[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by nikhil0405

I think it was the dealer. Might have got more inquiries for the Ciaz than expected. I did not want to argue with him over the phone since I am not even sure whether I will book the car.

Advice you to write to Maruti so that they can get an alert on whatus happening where to ensure that things are standard across the country.

They need a simple, clear-cut, transparent dealing system to come in place. Then only these dealers will get to work.

Anurag.

[pmbdcoe]

Am I the only one, or did somebody else too feel, that the new Ciaz which though undoubtedly seems to be a good piece of work by maruti especially to compete with Honda City and Verna Fluidic and Vento in the Entry Level C segment, misses a freshness of a new car. I mean to me the rear portion of Ciaz looks uncannily similar to that of the new City, the front grill is very similar to the erstwhile Verna, the headlamps are a definite improvement, but then again, overall exteriors have nothing that compels me to say "Ah My God". Oh Sorry thats reserved for the new AMG, which indeed is Ah My God, but lets keep the AMG aside for now. (I do get carried away a little at the mention of AMG ). Now coming to the interiors of Ciaz, the cabin does look spacious, and especially the rear window position with respect to the passenger height is a very welcome change, unlike the usual maruti design of having the window at an uncomfortable height for the passenger to rest his arms. Also the Beige and Black Interiors give a very premium feel to the cabin, but again the steering wheel seems to be from the era of Flintstones. I mean look at the wheels of city and verna. They are sporty and futuristic. Ciaz is not targeting 60 year old CEOs. Their target segment would be 25+ somethings, who will want more peppy designs in the cabin. Same goes true for the Dash. Looks a tad too drab for me. The touchscreen panel does not seem to be integrated with the dash properly. Looks like a samsung tablet pushed into an open space. Also for Autoshifts I would have prefered the stick to be similar to that in celerio. Looks less drab. I have not driven the car, neither do i know about the engine specs, so cant comment anything on the drive.

Conclusion - Huge improvement, and should go a long way to improve maruti's image in the entry level C segment, but having said that, I would not turn my head twice to look at it. With the wealth of experience that maruti has, definitely a much more better looking product was possible. However will wait for the drive as well, since as they say, beauty though important is not everything.

[eyesice]

Not sure if this has been asked before but how do we accept the Ciaz Petrol (90 bhp) to compete with a City (117 bhp) or Verna (124 bhp)? Is a 1.6 litre version of the K-Series engine on the cards because that would be a huge step forward for MSIL.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by eyesice

Not sure if this has been asked before but how do we accept the Ciaz Petrol (90 bhp) to compete with a City (117 bhp) or Verna (124 bhp)? Is a 1.6 litre version of the K-Series engine on the cards because that would be a huge step forward for MSIL.

As a prospective buyer, as long as MS isn't charging premium prices for the car after offering smaller engines, I will be fine with it since I won't feel like being ripped off. Moreover since petrol sales are recovering they don't want a bigger engine to dent FE figures like how it happened with SX4. When Toyota offers a 90BHP engine in its D segment sedan and still prices it like a boss. On the other hand, the Germans as well as Chevrolet offer breakneck power on their respective offerings. As Aseem has mentioned, there is no perfect car which tick all boxes. Hence we should prefer what we require most. In this case, I am looking at Ciaz because from the experience we have had with Suzuki, I don't want to look elsewhere. Not a single car has required additional maintenance apart from regular service once a year until they were sold.

Hence, I think I can compromise on engine power for everything else that's offered. Guess I summed it all in the previous page.

[aseem]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Congrats Sir on booking the Ciaz.

What was the booking charged and is it refundable in case of cancellation (I guess it should be!).

What is the expected delivery date?

All the best.

Anurag.

I was told 1500 Rs as cancellation initially when I gave the cheque. However upon recieving the docket I was told there would be no cancellation charged

The car is a compromise really. But I think its a "extremely" safe compromise. I am still a few lakhs away from comfortably owning a BMW & anything less personally doesnt justify the premium being charged. I wont be truly happy with Ciaz, but I rather pay 10-13 lakhs and not be happy then pay 19 lakhs on a Corolla and then not be happy.

They havent given me a date but given that I am the first person in the dealership to have booked the car, I expect delivery by 15th October. I wont have a car from 20th September in Bangalore and really I dont like to commute in auto. So am hoping that by mid october I get the car.

I already know a few ppl at work that look down at Ciaz even before seeing the car as they are badge obsessed and cant look beyond Honda/VW or Toyota's but I really feel that MUL is giving a lot more car per car at the price point (which we dont know yet) as they want to disrupt this segment. Apart from engine/handling (tuned to comfort) I really dont find much to complain about. Then again, now that I have compromised, I cant complaint too much!

[GetLife]

Today's ET quotes, Maruti Suzuki gets 3,000 bookings for Ciaz within three days of launch.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/41817856.cms

[harry10]

Overdrive review mentions Maruti is positioning it in C+ segment indicating above City and Verna. Did I read that right? How can Maruti even think it will be a blockbuster that way. Everyone is hoping it will undercut the prices but with that statement it might be launched on par or above. I hope they are wrong.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by harry10

Overdrive review mentions Maruti is positioning it in C+ segment indicating above City and Verna.

Are they planning to position the car in terms of price or in terms of just category where a C+ segment car will be available at price of lower segment? If later is the case then I think it will be okay.

According to available info, expected price of Ciaz is around 8-8.5L which will go up according to the variants. I feel the car may cost between 9-12L on road (in states having normal taxes).

If they price it above 12L, they should be ready with the same pen and diary where Kizashi's history is written.

[The Observer]

I was keenly looking at how others, esp my colleagues/family are perceiving the launch of Ciaz,

Some of my observations

1. A few days back when TOI launched a full page add of Ciaz with Ranveer Singh, a woman colleague of mine ( who drives a car to office daily) took one look at Ranveer's pic and turned off the pages immediately as she did not like Ranveer!, She dismissed the entire ad just because she did not like Ranveer. I mean she did not even care to look at the picture of the car or its features. Wow, having brand ambassadors is a tricky business, the human mind can be difficult to read.

2. My wifey, when i told her about ciaz and its positioning and blah blah all excitedly , turned to look at me and said, "I never liked the name SX4, and now Ciaz ( See A**) how can they name a car like that?" , whew ! must say i never even once did think in that angle.

3. Most of the men in my office were quite excited about seeing a Sedan from Maruti and hoped it did well, but all of them still felt it will be hard for it to dislodge "THE City".

Will continue to observe the first reactions of many around me when they see Ciaz, I initially thought Ciaz could do to Maruti in Sedans what Swift did to it in premium hatchbacks a few years ago, not sure now, time will tell.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by The Observer

all of them still felt it will be hard for it to dislodge "THE City".

I really wish MSIL made full use of Mobilio effect and launched Ciaz then. It was the best time to get it out and make an impression. Though if MSIL planned that way I doubt Honda would've stalled City production at the first place.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by The Observer

I was keenly looking at how others, esp my colleagues/family are perceiving the launch of Ciaz,

Will continue to observe the first reactions of many around me when they see Ciaz, I initially thought Ciaz could do to Maruti in Sedans what Swift did to it in premium hatchbacks a few years ago, not sure now, time will tell.

My conversation with my father yesterday -
Father- Saw an ad in paper about Maruti launching a new sedan. You know about it?
Me - Ya, it's called Ciaz.
F- Looks ok in the ad. Is it better than your City?
Me - better in what sense?
F- like average?
Me - it's same average.
F- engine?
Me - city has a better one.
F- features?
Me - more or less same.
F- space?
Me - again it's almost same.
F- so what is unique about it then?
Me - I have no idea.
F- then you made the right decision in buying city.
Me - why?
F- cos Honda is more premium than Maruti.

Now this is someone with very basic knowledge about cars. He asked me all the general questions which an average buyer thinks of and the perception that Honda is better brand than Maruti exists. At least in my near friends and family I have seen this perception.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by harry10

-------SNIP------------
Now this is someone with very basic knowledge about cars. He asked me all the general questions which an average buyer thinks of and the perception that Honda is better brand than Maruti exists. At least in my near friends and family I have seen this perception.

That is why Maruti needs to undercut the prices of the City, at least for some variant of the Ciaz.
My personal thought is that they will park the prices very close to that of the City, slightly less for most variants.

The brand image of Maruti is hurting itself when it is coming to selling Sedans and other premium products. The Grand Vitara, Kizashi or even the SX4. All were good vehicles but probably a customer who never thinks twice before plonking small amounts for Maruti hatchbacks will think thousand times before plonking the big ones for a premium Maruti product - because of its image.

[luxo_barge]

Just found the ciaz brochure online.

introductory brochure that explains about key features of Ciaz, its engine options, variants on offer and exterior colours. The brochure doesn't get variant-wise feature-list.

Leaked - Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Intro Brochure

[yousivakutti]

Originally Posted by harry10

Now this is someone with very basic knowledge about cars. He asked me all the general questions which an average buyer thinks of and the perception that Honda is better brand than Maruti exists. At least in my near friends and family I have seen this perception.

@Harry, Nice Info!! However, the few features like wheelbase/Tyre size, Navigation and etc., differentiates from City. Also, if there is price difference >50,000 INR between VMT and Zxi. Isn't make sense to buy Ciaz? Just curious as I've booked City VMT and waiting almost 2 months now. Tnx.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by yousivakutti

@Harry, Nice Info!! However, the few features like wheelbase/Tyre size, Navigation and etc., differentiates from City. Also, if there is price difference >50,000 INR between VMT and Zxi. Isn't make sense to buy Ciaz? Just curious as I've booked City VMT and waiting almost 2 months now. Tnx.

Seen that's the point. You and me know the few differences. But will it matter to my dad if navigation is there in Ciaz or a sunroof in City? All he cares is about the points I mentioned. And that's how most buyers do car purchases. Informed forum reading tech savvy buyers like us are still in a minority.

I will say hold on to your booking for City. And make a booking for Ciaz too. As soon as TD is available do a back to back one for both cars. Evaluate which is a better Vfm package and then go for it. I am eagerly waiting to TD Ciaz myself just to see how it fares as a package.