Maruti Ciaz becomes the first car to receive the brand’s newest ingeniously developed 1.5-litre diesel engine, could become a game-changer soon
Maruti Ciaz has become the first model to receive Maruti Suzuki’s first-ever ingeniously built 1.5-litre diesel engine. This marks the second inning of the brand in developing a diesel engine, earlier the 47 bhp generating 793cc diesel in the Celerio. So far, Maruti Ciaz has been available with a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine. Now, apart from the tried and tested Fiat-sourced diesel engine, this new bigger and better diesel motor’s inclusion means the Maruti Ciaz becomes more appealing.
Interestingly, this new diesel engine for Maruti Ciaz will make its way to other models as well. These include the Maruti Ertiga, S-Cross, and popular Maruti Vitara Brezza as well. Also, the new engine comes as BS-VI ready. This means, when the Indian auto industry leaps to the new stringent emission norms, Maruti Suzuki will swiftly convert this engine to the BS-VI compliance.
While the Indian auto industry is going gaga about the 1.5-litre diesel motor of the Maruti Ciaz, I find it as a gamechanger in the near future. Why? Read on.
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Save the diesel engines:
Petrol has been always the forte of Maruti Suzuki’s small cars. A range of petrol engines that not only became successful across different segments but promised value for money and class-leading fuel efficiency as well. Even the Maruti Ciaz’s 1.5-litre petrol engine offers 21.56 kmpl of mileage. Now, with a brand new ingeniously developed diesel engine in its portfolio, the petrol powerhouse has shown the spark that it can excel in the diesel segment as well.
Not that, Maruti Suzuki didn’t try its hand on a diesel engine before. Previously, Maruti Suzuki developed a diesel engine ingeniously for the Celerio with an investment of Rs 900 crore. However, the two-cylinder aluminum block engine did not work well for the brand. Demands for the Celerio diesel was lacklustre. I hope, this time, the brand has developed the new diesel engine with the learning from its previous project. With Maruti Ciaz diesel already popular among buyers, the new bigger diesel engine could find a significant number of takers.
If the new diesel engine finds success in India, this could be a turning point in Maruti Suzuki’s journey. Not only that, it will mean diesel engines won’t die after the BS-VI emission norms kick in the country from April 2020. While other automakers are trying to save their diesel engines, this new motor could help Maruti on that ground.
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No SHVS yet. Wait for it:
The Maruti Ciaz 1.3L diesel comes with SHVS mild-hybrid technology. Even the 1.5-litre petrol engine too is combined with the SHVS mild-hybrid tech. However, the 1.5-litre diesel engine doesn’t come with the SHVS tech. This is something I want to see changes soon. A mild-hybrid technology not only saves precious fuel, but it helps in building trust on much talked pure electric mobility as well.
With India thriving for zero-emission mobility and Maruti Suzuki aiming to take the pole position in that segment in the next decade, SHVS technology combined with the 1.5-litre diesel engine is necessary. If the Maruti Ciaz’s 1.5-litre diesel engine comes with SHVS technology, it could become equally popular as the 1.3-litre diesel engine. However, there comes the concern about pricing.
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The new diesel engine could be cheaper:
Maruti Suzuki claims the new 1.5-litre diesel engine of the Maruti Ciaz has been developed ingeniously. This means the automaker doesn’t need to spend the money on further R&D like it was doing on the 1.3-litre DDiS unit. A lot of money is being saved by the new engine. Why not the benefit is passed on to the customers? A cheaper 1.5-litre diesel engine will certainly make the Maruti Ciaz diesel appealing.
Available in Delta, Zeta and Alpha trim options, the new 1.5-litre diesel engine powered Maruti Ciaz comes priced between Rs 9.97 lakh and Rs 11.37 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). I would like to see the benefit of an in-house developed engine being passed to the customers by reducing the price of the new engine equipped Maruti Ciaz.
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