At the 2014 Auto Expo in Delhi, Maruti Suzuki showcased the replacement for its C-segment contender, the SX4. Called the YL1 back then, it received great response from consumers and critics alike. The design was new and something very refreshing coming from Maruti Suzuki, and the car looked really futuristic and very stylish indeed. A few months after first being displayed at the auto expo, Maruti Suzuki named the YL1 sedan as the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and launched it in October, 2014. Here we have a detailed review of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and a mega picture gallery too.
Maruti Suzuki is generally known as the king of small cars because of its expertise in manufacturing low cost hatchbacks and also because of a number of small hatchbacks in its product portfolio, but they have tried to step away from this image a number of times by launching cars like the Baleno, Grand Vitara, Kizashi, SX4 etc. and the Ciaz too is yet another attempt to step away from this image.
One glance at the Ciaz and it is quite evident that the inspiration for the design of the Ciaz was drawn from its more expensive elder sibling, the Maruti Suzuki Kizashi. While the Kizashi was a dud coming from the Maruti Suzuki stable, it was mainly due to the high price, but the design was still good and had potential and hence Maruti Suzuki did not see any harm in using similar design language.
When looked at from the front, it is quite evident that the Ciaz means business. At the launch event of the Ciaz, Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India stated that the name CIAZ stood for Comfort-Intelligence-Attitude-Zeal! well the menacing looks certainly define the Attitude Bit. While the production variant of the Ciaz has certainly been toned down a lot from the concept that was first displayed at the auto expo, it certainly has not lost the presence.
The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz enjoys great street presence because of its wide front end, complete with swept back headlamps and a large chrome grille with 4 slats and the Suzuki badge taking the prominent place right at the centre. Though the dimensions of the Ciaz are similar to the erstwhile Maruti Suzuki SX4, the Ciaz definitely looks a lot larger, and this is more pronounced when viewed from the side, credits go to the clever design. As one moves over to the rear, the design becomes more mature with the sweeping silhouette of the boot going down into the boot and also a slightly raised boot with wraparound tail-lamps.
The quality stuff continues on the insides of the Ciaz too. The cabin is a lot more spacious than the SX4 with rear leg room which is highest in its class. Overall, the interior too reminds us of the much larger Maruti Suzuki Kizashi. The seats in the Ciaz too are really comfortable and provide sufficient thigh support and even the backrest is angled perfectly to provide maximum comfort. It is not just comfort, but the Ciaz also counts high on features and the dashboard is adorned with a touch screen infotainment system on the top of the line models, complete with Bluetooth calling, music, navigation and voice command.
The duty of powering the Ciaz has been handed to two engines, one petrol and one diesel: Maruti Suzuki has plonked in the 1.3 liter Multijet diesel engine to power the diesel variant and powering the petrol variant is a 1.4 liter K-series engine. Yes, you guessed right, these are the same engines which were earlier used in the SX4 and have now been carried forward to power the Ciaz too.
Though the power and torque figures are similar to that on the SX4, the engines have received a few updates and the engineers have made a few changes, but instead of improving performance, these changes have been made to improve fuel efficiency. Maruti Suzuki claims the Ciaz to be the most fuel efficient in its class, with the petrol variant doing 20.73 kilometres to the litre and the diesel variant doing 26.21 kilomtetres to the litre. The increase in efficiency is not all down to the changes in the engine, but is the result of massive weight reduction too.
Maruti Suzuki has used high tensile steel in the making of the chassis of the Ciaz, and this along with a few other weight saving measures has brought down the weight massively which shows not only in the increase in efficiency, but also in the way the Ciaz drives. The steering feel has improved a lot and the feel is really good at low speeds, but as speeds build up, it doesn’t seem to weigh up like we would want it to, and this feel is worse in the petrol variant because of the lighter front end.
The ride quality is gentle and comfortable as the suspensions soaks up all the bumps easily, while the Ciaz feels good at high speed in a straight line, it really isn’t a corner carver because the body rolls a lot for a car of this size. Quick lane changes can be taken care of easily, but fast, tight corners are not the Ciaz’s forte.
The Ciaz has been selling pretty well and we can already see a lot of Ciaz’s on the roads, but has it met Maruti Suzuki’s expected sales numbers? We do not know yet, but what we do know is that the Ciaz is a brilliant car and can give its competitors a run for their money. The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz comptetes against cars like the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, Nissan Sunny and Renault Scala and these are cars which have already made themselves comfortable in this segment, but the Ciaz is new to this segment and might struggle a bit to compete with these heavy weight contenders, but let me tell you this, the Ciaz too has a lot going for it – ABS, airbags, parking sensors with reversing camera, a top-notch multimedia system, 16-inch alloy wheels! The Ciaz has it all.
The ciaz makes for a sensible choice in a country like ours as it is spacious, comfortable, loaded with features and good engines, and the main USP of the Ciaz is that it is a Maruti Suzuki, which means it has service backup in almost all corners of the country and will be relatively cheaper to maintain than its competitors.
Engine
| Fuel | Petrol / Diesel |
| Installation | Front / Transverse |
| Type | 4-cyls in-line 1372cc petrol / 4-cyls in-line 1242cc diesel |
| Power | 91bhp at 4000rpm / 89bhp at 4000rpm |
| Torque | 13.25kgm at 4000rpm / 20.39kgm at 1750rpm |
Transmission
| Type | Front-wheel drive |
| Gearbox | 5-speed manual / 4-speed automatic (petrol only) |
Dimensions
| Length | 4490mm |
| Width | 1730mm |
| Height | 1485mm |
| Wheel base | 2650mm |
| Boot volume | 510 litres |
| Ground clearance | 170mm |
Chassis & Body
| Construction | Four-door sedan, monocoque |
| Weight | 1010kg (petrol) 1105kg (diesel) |
| Wheels | 16-inch alloy |
Prices of Maruti Suzuki Ciaz (Ex-Showroom Price, New Delhi):
Petrol
- Vxi – Rs. 7.21 lakh
- Vxi Plus – Rs. 7.79 lakh
- Zxi – Rs. 8.50 lakh
- Zxi (O) – Rs. 8.86 lakh
- Vxi Plus (Automatic) – Rs. 8.93 lakh
- Zxi Plus – Rs. 9.08 lakh
- Zxi (Automatic) – Rs. 9.64 lakh
Diesel
- Vdi – Rs. 8.30 lakh
- Vdi Plus – Rs. 8.91 lakh
- Zdi – Rs. 9.75 lakh
- Zdi Plus – Rs. 10.12 lakh
To read more on Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Click here
Also see – Maruti Ciaz gets new top-end Z+ variants; ZXI+ and ZDI+
GALLERY: Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
