India’s Most Fuel Efficient Car Ciaz Goes on Sale

Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest car maker, on Tuesday said bookings for its much awaited Ciaz sedan will open on September 3. The mid-sized premium sedan, which will replace SX4 in Maruti’s stable, will compete with segment leader Honda City and Hyundai Verna.

Bookings can be done across Maruti’s 1,370 sales outlets spread across more than 1,050 cities, the company said in a statement today. Customers will have to pay Rs. 21,000 as booking amount, Maruti said.

Exterior

The Ciaz is based on the Suzuki Authentics concept that debuted at the 2014 Shanghai Motor Show in April and then shown in production form as the China- spec Alivio sedan. The new car gets an aggressive front fascia, with trapezoidal front grille. It has ample amount of chrome with the headlamps being angular and stretched out. The overall dimensions of the new sedan are a bit bigger than the outgoing SX4 but in terms of overall dimensions, it will not be too far away from the older car.

The side profile reveals a rather conservative design but one that should work for Maruti Suzuki. It includes softly flared wheel arches, chrome door handles and really strong shoulder line which works well with the forward leaning stance of the car.

The rear gets the now segment standard wrap around tail lamps which gives the car a premium look. The rear bumper is pretty large and includes integrated reflectors. Maruti Suzuki has also included a lip spoiler and chrome badges across all variants.

Interiors

The Ciaz’s interiors are similar to that of the Ertiga with the all-beige treatment. The drop trims and other inserts will be premium as this will slot it in the segment above the Ertiga. The SX4 has always been a spacious car and the same will be the case with the YL1. The cabin will be ergonomic and designed to comfortably seat three adults on the rear bench.

The features on the new car will include a factory-fitted music system with Bluetooth and multimedia functions. The AC with climate control will feature on the mid and top-end variants along with rear vents. Steering mounted audio control, cooled glove box, door pockets at the back are few other features that will be available with the new car. Maruti might also offer a premium package with leather seats as an optional extra. The safety features in the new car will include ABS-EBD and two airbags as standard for the top- end variants.

Engine and Gearbox

The petrol version of the Ciaz will be powered by the 1.4-litre K-Series engine from the Ertiga producing 93bhp and 130Nm of torque. The base variants will be available with a five-speed manual transmission. The diesel on the other hand is expected to be a 1.3-litre Multijet unit that produces 90bhp and 200Nm of torque. Both engines will be offered with a five-speed manual, while the petrol may also get the option of the AMT from the Celerio.

Spy pictures reveal that the Ciaz will be offered in six variants-three and diesel of which a new variant is the VXi+/VDi+ which is the new mid-level variant.

According to Maruti, Ciaz (diesel) will be India’s most fuel efficient car with an efficiency of 26.21 kmpl. Currently, Honda City (diesel) is the most fuel efficient car in the country, returning 26 kmpl (ARAI certified). The petrol variant of Ciaz has a fuel efficiency of 20.73 kmpl, the best amongst the sedans of its class, Maruti says.

“We are up to the level of Honda City,” said Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava.

By launching the Ciaz, Maruti will take the first step to double its number of models over the next few years. The company is slated to launch an SUV to compete with Renault’s Duster soon. It is also working on a compact SUV to take on segment leader Ford EcoSport.

Ciaz’s launch comes at a time when Maruti is in the news for all the right reasons. The company’s August vehicle sales rose 26.9 per cent from a year earlier, beating expectations.

Domestic sales were in line with expectations but exports were higher than expectations, dealers said.

Maruti Suzuki shares hit a record high of Rs. 2,963 earlier in trade today.