[RavenAvi]

The Ciaz has been Maruti-Suzuki's bestselling effort in the C2-segment, placed comfortably at the #2 spot in the past several months of monthly sales. Now, Maruti-Suzuki is all set to take the Ciaz's sales a step higher.

Gaadiwaadi reports, via an exclusive scoop, that Maruti-Suzuki has readied the Ciaz Hybrid to be launched in August 2015 (yes, this month!).

A complete hybrid system with electric motors, generators and batteries will be paired to the diesel powerplant of the Ciaz, making it more fuel-efficient than before! (the Ciaz diesel currently delivers 26.21 kmpl as per ARAI)

Also, the Ciaz will be offered with a new V(O) variant as well, which adds ABS + EBD to the trim and which will be standard till the Z+. Previously, the Ciaz didn't come with EBD in any of it's variants.

And, the new Ciaz lineup will also benefit from having a driver's airbag standard across the range.

GaadiWaadi

[audioholic]

Where is it given that its a full blown hybrid? All I can see in the diagram is some efficiency measures and idling start stop, with regenerative brakes. Note that they've highlighted the alternator for this purpose.

To add to this is the same old dictionary of adjectives "Class and Fineness". How on earth is this something to do with class and fineness?

Anyways on the positive side this will give the Ciaz D a much more greater FE tag and good to know that the safety features are being given more prominence. I guess this could be the reason Ciaz production had reduced last month to just 2000 units.

[latentpotential]

Good to see the Hybrid technology come towards the common man segments of the Indian Automotive Market.

Some queries for those experienced with Hybrids:

Wont the extra motor(s), battery(/ies) and associated setup add more weight to the car?
Will this reduce performance, or the general reduction will be compensated by the electric motor setup?
How will the hybrid system work? Fully power the cars wheels at all times, with the diesel motor generating electricity - OR - Power the cars wheels at low/ city speeds, with the diesel taking over at highway runs?

[RavenAvi]

And the name is out!

The car will be called the Ciaz SHVS, short for Smart Hybrid Vehicle System.

About the technology of Ciaz Hybrid aka Ciaz SHVS, it is going to come with one single Exide battery which is located under the bonnet but its three times bigger than before.
There is an Integrated Starter Generator in Ciaz SHVS that is attached to the engine which assist engine in power generation as it withdraws current from battery during acceleration and send combined power to wheel. This system happens vice versa and that as we know is simply called brake recuperation.
While coasting or braking, the same Integrated Starter Generator will charge the batteries. The stored energy in the battery then helps in faster acceleration through the Integrated Starter Generator, which helps the engine reduce the load over itself.
Once the engine is cranked at the beginning by the usual starter motor, post that all subsequent restarts will be done through Integrated Starter Generator.

There is also the famous Start-stop system that is being made available to maximize even more efficiency from the Ciaz Hybrid / Ciaz SHVS. All of this will happen if the clutch & accelerator pedal is not pressed, headlights are off and battery is charged. If the engines needs to restart, the driver’s seatbelt should be in place, driver door should be closed and hood of the car has to be closed.
If you don’t like that system, it can be shut off manually too via a button below the center console.

All in all, Maruti says this is a Mild Hybrid system with the Integrated Starter Generator being used most of the time while starter motor is used only once and hence engine is relived of the load it carries.

Gaadiwaadi

[Vid6639]

The photo clearly shows it's the same system as used in the XUV500. The pic shows the alternator and battery in blue.

It's nothing but the brake energy recuperation that disconnects the alternator when accelerating and only engages the alternator when braking/coasting to charge the batteries.

It's a very simple system that doesn't put alternator load when accelerating if battery has some pre defined level of charge. In reality this will equate to better mileage and marginally better pickup.

A very rough estimate would be alternator consuming 1 to 2 horsepower of engine power. Rather than use this during accelerating, the alternator will only engage when coasting/braking.

[GTO]

Credit where it's due. Good to see Maruti coming out with new technologies (AMT, smart alternator management) and big engines (S-Cross' 1.6L diesel) - something it's never done in its 3 decades of existence. The beauty of competition .

However, this is NOT a hybrid. Maruti is taking a leaf out of Mahindra's book where it foolishly badged the Scorpio's idling start / stop system as a 'micro-hybrid' .

The integrated starter generator will make a minute difference to fuel economy. What will really enhance the FE is the idling start / stop system, but it's so annoying that most owners will turn it off.

[CoolFire]

The major difference with XUV5OO will be that this is a Maruti . Their might in the market may just as well make this main stream if it can make at least an improvement in FE of ~2 kmpl

[rockporiom]

Looking at the pictures it doesn't look like ciaz would get any cosmetic changes most of it looks to be under the hood just like they did with the previous gen dzire. But again what is the future of the ciaz now? Will it be shifted to NEXA? Will they discontinue the petrol? If not, will it be benefitting from these changes? what about the AT variant? Will we see any more new features (e.g. Cruise Control)? What about the price?

One website states the prices to be close to that of the verna and city if that is the case ciaz no more would be the VFM proposition that it was.

Lot of questions to be answered but very few or none that have the answer

[hybridpetrol]

The idea to switch off the engine when the car is stopped at a traffic Signal is more of a hypothetical scenario in peak traffic. Consider a city like Bangalore where roads are narrow and people are trying to inch ahead wherever a small gap is available. Even when the signal is red the vehicles keep moving at snail's pace. So unless there is a widespread acceptance of this start / stop idea it is difficult to put it to any use. IMHO this technology will remain a marketing gimmick even if the manufacturer's intention is honest.
Consider this - The fuel efficiency of our cars can be close to ARAI fuel efficiency if we constantly drive at 50 kmph in top gear without AC. Can anyone of us follow this always?

[rockporiom]

What would happen in bumper to bumper traffic scenario? With the car going on and off every few minutes the battery would die out very soon. The car shoild have a failsafe that keeps the engine on if it detects that the battery is going weak. Also, it is to be seen if the car would run the ac even if the engine is off. If the A/c doesn't work people would simply switch the system off without a doubt.

[deep_bang]

Having used the start stop system in the Quanto I can say that it is useful but only in certain conditions. Let me explain. I only enable it when I know the signal would take say > 70 seconds to turn on. In such situations it is useful. But in all other situations I simply disable it.

What I would have liked is a small high torque electric motor for bumper to bumper traffic. But alas - no one is yet towards that goal.

[WRXXX]

Originally Posted by GTO

However, this is NOT a hybrid. Maruti is taking a leaf out of Mahindra's book where it foolishly badged the Scorpio's idling start / stop system as a 'micro-hybrid' .

The integrated starter generator will make a minute difference to fuel economy. What will really enhance the FE is the idling start / stop system, but it's so annoying that most owners will turn it off.

@GTO Please pardon my ignorance if the "SHVS" badge is to be believed then It is not a full hybrid alright Suzuki never advertised SHVS that way, but it can't be just a idling start/stop system either. May be I am missing some info in this discussion: From what I know the improved efficeincy comes from the ISG working as a motor to torque assist the engine and hence cover up for low speed inefficiency of IC engines.

Here is the video that Suzuki released during the Geneva motor show(Please jump to 1:07 for SHVS), having one or two batteries is immaterial(that could mean india specific cost adaptiveness) but assisting engine with ISG (where alternator can switch into a motor as well as a generator) and assist the IC engine is the key.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx8g...outu.be&t=1m7s

Also, if the leaked reports are to be believed a jump from 23 to 30 is 20+% efficiency increase and how can that ARAI claimed mileage(when done by Maruti) come from just the start/stop system alone?

May be we have to wait and watch to see what Ciaz actually gets.

[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki's Ciaz Hybrid speculated to launch on 19th August.



Source:http://gaadiwaadi.com/exclusive-maru...z-shvs-500339/

[Diesel_convert]

I remember Cummins testing something like this in an alto. Where a very large alternator would act like a proper hybrid.

REVOLO – Ready To Fit Hybrid Technology - Team-BHP - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...echnology.html

Let's hope it's not just another version of BMWs efficient dynamics. Though it's still a step forward.

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by GTO

Credit where it's due. Good to see Maruti coming out with new technologies (AMT, smart alternator management) and big engines (S-Cross' 1.6L diesel) - something it's never done in its 3 decades of existence. The beauty of competition .

However, this is NOT a hybrid. Maruti is taking a leaf out of Mahindra's book where it foolishly badged the Scorpio's idling start / stop system as a 'micro-hybrid' .

The integrated starter generator will make a minute difference to fuel economy. What will really enhance the FE is the idling start / stop system, but it's so annoying that most owners will turn it off.

The above report from the website gaadiwaadi clearly say that the motor assists the engine during acceleration and charges the battery during coasting. Also for just start/stop system they will not need battery which is 3 times size. All depends upon the how much truth in the report.