[AGupta]

I am facing low mileage issue in my diesel Ciaz Zdi + SHVS which I acquired this year from one of the fellow bhpian.
The present odometer stands at approx. 72k km purchased at around 68k km.
I recently did 70k PMS with MASS and let them check all the usual things like Air Filter, MAF sensor cleaning, Reset ECU parameters etc.
However the mileage still hovers around 18 kmpl when driven at 90-100 speeds on the highway and approx 15 kmpl in city driving conditions with AC usage of 100%.
Earlier it used to return approx 25 kmpl on highway and 20 + in city driving conditions respectively.
Any pointers from fellow bhpians will be truly appreciated.
Thanks,
AGupta

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

After spending nearly 6 months searching for a used E90 BMW 320d in Mumbai and then a month trying to find a used Laura 1.8 TSI after moving to Hyderabad, finally used my brain and not my heart and bought a Ciaz Diesel Alpha in Nexa Blue

Sold my Car to Spinny today after about 5 years with a heavy heart and lot of memories. The car had run only 32,400 km and was in great condition. It will go back to Hyderabad and hopefully find a great owner.

The experience with the car has been flawless, not a single thing failed (not even a lightbulb), 0 defects, absolutely nothing. I had many memorable trips with the car as a bachelor(Pune, Bangalore, Vijaywada) and later with my wife (Hampi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Rajasthan ,Himachal Pradesh). The interior has held up well and apart from the leather creases in the driver's seat ,everything else is almost new.

It's great highway cruiser and gives an incredible mileage of 25km/l+ consistently on highways and is pretty efficient in the city also. Service costs are very low for a car this size and I think paid about 5-7k per year on its annual service.

I bought this car to sell in 2-3 years time but due to Covid this was delayed by 2 years. Hence resale value was important and the car didn't disappoint. Spinny paid 8.4L for it (probably could get more from a private buyer) after 5 years and I had bought it for 12.36L(including accessories and warranties).

Hence annual depreciation was only 7.4% and I got 68% of my purchase price back after 5 years.

More about the selling process here:

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Sold my 2017 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz 1.3D Alpha to Spinny today which had done only 32,400 km. The car was in great condition apart from a few minor scratches.

One last picture just before it was sold:

[maint1234]

My 2019 ciaz auto hybrid petrol suddenly wouldnt start a few days back.
We had returned from a 2 day uphill drive the previous evening without a hint of trouble and the driver had moved it in the morning from the driveway to the outside road parking, as per his normal schedule. And then moved it back to the driveway.
In the evening when he tried to start it to go to the market, wouldn't crank.
The main battery showed just 4.7 volts when checked with a multimeter.
This car has done 18000 km in the last 3 years.
Tried to crank it with my 12 v inverter battery but no luck , as the combined voltage was just 11 volts , while the inverter battery alone showed 13.8 v.
Connected the inverter directly to the battery and let it charge for a hour and half.
After the battery showed 12.5 v , with inverter supply off , it started normally.
Been working without any issues since then but a pretty strange situation, probably the headlights were left on in the morning, though why our experienced driver would touch them during the daytime is strange.
Learnings-
Car battery can be charged with a home inverter.
Didn't remove the battery from the car while charging, no idea whether its recommended.
Kept a check on the battery and charging cable temperatures while charging. No issues.

The car has had no issues since procurement but its been recalled twice in the last 6 months for essential modifications to the hybrid system.
6 months back , maruti recalled it to replace the generator
and a month back for some software update to the hybrid system. Wouldn't clearly tell what the reason was.

Mileage has gone down from a max of 14 kmpl to 10.5 kmpl. This car hardly runs except for a 400 m dash to the local market.

[shauryadabas]

Greetings everyone, this is my first post on Team-BHP forum and I am open to valuable suggestions or criticism from fellow BHPians. I am a regular reader of the reviews on this forum for almost 8 years now and I appreciate the awesome content!



I am writing this long-term ownership review of my Dad's 2015 Ciaz VXI+ (~Delta) which has crossed 62000km and is doing duty as our one and only family car. I own a pre-owned 2017 Mazda 6 in FL, USA for which I am planning to write a separate detailed review sometime soon.

Back in 2015:

It was Dec 2015 and our 2008 Swift Diesel was due for a replacement. As a family of 5 members (with both me and my brother no longer small kids), our requirement was a much more spacious car that should not feel cramped at any situation. Dad decided the budget to be 10L and we were open to Sedans/Crossovers/SUVs with no particular preference for petrol or diesel. We only considered manual transmission at that time (this preference will definitely change for the Ciaz replacement).

I just got my driving license around that time and honestly, I was not having much driving experience (I was too young). My interest for cars was only based on their aesthetics and what I read in auto magazines and forums.
(It is all changed today though. After driving my Mazda 6 for almost 40k miles in USA, I now know what exactly is a good driver's car ).

In no particular order, the options considered were:

1. Honda City:
This was the default choice but higher prices and no discounts were the only drawbacks.

2. Renault Duster:
Very capable car (with ground clearance as a huge advantage), almost 1lac discount was being offered on the base model at that time. The interiors and lack of feel-good features were a letdown though.

3. Toyota Etios:
Toyota reliability was the prime reason to consider this car but we were not very impressed with the interior quality and bland looks.

4,5. Volkswagen Vento / Skoda Rapid:
Incredibly well-built cars (even more solid than my Mazda 6 !!), test drive was great. The only negative in these cars was the huge center floor hump which makes it less comfortable for the rear seat middle passenger, and also the long-term reliability concerns.

6. Hyundai Verna:
Tight back seat was a let off in a well-rounded package.

7. Hyundai Creta:
Expensive for our budget with base model not even equipped with airbags (at that time).

9. Maruti S-cross:
Non-conventional Maruti which is very well-built. I really don't know why we did not buy this car (maybe the ungainly front looks and smaller boot)

10. Ford Ecosport:
Solidly built, great to drive but the rear-seat width was tight for 5 adults.

11. Ciaz:
Ticked maximum of our requirements and was incredibly value for money. Pleasant looks and well-appointed interiors were a plus. Build quality and driving experience felt just about average though (as claimed by Dad). We decided to opt for the petrol engine as it was more refined than the diesel and safe from the 10-year diesel rule in Delhi NCR. VXI+/ZXI+ in Dark gray/White were the preferred options.

Finally, we sealed the deal on a White VXI+ at 9.25 lac (on-road).
Selecting Maruti product for the third time (after 800 and Swift) was a little ironical as Dad really wanted to try a different brand this time (but at last Ciaz came out as the most value-for-money option).

Accessories added: Leatherette seat covers, rear sunblind, rain visors, chrome door handles, and chrome window line (I don't like the chrome stuff much).

Ownership experience over the past 6.5 years:

To keep it concise, I have listed my positive/negative points below based on my observations over the years:

Positives:

- Comfortable suspension setup (good for long drives).
- Rear-seat legroom.
- Interior design and quality feels good for the price IMO.
- 510L boot space is huge.
- Big car feel for considerably less money.
- Bottom-end pickup is quick.
- Fuel efficiency for a petrol engine (~15kpl combined driving)

Negatives:

- Build quality is average at best.
- Top-end performance is lacking.
- 15-inch wheels look small (top model's 16-inchers are better)
- Interior rattling noises on bad roads.
- Squats down when fully loaded.
- Headlight response is not great.
- Fixed rear headrests are annoying (new model has adjustable ones)

I am attaching some recent pics along with few details:


Car looks well proportionate except those small wheels.





Interior fit and finish is good at most places




Loads of legroom.


Projector lamps look good but the light throw is not great.


Panel gaps are inconsistent at some places.


510 litre boot space is very practical for long family trips


The instrument cluster backlit looks really cool in a subtle way





Ciaz has proven to be a very reliable product for us till now. Out of the 62000km covered, 40% was driven in city and remaining 60% on highway/interstates. With a combined efficiency of ~14.8 kpl (11.5 kpl in city, 17kpl on highway), it's a fuel efficient petrol car. We have done several long trips with the car and all in all, Ciaz has been a great companion.

We are planning to keep it for another 2-3 years and then replace it with an SUV or a larger sedan. I will keep this thread updated.

Lastly, I am also attaching a pic of my Mazda 6 here in USA (I am planning to write a well-detailed review of it soon and will add the link in this thread):

[darthvader001]

It is all changed today though. After driving my Mazda 6 for almost 40k miles in USA, I now know what exactly is a good driver's car

Good for you. Yes, Mazda has one of the refined cars and drive experience. Their Skyactiv tech is better than Honda's or Nissan's. I had a 2014 Altima and compared to this I used to like the Mazda 6 appearance and interiors. I drove the Mazda 3 & 6 test vehicles multiple times when I was working on them.

Lastly, I am also attaching a pic of my Mazda 6 here in USA (I am planning to write a well-detailed review of it soon and will add the link in this thread)

Looks nice. Will look forward to this. Though Mazda's vehicles are good, somehow they never got the success they should have.

[shauryadabas]

Originally Posted by darthvader001

Good for you. Yes, Mazda has one of the refined cars and drive experience. Their Skyactiv tech is better than Honda's or Nissan's. I had a 2014 Altima and compared to this I used to like the Mazda 6 appearance and interiors. I drove the Mazda 3 & 6 test vehicles multiple times when I was working on them.
Looks nice. Will look forward to this. Though Mazda's vehicles are good, somehow they never got the success they should have.

Thanks a lot for your comment darthvader001. Yes, the driving feel of Mazda is amazing. Their vehicles have improved a lot in the past decade. I feel the reason for people not selecting them as opposed to Honda or Toyota is their old notion about Mazda's reliability (when Mazda was part of Ford).

Thanks for the compliment and for the motivation. I will write down my ownership experience as soon as I get some free time.

[maint1234]

My ciaz alpha petrol hybrid did not switch over to the li ion battery at a traffic stop yesterday, even though it showed 4 bars out of 5. This just a few days after the main 12 v battery had to be externally charged after dropping to just 4.7 v.

Its a 2019 model with around 18k on the odometer.

Maruti has recalled the vehicle twice in the last 6 months for work on the hybrid system. First they replaced the generator and a month back they did a software update. And i get a average of around 12.4 kmpl now , this after a inter city run. Previously it hovered around 10.5 kmpl. Never ever got a great average , though truthfully the car hardly runs more than a couple of kms per day.

Wonder if the hybrid battery needs replacement ?

[manjot1912]

Hey everyone!

I am planning a DIY fog light upgrade to projectors on my Ciaz and wanted to know if someone can let me know how to locate the high beam headlight wire in the harness that connects with the headlight assembly. I want to tap into this with the projector's solenoid wire for controlling the projector high/low beam.

Thanks!

PS: I’ve already posted this query in the Automotive Lighting thread, but got no response. Hence asking in this thread hoping someone might help.

[setuniket]

I have a 2018 Ciaz petrol hybrid- facelift, changed primary lead acid battery in May 2022, secondary battery stopped working in Dec, 2022.

You have to change the lead acid one, get it checked with a battery shop to check primary battery health.

Originally Posted by maint1234

My ciaz alpha petrol hybrid did not switch over to the li ion battery at a traffic stop yesterday, even though it showed 4 bars out of 5. This just a few days after the main 12 v battery had to be externally charged after dropping to just 4.7 v.

[Ritz_zxi]

Hi Team,

I have a 2016 Ciaz petrol zxi+ and it has completed 1,00,000 km recently. I've been using 0w-20 oil throughout from shell. Do you guys recommend I should change the grade to 5w-40 or 5w-30 or is it ok to stick with 0w-20 engine oil?

[Ritz_zxi]

Originally Posted by Jeevith

no buddy...this is a ZXI (petrol version). Distance covered is mostly on the highways, i.e., trips from Bangalore to Coorg and back. City driving would only be around 20k out of the 100,000 km. We didn't anticipate the usage at the time of purchase (even if I did I may have still bought petrol, didn't like the diesel version).

Car's held up really well, no complaints what so ever, apart from a few rattles here and there (nothing too noticeable). One small rattle near the glove box area comes to mind. I don't drive this car any more (gave it to my dad within 10,000 km), but we're so happy with it that I went and bought another black Ciaz (facelifted model).

Hey Jeevith, I am on the same boat with completing 1,02,000 km on my Ciaz. Just need your opinion on the engine oil choice and maintenance schedule.

[superbad]

Originally Posted by Ritz_zxi

Hi Team,

I have a 2016 Ciaz petrol zxi+ and it has completed 1,00,000 km recently. I've been using 0w-20 oil throughout from shell. Do you guys recommend I should change the grade to 5w-40 or 5w-30 or is it ok to stick with 0w-20 engine oil?

Stick to whatever grade is there in car manual, manufacturers know best.

[Ritz_zxi]

Originally Posted by superbad

Stick to whatever grade is there in car manual, manufacturers know best.

Hey! Manual says 0w20 and for gear oil, it says 75w80 but its become difficult to find these grades in Delhi. Do you know any references from which I can quickly get the best quality oil?

[superbad]

Originally Posted by Ritz_zxi

Hey! Manual says 0w20 and for gear oil, it says 75w80 but its become difficult to find these grades in Delhi. Do you know any references from which I can quickly get the best quality oil?

There is no stock in a place like Delhi? I find that hard to believe with all the service centers or hundreds of garages or auto hubs (Kashmir gate etc). In any case, you should be able to buy it online on Amazon, Flipkart, Boodmo, Gomechanic etc.

[Ritz_zxi]

Originally Posted by superbad

There is no stock in a place like Delhi? I find that hard to believe with all the service centers or hundreds of garages or auto hubs (Kashmir gate etc). In any case, you should be able to buy it online on Amazon, Flipkart, Boodmo, Gomechanic etc.

Just recently placed an order for 75w80 which is coming from Japan. Crazy isn't it?
For the Engine Oil have to rely on Shell's 0w20 which is made for Hyundai Cars. Getting 0w20 engine oil from good brands like Castrol, and Mobil 1 has just become impossible.