Maruti Celerio - The New Small Car in Town!

All about New Maruti Celerio – Specs, Review and more.

Maruti Celerio is the new small car from Maruti Suzuki and looks like a sure shot winner from the Indo- Japanese Company. This car is expected to fill the gap of A Star and Estilo models for which Maruti was not happy with sales. Maruti Celerio has certain resemblance with Hyundai i10 and is clearly targeted to compete with Hyundai i10.  

The Celerio has been developed on a completely new platform and boast of a unique feature known as EZ Drive, a special automatic gearbox that is expected to change the way we drive. The design of the Celerio is based on the A-Wind concept that Suzuki showcased at the Thai Auto show.

Design

Maruti Celerio has got a clean and appealing Japanese design that will please all sorts of people in the small car segment. This time, Maruti has not gone wrong with the design and styling.  

Few key design aspects are

• Attractive curved headlights and prominent Suzuki Grille
• A twin-slat bonnet grille in chrome
• Front looks aggressive due to large air dam
• Prominent and lightly curved bottom side lines
• Spacious interiors, Rear is roomy
• Tall hatchback, Spacious legroom and headroom
• Simple and fairly straight-forward rear design
• Overall, Designed for better aerodynamics

Maruti Celerio

Engine and Performance

Maruti Celerio is currently offered only with a petrol engine. It has the same but updated K10 B three cylinder 1.0 litre engine that we see in new version of Wagon R. The car has got responsive motor with decent power at lower speed. The engine is silent till 3000rpm and has got good noise absorbing insulation.

Maruti Celerio is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car can reach 0-100Kph within 14.9 seconds. But the surprising feature of this car is the automatic gearbox or EZ Drive (that is what Maruti like to call it) where there will not be any clutch to shift gears. Actually, it doesn’t use a torque converter but rather relies on an electronic control unit that manages hydraulic actuators to control clutch engagement and gearshifts. Even more surprising fact is that the automatic mode gives adequate performance and good fuel economy similar to that of manual mode!

Few other performance aspects include:

• Light steering
• Tight Turning circle
• Slick gearshift
• Good straight line stability and also around corners
• Excellent ride quality compared to its competitors

Maruti Suzuki Celerio Interior

Quick Specs

• Height: 1560 mm
• Wheel base: 2425mm
• Boot volume: 235 litres
• Ground clearance: 165mm
• Steering Type:  Electronic
• Front Brakes : Ventilated discs
• Rear Brakes: Drums
• Fuel Tank: 35 litres

Features and Interiors

Celerio will be offered in three variants – LXi, VXi and ZXi having added features when we move from base variant LXi to top model ZXi.

LXi  - Air-conditioning and power steering are standard features

VXi – has a rear parcel shelf, power windows, central locking and internally adjustable rear view mirrors.

ZXi  – Its key features include  alloy wheels, body-coloured door handles, electrically adjustable outside rear view mirrors, tilt-adjustable steering, a driver’s side airbag, rear wash & wipe, integrated audio player with USB, aux-in and Bluetooth for telephone and audio streaming functions, steering controls for the audio system and a rear defogger.

ABS and a front passenger airbag are available only as an optional package on the ZXi. Moreover these safety features will not be offered on the automatic version of the Celerio that will only be sold in LXi and VXi variants.

The car has got dual tone black beige interiors with dashboard-mounted gear lever layout, just like the Hyundai Grand i10. The car has got new instrument cluster with the steering wheel taken from Maruti Swift. The centre console houses audio system and air-con controls.

Maruti Celerio  Interiors

Storage features include:

• Two cup holders on the front side and a bottle holder each on the rear doors
• Space to hold a bottle behind the handbrake
• Decent Boot space, at 235-litres
• Adequate glove box but not very large
• 60:40 split rear seats that folds forward to carry more luggage

Mileage 

23.1 kmpl ARAI-tested figure

Expected Price (ex-showroom, Delhi)

Rs. 3.9 lakh for the base manual version

Rs. 4.9 lakh for the automatic.

Bookings

Bookings are open at all authorized Maruti Suzuki dealers in India.

Finally

Maruti Suzuki has got things right this time with Celerio. This is definitely a smart and easy to drive efficient car that can give tough competition for other small cars especially Hyundai i10.

The new automatic gearbox will be the highlight of this car as it promises to be frugal both in terms of costs and in terms of fuel consumption.  We can expect its competitors coming up with similar or even better solution to drive sales. However, Hyundai Grand i10 is much better car than Maruti Celerio.

Quick Note: Maruti Celerio Diesel

Though Maruti is busy behind developing a small diesel engine for their small cars, Celerio with Diesel engine is not expected soon.  

Click here to read our latest 2014 review - Best diesel hatchback in India - 2014. 

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