[condor]

Saw a new Ciaz today. Car looks sober, nothing flashy.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Now that Maruti has huge bookings we can expect the price to be revised several times!
Take the example of the Ecosport-
When it first launched it was sold at Rs 5.59 Lakhs Ex-showroom!
Today this car is being sold at Rs 6.59 Lakhs Ex-showroom!

No way, its a Maruti & not Ford. Even if they increase it after few months, it will be marginal. They want success badly in C2 segment. If they are getting it with Ciaz, they don't want to loose it for sure. Maruti is very clever in this kinda things. They know where to increase and where not.

[Carophilic]

I just found out from my friends in the auto industry why initial cars made are always white. It seems ( believe it or not) that white cars take lesser time to paint. Hence, initial lot cars are nearly all white. At least most of the demo cars are. The special colour cars come after better understanding of market demand.

[methecupid]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

I just found out from my friends in the auto industry why initial cars made are always white. It seems ( believe it or not) that white cars take lesser time to paint. Hence, initial lot cars are nearly all white. At least most of the demo cars are. The special colour cars come after better understanding of market demand.

This, or the fact there was an interesting report a few days back which said every second car sold in India was white lady year.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/44797200.cms

They are just playing the numbers game

[malq]

Four days after providing Maruti Suzuki with every possible detail about cancellation, this is the message I get from Maruti-Suzuki -

"We have received your communication regarding refund of booking cancellation amount. We value you as a member of Maruti family and sincerely acknowledge the inconvenience you have been experiencing. At Maruti Suzuki, our customers are the biggest assets for us and any discomfort felt by our customers is our top concern.

We request you to kindly send us your booked car variant (CIAZ VXI / VXI+ / ZXI / ZXI (O) / AT VXI+ / AT ZXI / VDI / VDI+ / ZDI / ZDI (O)) and if any time frame committed (verbal or written) by the dealership regarding refund of booking cancellation amount. This will help us to expedite your query at the earliest.

We are looking forward to receive the desired information. We will do our best to assist you in best possible manner.""

What an interesting way to buy time.

Dealership calls up only to ask why I am cancelling. I tell them it is NOYB, please cancel and refund, at which they say it will be done under process.

Manufacturer now says this.

I think the whole system of manufacturers / dealers accepting bookings needs to be looked into, they are not NBFCs to accept deposits from public like this.

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by condor

Saw a new Ciaz today. Car looks sober, nothing flashy.

I saw a black Ciaz at a dealer, looked good but I didn't like the large chrome grill in the front. way too much chrome for me, I would have proffered this in a nice matt black finish. Oh and the back of the car looked too similar to a Honda city

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by malq

Four days after providing Maruti Suzuki with every possible detail about cancellation, this is the message I get from Maruti-Suzuki -

My brother-in-law booked a ZXI verions of Ciaz. He canceled the booking last week and it took only 3 days for him to get the refund from the dealer.

[harry10]

No call from the Maruti dealer till now. I went there a week back and they didn't had a TD car. He took my details and promised to call as soon as one is available. I called that guy today to inquire and he said he is on leave and has no idea if TD car has arrived or not. Not an ideal behaviour by the sales team for a car launched 2 weeks back. Seems like I have to go to the showroom again to check if I can get a TD.

[aaggoswami]

Had a TD of petrol Ciaz today, below are my observations :

1) This car is no Baleno. Its 65%-70% of what the great G16 was capable of.

2) Engine noise is prominent. NVH could have been better. However, while idling, I wondered if my engine was actually ON or not. Had to refer the tacho.
Its OK or rather bearable till 2500-3000 rpm. But its present.

3) Clutch, somehow, was not as smooth or crisp as a typical Maruti. A bit grabby in action, but not bad.

4) Coming to main part i.e. performance. I am not sure how MSIL achieved this, but the car is lively, atleast in low end. Effortless to drive at city speeds. Nothing to complain about. If you want to close the gap, it responds in a linear fashion, not urgent, but not slow. Above average. Start revving it and you know its a relativey revv happy engine. Not in league of G-series, but good enough. Feels a lively motor with adequate performance. Dont drag Honda City to eternity, thats it. The focus on small throttle inputs have shown positive colours. It would oblige to what you say. 80-85% of the time I did not miss Baleno/City motors. Only when you want urgent flat out performance the engine fall short.

It pulls with mild yet linear intensity and after 4250-4500 rpm the pull gets a bit stronger, but its very linear. Not frenzied/strong top end of Baleno or City or even Fiesta 1.6 Classic for that matter. One wont feel it, but the speedo does indicate faster rate of climbing velocity.

The occasional enthusiast wont repent his decision to buy Ciaz as far as 1.4 petrol variant goes. I did not realize the growing speed, but even after 4500 rpm the speed was building up till 5500, could not push beyond that to 6000 rpm due to traffic. But acceleration is "OK" .
It seems I am not able to find accurate words to describe the performance. Read it like this : Baleno/City/Fiesta 1.6 are Aircrafts, strong frenzied pull at top end, but Ciaz is like an above average locomotive, pulls in linear fashion till almost redline, no sudden pushed back in the seat. This was with an engine having barely 300 kms. under its belt.

All in all, I would rate this motor 7.5/10. The supposedly good FE adds the last .5 points. Would do the task be it city or highway while giving good FE.

5) Ride was nice, but at speeds just above dead slow, I found it to be stiff but I suspect over inflated tyres for that.

6) Front Seats are comfortable if not very comfortable. In Honda City, if the build is very large, the shoulders do not get support, but Ciaz can accommodate larger frames. Downside is that those who fit in the seat perfectly would feel City seats to be better. But its not deal breaker.

7) Outside noise is amazingly and pleasantly well filtered out. Yes, the sound insulation from outside elements is much better than expected. Better than my Grand i10.

8) Steering ratio is on lower side. Baleno had a quick steering ratio, Swift also has a quick steering ratio. I might be wrong, but at one slow and tight 90 degree right turn, I had to make correction and turn the steering wheel more. That would not be required in Swift or Grand i10. Might be due to added wheelbase and length over Baleno, but overall I did feel the steering ratio on lower side. A quicker steering ratio would be appreciated. May be the light steering made the engineers feel to lower down the ratio to avoid excessive turning of wheels with less steering inputs.

9) Just to compare, after driving Ciaz petrol when I was driving Grand i10 diesel back home, I felt I was driving an agricultural machinery. It takes so much effort to drive diesel Grand i10 that I feel tired very soon. Engine is the main culprit in this case.

10) Driving Ciaz does not make you realize that actually you are driving a sedan. The car shrinks around you which is a nice feeling.

11) OVRM should have been larger, noticably larger. They should have taken them from Ertiga, current ones on Ciaz are not satisfactory.

12) Brakes need re-engineering. TD car was ZXi which has ABS. Dont know what, but one has to be very cautious while driving the car for first time. Brakes are SPONGY. Atleast my test drive car had those sort of brakes. Brakes are effective, no doubt, but one has to press it hard. Grand i10 has grabby, over servoed brakes and this is exactly opposite of that. At one point where I had to brake in urgency, brakes did a fantastic job, but the feel of brake pedal made me feel I am going to rear end the Tavera in front of me.

I sincerely request MSIL to look into this. My Wagon R has better brake feel and are much, much easier to modulate. Confidence inspiring, but not so in Ciaz.

To end this post : Ciaz petrol is a very smart option in its segment. Has enough power to drive one to office/workplace, enough power to be a long distance family hauler and just about enough to occasionally be an enthusiast. If anybody is looking for daily enthusiasm, look somewhere else. This car feels sort of effortless to drive thanks to smart gearing, an adequate motor coupled with light controls. Ergonomics are also good. In Grand i10 the gear lever is place too far ahead, its comfortable in Ciaz.
I cannot comment on handling as could not test the same due to dense traffic and lack of high speed corners or emergency situations where manoeuvring would have given a hint.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

I just found out from my friends in the auto industry why initial cars made are always white. It seems ( believe it or not) that white cars take lesser time to paint. Hence, initial lot cars are nearly all white. At least most of the demo cars are. The special colour cars come after better understanding of market demand.

NOT really sure of it. We are talking about robotized dipping / painting which will have the same process / timing for painting. Why would white take more / less time compared to another one unless other colors have more number of coats comparatively.

I think the reason is white has MORE preference & acceptance than any other colors and hence the reason to produce more and sell faster.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I think the reason is white has MORE preference & acceptance than any other colors and hence the reason to produce more and sell faster.

White is simpler and most accepted with a neutral look given to the car as compared to the other regular shades seen. Hence it sells the most and widely accepted.

Painting time is same IMO as you have said already.

Anurag.

[SchumiFan]

I think the situation was the same with Swift release as well. Something to do with batch production. Hence a lot of white colored cars in the beginning set.

[Carophilic]

White,I guess, has something to do with number of layer of coats required for requisite look. At least that is what my buddy told me. Also, black similarly takes less time.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

White,I guess, has something to do with number of layer of coats required for requisite look. At least that is what my buddy told me. Also, black similarly takes less time.

With all due respect- I don't think your buddy is correct here. White is preferred by manufacturers as it is also the most favoured colour in the market.

By the way- is he talking about solid paints or metallic? White used to be a solid paint for most manufacturers till a decade ago.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

White used to be a solid paint for most manufacturers till a decade ago.

White is still a solid paint(non- metallic) for most manufactures even now. Check VW offerings!