers are usually handed. The full-width LED tail lamp that sweeps across the tailgate is present even here.

In white, the car looks clean and composed rather than aggressive. Black window trims and door handles create a subtle contrast that works particularly well in this colour.

You may also want to explore every black edition car here.

The 17-inch wheels on the LXi come with steel covers that look dated and are the 1 visual giveaway that you are in the base variant. Most owners will replace them fairly quickly with aftermarket alloys.

This is where the Victoris does something no Arena product has done before. It scored 31.66 out of 32 in adult occupant protection at Bharat NCAP and 43 out of 49 for child occupant protection, the highest score a Maruti has ever achieved at BNCAP. You can check out every car tested by Bharat NCAP to see how it stacks up against rivals.

At Global NCAP, tested under the 2025 protocol, it earned 5 stars in both adult and child categories.

6 airbags are standard on the LXi CNG. ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, hill hold assist, ISOFIX anchors, and rear parking sensors are all present from this variant.

The honest note is that Level 2 ADAS, the 360-degree camera, and the electronic parking brake with auto-hold arrive at higher trims. If you are on a strict budget you might want to look into the cheapest cars with ADAS.

The LXi CNG is structurally safe but without the advanced electronic aids which I think is for the best as these adas type gizmos don't work half the time and if damaged will just throw a dumb engine code paralyzing the entire vehicle.

An interesting anecdote I can recall related loosely to this topic dates back to the COVID lockdown. One of my Rapido drivers actually owned a Mahindra XUV700. He even showed me the connected car app on his phone.

I never asked why he was driving a Rapido despite owning a ₹25 lakh SUV, as it was fairly obvious he had likely been laid off during the pandemic.

During our conversation, he said, and I quote:

“Yeh ADAS wagairah sab nautanki hai. Meri gaadi ke front brake pads ek saal mein ghis gaye. Lane Keep Assist automatic halka sa brake marta rehta hai.”

Translation: “All this ADAS stuff is just a gimmick. My front brake pads wore out within a year because the Lane Keep Assist kept applying the brakes ever so slightly from time to time to keep the car centred in its lane.”

While this was purely his personal experience and not conclusive evidence he further added that the mechanic even admitted that this kind of pad wear unjust one year is unheard off!

1 persistent gripe across all Victoris variants is the absence of a spare wheel. Every variant ships with a puncture repair kit, which becomes a real problem the first time you pick up a nail far from the nearest service centre.

There is no CNG compact SUV at this price that competes on the same terms. The Toyota Urban Cruiser HyRyder and Maruti Grand Vitara both offer CNG but enter above this variant by over a lakh. Neither has a 5-star BNCAP or GNCAP result. The Hyundai Creta, the segment's bestseller, does not offer CNG. The Honda Elevate's Global NCAP record is not something its marketing team leads with.

The 1 thing buyers should know is that the Victoris shares its platform and engine with the Grand Vitara, sold through Nexa at a premium perception. Whether that bothers you depends on your priorities.

The Victoris LXi CNG earns its reputation by doing the fundamentals right at a price where most manufacturers cut corners on things that actually matter. 6 airbags from the base variant. An underbody CNG tank that leaves the boot completely usable. Ride quality well suited to Indian roads. A white and black interior that does not look like a base trim.

The weaknesses are real. The engine runs short of breath at speed. The infotainment housing looks a generation behind. The headrests are thin. The steel wheel covers are ugly. The lack of a spare wheel is a genuine problem Maruti has not addressed.

At its price, it is an unusually complete package.

The LXi CNG makes sense if monthly running is high and the budget is genuinely fixed. The premium over the petrol LXi is around Rs 1 lakh, and at current CNG prices in most metros you recover that gap in roughly 18 months of city driving.

The VXi CNG sits about Rs 1.3 lakh above this and adds a better infotainment screen, Suzuki Connect, TPMS, and a digital instrument cluster. For a car with multiple daily users, those additions earn their cost.

Alloy wheels, rear camera, ambient lighting, and the panoramic sunroof live from ZXi and above. The LXi CNG is for buyers who want the platform, the safety, and the running cost, and are comfortable personalising the rest over time.

In Pearl Arctic White, this car turns heads in a way that does not immediately read as base trim, and that goes a long way in daily life.

Maruti is running its strongest current benefits on the Victoris this month. Strong hybrid variants are eligible for up to Rs 90,000 in total benefits, CNG variants up to Rs 80,000, and petrol mild-hybrid variants up to Rs 60,000. 

The benefits stack exchange bonuses, scrappage incentives, loyalty offers, and cash discounts, so the actual cash component varies. Buyers upgrading from an older car or scrapping one get the most out of the structure. Maruti has separately reduced prices on 4 Victoris variants by up to Rs 39,000 ahead of these offers, so on-road costs are at their lowest since launch.

Sources: Maruti Suzuki official website, Dealer calls and visits in Delhi NCR, offers may be nationwide or local, contact nearest maruti dealer here for best and latest offers on Victoris.