[desideep]

Hello Hillsnrains,

I took a test drive few months ago keeping my Mrs. in mind as the main driver. To be true, looking at the price difference I don't mind any of the bellow so called "Issues". Actually I liked it cause of its convenience. And believe me the way my wife has been changing gears on our alto K10, I would rather take the jerks on the celerio

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

I wish you quick recovery mate!
My better half drives a Celerio and currently ODO reading is 1500kms. I have tried my hands for about 400kms, based on this experience i will try to answer your questions.

1. AMT gearbox is slightly different than regular CVT or Torque converter AT's. You will feel the gear upshifts in the form of tiny jerks.
2. When ever you need gear upshift, you need to take out the foot from gas pedal for a moment(a second or two) and press again.
3. When climbing on inclined surfaces (like ramps), one needs to be extra careful with AMT. One should not press gas pedal hard then AMT tries to upshift gear based on the engine rpm. I always use manual gear change during climbing, which is easy.
4. One should always slot in N, when ever vehicle stops. This will become a habit with usage hence so no issues here.

If one can accept and take care of these small things, Celerio is a boon for city driving.

Hello H_dogg72,
Even I was not looking to replace my Figo with a smaller and less equipped car, but it's just the situation. My wife is not comfortable learning how to drive with anyone else, like most of the Men in the world when you are a husband you are not the best teacher!.

I still have a month or two before I am able to sit in the passenger seat of the car. So I am in no hurry as of now. For a better equipped car I am also looking at a used Hyundai i10 automatic to keep things in budget.

Originally Posted by H_Dogg72

I wouldn't really suggest a celerio after a figo. You're getting convenience but nothing in the safety department. You can either wait and see if Maruti gives ABS and airbags on the AMT or check the brio and Micra AT.

Hi A4anurag,

That's a real sore point, I have never understood what's with Maruti and safety features.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Take care and recover soon buddy.

As for the Celerio, go ahead with the VXi version but the dad part is that car had no safety features in the AMT equipped- variant.

For AMT related points on driving+tips, read from the official review:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3447558

[harisreez]

Originally Posted by desideep

Hi Friends,

Recently due to an accident I have been told not to drive for 6 months and this could be more depending on the healing.

I have planned to sell of my trusty and comfortable FIGO and replace it with a Celerio AMT. This will allow my wife to drive it easily. I have a few questions.

In another thread there were issue mentioned with the AMT.

Is there a specific way of using the gearbox, like any specific way of driving? Do you need to slot in in N every time when you stop?

Are there no discounts offered what so ever on AMT?

I have done around 800Kms in my new Celerio.

There are no specific ways of using the gearbox or driving, though I have seen posts mentioning that you may lift off the accelerator pedals during gear changes, which I also feels has some logic! Once you get used to the AMT (Say couple of thousand KMs) you will not even know the shifts in gears happening. So not a big deal.

Need to be careful in slopes and uphill roads as you will need to make use of the hand brakes to mange the vehicle, which is not something one will always do in a manual clutch vehicle. But again just needs a bit of getting used to. Easily manageable.

You need to put it back to Neutral while switching off the vehicle - Otherwise it won't start the next time till you change it back to neutral. But for stopping in signals/traffic etc where you keep your car running, you needn't put in Neutral. Best part is that it never switches off even in heavy traffic .

All my experience is basis driving in Bangalore City and periphery which has flat roads mostly, very few uphills.

[volkman10]

Celerio diesel being spied. Would come with an exceptional mileage.



https://twitter.com/gaadiwaadi/statu...323392/photo/1

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Celerio diesel being spied. Would come with an exceptional mileage.

Looks to be a 3-cylinder engine.is downsized from the 1.3L MJD aka DDiS?

[Simple_car]

Had the opportunity to drive a celerio Zxi version for a decent distance. Must say, I would buy this car over the alto, if budget can be extended. Worth it.

- The engine is silent for relaxed driving, however, it does show it's 3 pot nature when you push the pedal.. still not too intrusive to be a bother. It is a engine which makes more noise, but doesn't really speed up that fast.
- Excellent suspension set-up, which I have come to expect from Maruti. It's just perfect for Indian roads.
- Beautifully calibrated brake pedal in the Zxi version. Feedback is simply brilliant. Do note, that I am not saying whether the brakes are good/not, just talking about the feedback. I don't have a complaint about brakes from my city driving experience.

These are the only salient points which I could highlight. Rest all points are more or less for almost all maruti's:
- Light build, which is towards the flimsier side. I doubt this car will age well. The model which I drove already had it's rear wiper hanging down (even though there was no accident).
- Few rattles here and there.
- Makes you 'feel' premium, even though it is nowhere close to it.
- Super light clutch.

I would buy this car over the hyundai though. Don't know why, but Maruti's are waay more fun to drive compared to competition. I think the Zxi version is worth the money.

Thanks,
Simple_car

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Simple_car

I would buy this car over the hyundai though. Don't know why, but Maruti's are waay more fun to drive compared to competition. I think the Zxi version is worth the money.

Wish if Maruti Suzuki gave AMT in ZXi version for we safety-oriented people. It would be a great act.

Overall I feel Maruti Suzuki does make good cars but too cheap in build quality and materials used as compared to competition leading to premature rattles.

I'm in the market for a 'safe car' + AMT combo only from Maruti Suzuki stable which boils it down to Alto K10 or Celerio. Love the K10 for its engine and Celerio for the premium feel. Both these cars fail on safety point of view. Hope these cars some addition on the safety front.

[volkman10]

We all know on Celerio's diesel variant to be launched but now Celerio is rumored to get a change in the pertrol varaint as in the Global units.

The Celerio will get the new K10C engine as well. This is an update of the existing K10B engine.

The K10C Series engines use Suzuki’s new DualJet technology, which has two injectors per cylinder instead of a single one. This helps to improve the performance and even the fuel efficiency also. There is no change in the specifications and the output, but this new Celerio will have better performance and will be easier to drive in city or even on highways. Even the fuel consumption goes down with this new engine, which means lower cost of running.

The K10C should be launched with the new Celerio 793cc diesel engine.

http://motoroctane.com/news/8988-mar...-petrol-engine

[lapis_lazuli]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

It would be a great act.

And why not . This pic was clicked at Montparnasse rail station, in Paris, 3 days back. The entry version, well stocked, is at 7390euros. 3 years warranty can extend to 5....!

[desideep]

Hi Friends,

I don't know how to put it, but the everyday things that we take for granted are actually not so easy. Just for instance Walking, Getting off the bed, doing your morning jobbies, Getting into the car and driving off to the office. I recently met with an accident, it is posted in another thread. Then i realised that all mentioned above is so not easy. Any-ways the bottom-line is that i would not be able to drive for at least 6 months and could stretch to more.

I had a Ford Figo TDCI. It was a beautiful car, the service was amazing and more over Mrs. and me loved it. As my wife had just started to learn how to drive in mid December, she is not comfortable with the concept of gears yet. She is able to control the steering, brakes and acceleration. But all with Gear shifting actually takes some time to get used to it.

Keeping all the above in mind, I decided to go Automatic for my Mrs. so that for the time that I would not be driving we would still be mobile. I really did not want to spend around Rs. 1500 for a round trip on a taxi(That's average you will pay for trips in Delhi).

Selection of Criteria

- Wanted a small car, as we love hatchbacks.
- Didn't want to spend a bomb. As the money is being directed into a different direction as of now.
- Didn't want anything too eye catchy.
- Wanted something economical to run, bit of low mileage would have been no problems.
- Would prefer diesel, but nothing in the market.

Options of Cars.

The first option that came to my mind was a Brand new Celerio AMT. After considering the situation we decided to look for a used car which can be bought in the money that came in selling the FIGO. The only good options were available as Hyundai i10 AT.

Delhi being a good market for used cars, we started to look for a car on OLX and other sites. There were not too many i10's in the market and then the pricing was weird. There was too much of con jobs going on with the descriptions and stories being told by the sellers.

We decided to keep it safe and clean. This is the car that will be primarily be used by my Mrs. , so did not want to buy something that has a hidden skeleton.

So we selected a Maruti Celerio VXI AMT.

Booking and Delivery

We decided on the 17th that we wanted to buy the Celerio. The phase of negotiations and bargaining started with the dealerships around NCR. The only problem was that the car was to be registered in Bathinda my home city. After working out all the costs we realised that the price difference is not too much in Bathinda after working out all kind of taxes. There were no discounts what so ever on the AMT. Still we managed to squeeze around 5k (every penny counts at this time). We booked the car on the 18th. Wanted to get a Silver car, but it would have taken some time to get one. The sales guy offered a Pearl White ready for delivery and i took that. The car was delivered on 19th.

Sales experience

Nothing to write home about. Actually poor.
Oh and we drove for just 5 KM to reach the petrol station and had to push the car into the Bunk because the car ran out of fuel !!!!
Will keep posted about the further.

Initial Observations.

- Car comes with sort of no equipment what so ever.
- Even in VXi model Body colour Door handles and rear view mirrors are not there.
- The antenna is way too long, reminds me ones I have seen in offloading thread on the forum.
- The car comes with a Night Rear view mirror.
- Mid provides some real good information.

Driving and overall experience.

Since the day we bought the car my brother has been driving it around. the car has done around 500 KMs. He mentioned that the car feels bit sluggish when in automatic mode, it could be because of low power of the 1000 cc engine. The downshifts are slow and these could be a reason of discomfort in a few situations. Manual mode is a pleasure to drive and the best part is that you do not have to downshift when you are braking.

One main observation is that the car feels too light when driving at high speeds, it seems to be floating rather than sticking to the road. Last time he had this feeling was when he bought his Ritz and it had the 165 section tyres( the first 200 Kms were driven on them). The cars floats on the road and it does not feel anything like the Ritz, Figo or the Zen and Alto K10 he has been driving.

The car was driven to Delhi on this Sunday, a trip of 360 KM. The car was comfortable and AC was performing good and over all millage till now has been 16.8 Kmpl. the MID shows 16.9 KMPL so the calculations are close. I hope this does improve but I am not complaining.

I had not seen the car before I planned to buy it, I drove one last year in august some time and could not remember what kind of seat covers it came with. The car has Dark brown seat with some light brown inserts. We like the colour, the material is not as good as the Figo seat. I do not like to get seat covers. I think these should be good enough and the upkeep should be fine with a scheduled after 6 month wet/dry clean.
Steering wheel is nice to hold, will get a leather cover for it. In Figo I had a custom leather cover stitched. I had it for around 65000 Km and it was good till now.


Modifications and Aftermarket additions.

We have already Cut the "Way too long Antenna" and shortened it to around less than a Feet. We added the old Pioneer head unit and the Bull audio speakers. The amplifier, subwoofer and tweeters are still to be installed and will be done here in Delhi. I will post a few photos when it will be done.

Tyres have been changed from JK Vectra 165/70/R14 to Yokohama ES400 (Earth 1) 185/65/R14. I retained the recently bought HR racing alloys from my Ford Figo. Being multi PCD the alloys supported 108 and 100 PCD so I used them with Celerio.

I do have a spare set of MINDA trumpet horns, that were water damaged. But i have seen that they do have a tendency to work again after a few weeks of not being used. so i will get them checked, if they don't work then i will order a Steble horn.


Money Spent

Ex showroom: 483431
Handling: 3500
Insurance 15819
Road tax :and registration 35114
Cow Tax: 1000
Discount: 3000
free accessories: Mats, Mud flaps, Car perfume and Body cover. (costs around 2500)
Tyres Buy back: 2100 each (Total: 8400)
New tyres: 4000 each (Total: 16000)
Fitting of tyres: Free
Wheel Balancing: 200
Car stereo fitting: 400
Total spent till now (No fuel included): 541500 (Rounded)


THE BEST PART.
I took my wife for driving the car. She liked it and is very happy to have it. When she was learning the geared Alto K10 that we have, she was always apprehensive about taking the Uturn. so the first thing she wanted to do was take a U turn at a junction. She loved it when she was able to do it without any major input from Me.

PS. The most weird thing was paying a tax called COW TAX

[Rajeevraj]

Congrats on the new ride. And also wish you a speedy recovery.

Pushing your new car to the petrol bunk. That gives some idea of the poor dealership experience you hinted about.

[hillsnrains]

Yesterday our Celerio went for 6 months free service @1905 kms on ODO. It is true free service as bill amount is zero rupees. We have only one complaint, some times gear lever doe not slot in "D" mode at first try. MSIL guys were advising to go for rat protector mesh. Any members on the forum got it installed? If so is it worth?

In recent times we are getting FE of ~15.6 KMPL (car shuttles around Whitefield, Bangalore) with 100% AC and during peak hours (this is displayed FE figures and not by tank full method). This number was for a whole week and about 150 KMS distance.

P.S: During one month checkup also MSIL guys are advising/pushing to purchase additional accessories like Osram bulbs (factory fitted ones are "Jagan's" some unbranded ones), under body protection, rat mesh etc. However i did not opted for any of those.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

We have only one complaint, some times gear lever doe not slot in "D" mode at first try. MSIL guys were advising to go for rat protector mesh. Any members on the forum got it installed? If so is it worth?

P.S: During one month checkup also MSIL guys are advising/pushing to purchase additional accessories like Osram bulbs (factory fitted ones are "Jagan's" some unbranded ones), under body protection, rat mesh etc. However i did not opted for any of those.

Rat mesh?! Where will it be fit?

How did MASS zero down that the problem of gear not slotting into D sometimes is due to rat menace? What all vague ideas and reasonings these guys come up with, beats me!

If you do plan to change the headlamps go and buy at any popular after market shop. By underbody protection what do they mean?

Advise you to stay away from all this specially at MASS.

[hillsnrains]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Rat mesh?! Where will it be fit?

How did MASS zero down that the problem of gear not slotting into D sometimes is due to rat menace? What all vague ideas and reasonings these guys come up with, beats me!

I think I did not put it right in my previous post. Gear lever slotting and rat protection mesh are two different things.
For the gear lever slotting issue, they said checked and everything is fine. I tried re-producing the same problem there but not successful hence not bugged them any further. I have to wait for weekend to get my hands on Celerio (wife drives on weekdays) to see if the slotting problem still persists.
Coming to rat protector mesh, as per MASS guy mesh needs to be fixed behind/beneath the black plastic which runs along the windshield (the one which houses the windshield washer nozzles). For fixing mesh they need to open the dash board from inside cabin. I refused his proposal as I am not convinced with his explanation.

If you do plan to change the headlamps go and buy at any popular after market shop.

I have already replaced head lamps by Osram 55/60W bulbs (these were lying around for some time after my Rapid light upgrade )

underbody protection what do they mean?

Underbody paint protection.

[desideep]

Yesterday we took the car to a Mall, the exit for the parking was very steep. We tested various scenarios, like a stop and start on the ramp. The car performed fine.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by desideep

Yesterday we took the car to a Mall, the exit for the parking was very steep. We tested various scenarios, like a stop and start on the ramp. The car performed fine.

A few questions:

1) Handbrake method was used to prevent the car from rolling backwards?

2) How much time does the engine take to respond if the accelerator is stomped during the launch?