[TusharK]

Maruti has launched the updated Ciaz with a BS6 compliant engine. The carmaker has also added a new variant called the Ciaz S to the line-up. Prices start at Rs. 8.31 lakh, while the Ciaz S costs Rs. 10.08 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).



The Ciaz S comes with a dual-tone exterior with black highlights, black side skirts and body spoilers. The car has a black rear spoiler, black ORVMs and fog lamp surrounds. It rides on 16-inch alloy wheels that are also finished in black.

The Ciaz S gets black interiors with silver accents on the door trim and instrument panel. Powering the car is a BS6-compliant 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol Smart Hybrid engine. The same engine powers the regular Ciaz.

Variant-wise ex-showroom price:

Sigma MT - Rs. 8.31 lakh

Delta MT - Rs. 8.93 lakh

Zeta MT - Rs. 9.70 lakh

Alpha MT - Rs. 9.97 lakh

Delta AT - Rs. 9.97 lakh

Zeta AT - Rs. 10.80 lakh

Alpha AT - Rs. 11.09 lakh

Ciaz S - Rs. 10.08 lakh

Link to Team-BHP News

[TheHelix0202]

So this version is as useless as the “RS” they came up with a few years back? Same jargon except the engine.

[Sk8r]

Mr. Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Limited :

There was a latent need from our sedan loving customers for a Sporty version of Ciaz. Ciaz S fulfils that need and it adds a sporty quotient to the premium mid-sized sedan and appeal to the customers desiring ‘the good life’. We are confident Ciaz S will be appreciated by customers

What exactly is sportier in this variant ?

Link : Rushlane

[chaturgaurav]

Interestingly, the Nexa website has changed the variant options to BS IV (earlier no BS mentioned ) and have teased Ciaz S also, but no mention of BS VI options or prices yet.





Does that mean a good amount of BS IV inventory still left with Maruti? Smelling discounts here!

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

So this version is as useless as the “RS” they came up with a few years back? Same jargon except the engine.

True that. The engine was always sedate, far from being sporty or even enthusiastic, and now the black cladding and black spoiler is a joke and adds to the ridicule of it being a sporty car.

I love the black interiors though

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

What exactly is sportier in this variant ?

Obviously nothing mechanically knowing Maruti and it's past.

That said it is a decent effort cosmetically and does make the Ciaz a little better looking sedan. I kinda like it.

Only 2 things I would change: the door handle needs to be body coloured and the window beading should be blackened as well.

Wishlist would have been:

1. 6th gear!!
2. 1.4L boosterjet engine with 140ps
3. Should have had new steering wheel from Swift/Ertiga

[ds.raikkonen]

The mid-size segment is on the brink of extinction! The Ciaz made a mark for itself and outsold the City but will ultimately succumb to the UV segment revolution. Not surprising though, this revolution is happening in most other major automobile markets. Upcoming SUV specialist 'Great Wall' will provide the final nail in the coffin for this segment!

[Vipin Kumar]

If only Maruti-Suzuki tweaked the suspension and the steering set up a bit, and couple the car with the new diesel engine (as it may comply with BS VI norms), it could be somewhere in the zones of sportiness (?) No manufacturer is doing it these days, though many have sport options from time to time.

Otherwise, it simply works as a black-interior option. Period. Many would appreciate it over the almost-everything-in-beige option in Ciaz.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Wishlist would have been:
2. 1.4L boosterjet engine with 140ps

It would be scary with the current chassis and suspension setup. Me and my brother had once driven the Ciaz over 800 kms in two days. That was the only time I heard my brother saying ‘please drive I can’t handle this crap anymore’. The car suspension was so soft, the cornering speeds need to be kept at a minimum. It almost felt like an Omni if the brakes are applied hard (nose diving was prominent). I also hated that drive so much that I drove my cousin’s Ciaz never again while doing long trips.

But car handled potholes in a better way as the suspension is soft. So I would prefer driving it in City and never while going on long trips. Please note an important thing, I live in Kerala whose highways are also not ‘straights’.

Disclaimer: no offence meant to owners, strictly my and my brother’s opinion. I own a Honda City I-vtec(yes, crappy bad road ride), and my brother owns a Swift vvt.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

That said it is a decent effort cosmetically and does make the Ciaz a little better looking sedan. I kinda like it.

I was going to say just that. I like the colour & blackened effect. Only thing I'd get changed is the chrome / silver around the rear bumper's reflectors.

Originally Posted by ds.raikkonen

The mid-size segment is on the brink of extinction!

They've really taken it hard in H2 2019, haven't they? In some months, the City + Ciaz + Verna have sold lesser numbers than the City alone used to sell.

Originally Posted by pavi

That was the only time I heard my brother saying ‘please drive I can’t handle this crap anymore’. The car suspension was so soft, the cornering speeds need to be kept at a minimum. It almost felt like an Omni if the brakes are applied hard (nose diving was prominent).

Let's not exaggerate and instead, keep things real on Team-BHP. I've taken the Ciaz out on all kinds of highways and can tell you that it's a "neutral" behaving sedan. No corner carving tool, but a reasonable cruiser. There is nothing "crap" about it, unless your cousin's car is either badly maintained or has some mechanical issue.

[shibujp]

Personally while I would not like to pay for a sport model just for the cosmetic embellishments we see this done right upto the top players in the market. You do get an M-Sport kit in the BMW and an AMG kit in Mercedes with no power increase whatsoever. It's an age-old practice and does seem to increase sales.

One advantage may be that since this stuff is fitted by the manufacturer there would be a better fit and finish for the accessories and integration with the design would be good.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

1. 6th gear!!
2. 1.4L boosterjet engine with 140ps
3. Should have had new steering wheel from Swift/Ertiga

Just the 1.4 boosterjet would do i for me! Other stuff we an take care of.

Drive on,
Shibu

[ds.raikkonen]

Originally Posted by shibujp

You do get an M-Sport kit in the BMW and an AMG kit in Mercedes with no power increase whatsoever. It's an age-old practice and does seem to increase sales.

Just the 1.4 boosterjet would do i for me! Other stuff we an take care of.

I think its a good practice to bring sport-ier looking variants closer to the middle class buyer. As you mentioned, AMG and M division do this with their line up very often.

And of late, Toyota has stepped up and given a GR version of most of their models! Even the recently launched Yaris got the GR treatment
(Personally, I want the Swift Sport badly!)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Ciaz is designed to be an elegant executive sedan and looks the part in the NEXA blue shade. Not liking the 'S' - looks like a locally spruced-up base variant to my eyes.

Shashank Srivastava calling it a 'sporty version of the Ciaz' adds more to that distaste.

Originally Posted by ds.raikkonen

Even the recently launched Yaris got the GR treatment

Yaris GR is not just about the looks - it has the performance to match!

[ds.raikkonen]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Yaris GR is not just about the looks - it has the performance to match!

True, its not like the Ciaz case here (and it can't be, given the markets it has been launched in has a host of hot hatches).

My point was that Toyota has increased the 'width' of its high-per segment to reach more buyers (not just limited to the Supra etc.).

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by ds.raikkonen

The mid-size segment is on the brink of extinction! The Ciaz made a mark for itself and outsold the City but will ultimately succumb to the UV segment revolution. Not surprising though, this revolution is happening in most other major automobile markets. Upcoming SUV specialist 'Great Wall' will provide the final nail in the coffin for this segment!

I do doubt how effective a "China product" would be given that even a forum like Team BHP had literal Youtube tier xenophobia on the Hector catching fire thread.

As an anecdotal study, I have asked at least 8-10 people if they know which country Hector has its roots from, and the answer in all but 1 case was "UK". The marketing blitzkrieg with Benedict "Holmes" Cumberbatch has truly registered in the minds of the masses and they associate it with a UK brand. Some of these even Googled it up, saw Morris Garages, UK and decided it was a Brit brand.

A pure China based brand might not sell as much imho as the stigma associated with "China product" is too large to be overcome. Yes, phones sell but because they offer a compelling value proposition and also are relatively cheap (except the 1+ range, most Chinese phones retail in the sub 15k mark), but an SUV that would retail at a minimum 15l+? I personally don't see it happening.

Originally Posted by GTO

I was going to say just that. I like the colour & blackened effect. Only thing I'd get changed is the chrome / silver around the rear bumper's reflectors.

They've really taken it hard in H2 2019, haven't they? In some months, the City + Ciaz + Verna have sold lesser numbers than the City alone used to sell.

Indian automakers and I include foreign OEM's and their love for Chrome is baffling - why do they think that the masses want some car that would look good on "Pimp my ride" is beyond me. Look at the accessories list for Seltos and it is all Chrome garnish this, chrome that - my poor sales guy was very dejected when I told him that I hate Chrome and if I had my way, I would blacken the front chrome bits also - chrome in complete moderation is all right but some of our cars look too blingy (if that is a word). I wish some OEM would go the gutsy way and make a minimalistic looking car, it might just sell.

On the death of the C segment, I think it is still to early to predict - the CSUV market has caught on fire thanks to Seltos and in lesser numbers Hector, possibly once the craze for these dies down, the C might pick up.

A good thread to discuss though would be, why is the C segment doing poorly and what value proposition can OEM's add to make it appealing.

Thoughts anyone reading this?

[King_pin09]

Well I am a beige guy and I quite like the beige black set up in the regular ciaz. All black interiors does not entice me as much. I have a sort of clear dislike to black alloys and spoilers for an executive sedan. It simply appears overdone.

If I was in the market for a new Ciaz, I would anyday prefer the standard set up than this Ciaz S, Frankly, this one reminds me of a victim of over makeup by some beautician who had just commenced internship.

On positive note, Y A Y that ugly and huge chrome thing sorrounding the front Foglamps is GONE.