MARUTI SUZUKI LAUNCHES ITS NEW CAR "MARUTI CIAZ"

September 06, 2014: Maruti Suzuki Ciaz has garnered 3000 bookings in mere 3 days since the bookings have started.The advance booking for the upcoming Ciaz were started on September 3rd at a price of Rs 21,000. Ciaz will be launched against the likes of Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Speaking about the engine, Ciaz will be offered in both petrol and diesel, the petrol version will feature a 1.4-liter K14 petrol engine while the diesel counterpart will sport a 1.3-liter DDiS turbo diesel mill, both of which are coupled to a 5 speed manual while a 4-speed AT on petrol will be offered later. Prominent features on the Ciaz are, projector headlamps, touchscreen infotainment system, rear AC vents while on the safety front expect ABS, EBD and driver airbag are standard (except the base trim) in the upcoming sedan. Petrol variants will be named as VXI, VXI+, ZXI and ZXI+ while the diesel variants are named as VDI, VDI+, ZDI and ZDI+.
aruti Suzuki India Limited has unveiled the much anticipated Ciaz Concept Sedan in the Auto Expo as declared. This new sedan is touted to be the replacement of the Maruti SX4 sedan, which was first launched way back in year 2007, and since then the vehicle has not received any major updates. The major rivals of the vehicle are Honda city and Hyundai Verna, these are constantly updated and even the Fluidic Verna dethroned the segment king City. The SX4 sold well in the initial years of the launch, but lacking of the diesel alternative and face lifts, mars the sales of the vehicle. The 1.3L Multi-Jet diesel engine powered sedan came late in 2011, this delay had cost the home grown manufacturer a lot. The market was already conquered by the Fluidic Verna. The vehicle got a mild facelift sometime back, which included the new chrome based grille and infotainment system along with quite a few other things. These minuscule changes didn't help the vehicle in sales and still showed declining numbers. None of the offerings from the manufacturer in the high end segment is helping in the overall profit of the organization, except the Ertiga MPV.

The company is planning to rebuild the SX4 brand in our country. Following this, the car maker has now unveiled this new vehicle called as Maruti Ciaz. This latest entrant is said to be in the same space as that of SX4 and is expected to increase the sales. The new sedan is based on the Suzuki's Authentics concept, premiered at the Shanghai Motor Show 2013. As Honda City is also regaining whats lost with this new revamp and introduction of diesel mill in the lineup. The company has definitely focused on class leading features and interior space. As far as the design of the vehicle is considered, it is now more streamlined and classy compared to the prevalent SX4 sedan in the market. At the front you get projector headlamps, long air dam and edgy bumper. Then there are a few prominent crease lines that flows from the grill merges with the A-pillar. Going onto the side profile of the vehicle is kind of simple with a crease line running along the shoulder line and the new external wing mirrors, which have been integrated with a turn indicator. The high boot design from the SX4 is continued in this sedan also. The large tail lamps flow into the back fender merging with the shoulder line.

Powering this sedan will be the K series based 1.4-litre petrol engine from the current line up. While it is expected to come with a 1.6-litre diesel mill, which will be a multi-jet based motor that is said to be from their Italian partner, Fiat. The petrol variants will be handled by K14 engine, powering the prevalent Ertiga MPV. This engine might be tweaked for better low end torque and efficiency. The 1373cc engine produces a decent power of 93.7bhp at 6000 rpm along with a maximum torque output of 130Nm at 4000rpm, which is rather decent. This engine revs up easily, and you can pull it hard till the red line while being efficient. The diesel variants can also come equipped with a Fiat sourced 1.3-litre, Multi-Jet, DDiS based diesel power house. The engine is expected to produce power in the range of 103 to 118bhp with a segment topping torque figure of 290Nm to 300+ depending on the state of tune. The max power of the engine might be less as compared to competitors, its the torque that will pay the game. These engines are expected to be transversally mounted, which will power the front wheels, transmission duties will be handled by a five speed manual transmission. This car is expected to be available with two rim sizes 15 inch for the lower variants and 16 inch for the high end variants.

On the inside, the interiors will be more opulent than the current SX4 sedan. The insides might get lighter shades with wood inserts and brushed aluminum surrounds. This sedan is said to be loaded with an automatic climatronic AC, Bluetooth enabled audio unit with steering mounted audio controls. The instrumentation cluster offers simple and elegant two dial setup with centrally placed DIS. The rear seats will come equipped with AC louvers, which is certainly a beneficial factor in the Indian summers.

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SOURCE  - TOI