[neethi_raj]

Finally took the plunge. Booked the ZDI+ Glistening Metallic Grey yesterday!! It was really a tough decision between the City, Rapid DSG and the Vento DSG.

The dealership has confirmed delivery by mid of next week. Super excited. Hopefully will start a Ownership thread soon.

EDIT:
Just saw GTO's Post. Thank God that maruti is hesitant to sell ciaz as a Taxi and sincerely hope that they don't change their mind any time soon.

[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by neethi_raj

Finally took the plunge. Booked the ZDI+ Glistening Metallic Grey yesterday!! It was really a tough decision between the City, Rapid DSG and the Vento DSG.

The dealership has confirmed delivery by mid of next week. Super excited. Hopefully will start a Ownership thread soon.

Congratulations and all the best. Every car in your list has its own merit. It sure is a good buy and with the support network of Maruti you will never regret your decision.

All the best again.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by GTO

As our news article states, large aggregators & cab companies have approached Maruti, but it remains hesitant to offer the Ciaz in the taxi market.

Just today I met a friend who said that he took a cab to the airport which happened to be a Ciaz, and the driver was boasting that his is the first Ciaz taxi in the city.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by GTO

As our news article states, large aggregators & cab companies have approached Maruti, but it remains hesitant to offer the Ciaz in the taxi market.

Not sure how long Maruti Suzuki would hold onto this and avoid taxi owners from buying the Ciaz.

If they are successfully able to hold up and keep it a 'private ONLY' ownership car it will be having that charm in the long run. If this car hours the Taxi segment them it'll become like the Innova and Indica. Too many Ciaz's seen on the road would loose out on the exclusivity.

This loss would discourage many buyers.

Originally Posted by neethi_raj

Finally took the plunge. Booked the ZDI+ Glistening Metallic Grey yesterday!! It was really a tough decision between the City, Rapid DSG and the Vento DSG.

Congratulations on plunging-in and booking the Ciaz! Happy that the top-end variant is chosen for all is safety features + bells and whistles it offers.

It may not be powerful or feature-rich but it does the job for any average car user!

Awaiting the ownership report.

[neethi_raj]

Originally Posted by blacksport

Just today I met a friend who said that he took a cab to the airport which happened to be a Ciaz, and the driver was boasting that his is the first Ciaz taxi in the city.

Just out of curiosity. Which city did your friend see this ciaz taxi?

I hope this is an one off incident and it wouldn't be possible for Maruti to stop such things. But what it can do is not supply the ciaz in mass to the taxi segment.

Thanks Seran manian and Anurag for your wishes.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by neethi_raj

Just out of curiosity. Which city did your friend see this ciaz taxi?

Have seen 3-4 in Bangalore.

And it's not hard to see why. Known Diesel engine, excellent fuel efficiency, spacious back seat, good boot space, Maruti backup.

I wouldn't be bothered about whether it's getting picked up by the taxi market or not.

[sun_king]

Originally Posted by neethi_raj

Just out of curiosity. Which city did your friend see this ciaz taxi?

I remember seeing a pair of yellow number plate Ciaz' in Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala sometime in December last year. And I have seen a few in Bangalore too.

Not sure why the taxi badge is considered insulting. Zoom Cars have lots of City's all over Bangalore, I am not feeling violated!

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Known Diesel engine, excellent fuel efficiency, spacious back seat, good boot space, Maruti backup.

Taxis might be more interested in petrol version + CNG. Taxi services like Meru seem to run on Petrol + CNG.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Taxis might be more interested in petrol version + CNG. Taxi services like Meru seem to run on Petrol + CNG.

I was thinking the Taxi segment was mostly in favour of Diesel engine rather than Petrol + CNG combo! There aren't many CNG filling units available all over the cities so ending up running on Petrol which may not be feasible.

I may be wrong though.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Taxis might be more interested in petrol version + CNG. Taxi services like Meru seem to run on Petrol + CNG.

CNG is not a popular choice down south due to lack of supporting infrastructure. Have seen only diesel and LPG (Omni, autos etc) variants being used for cab duty.

[rajdeeppaul1995]

Took a test drive of the Ciaz ZDI+ a week back
Here are the pros and cons according to me:

Pros
1. Space
The Ciaz and the City do really set a benchmark in terms of space for cars of this segment, tons of space all round the car and add to that a 510L boot.

2. Features
Top of the line Ciaz comes loaded with a 7 inch touchscreen, Automatic climate control, front and rear armrests, leather seat upholstery, rear windshield sunshade (not really a feature IMO) and tons of other bells and whistles.

3. Visibility
The design of the car permits good all round visibility, the blind spot doesn't hinder changing lanes, the view through the front windscreen while not "commanding" is more than adequate. The IRVM is adequate IMO.

4. Ride quality
A mixture of pro and con for me TBH, I drive a VW Polo 1.2 from Dwarka-Noida and back to Dwarka everyday (around 110 KMS) and the ride quality does amaze me, effortless driving and a planted car at high speeds, the ciaz has some good acceleration up its sleeve once the turbo kicks in but the stability is nowhere near that of the Polo at any speed above 120 Km/h.

5. Fuel economy
Class leading fuel economy. Yes, as on paper even in the real world the engine does seem very fuel efficient.
Real world figures* compiled for fellow BHPians
Diesel
City (Delhi NCR) - 17.6
Highways - 22.4

*Average of 11 complete full tanks.

Cons

1. Quality of materials
A. The panel gaps are too wide.
B. Plastics used in the doorway bottle holding area is way too thin.
C. Steering wheel quality is simply disappointing.
D. Overall plastic quality does not manage to compete to a VW hatchback

2. Engine
A. Loses out against the City in this department, the Fiat sourced diesel engine does not feel up to the mark in terms of power.
B. Work still do be done on engine refinement, NVH levels are higher than the Hyundai Verna (while much less than the City), vibrations also need to be addressed.

3. Head room at the back
Deal closer. If you're taller than 5'10" you'll find the head room short in supply.

4. Transmission
The gear shifts are very smooth but slotting the gears can get cumbersome (generic problem continued from the Ertiga).

5. Handling
Body roll is significantly more than the city.

Being a Maruti Suzuki product, the sales are up to mark. But there certainly are areas where the car can improve.

[alphahere]

Has anyone tried a tuning box on their Ciaz or any other 90HP multijet? I'm just curious to know how well this engine responds to a tuning box. I happen to have a Race Dynamics DieselTronic dual channel box lying around with me that I had used in my i20 CRDi (now running on a remap). I got this tuning box changed to Ciaz settings from RD directly for which they did not charge anything extra. Still have not got around to installing it in the car. I'm planning to install it myself as soon as I find some time for it this week.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by alphahere

Has anyone tried a tuning box on their Ciaz or any other 90HP multijet? I'm just curious to know how well this engine responds to a tuning box. I happen to have a Race Dynamics DieselTronic dual channel box lying around with me that I had used in my i20 CRDi (now running on a remap). I got this tuning box changed to Ciaz settings from RD directly for which they did not charge anything extra. Still have not got around to installing it in the car. I'm planning to install it myself as soon as I find some time for it this week.

From our earlier interactions, I remember yours is a dual channel box. RD box makes a good difference to the power delivery. Below was the difference felt at the wheel for my Punto 90hp. 96hp and 234 NM at the wheels equating more than 105hp and 250Nm at crank.

The difference will be even more enjoyable for a lighter car like Ciaz.

[latentpotential]

Originally Posted by alphahere

Has anyone tried a tuning box on their Ciaz or any other 90HP multijet? I'm just curious to know how well this engine responds to a tuning box. I happen to have a Race Dynamics DieselTronic dual channel box lying around with me that I had used in my i20 CRDi (now running on a remap). I got this tuning box changed to Ciaz settings from RD directly for which they did not charge anything extra. Still have not got around to installing it in the car. I'm planning to install it myself as soon as I find some time for it this week.

Using a simple racechip on this engine has made it a pleasure to drive, so I am sure your dual channel box will make it give a very good experience indeed.

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Below was the difference felt at the wheel for my Punto 90hp. 96hp and 234 NM at the wheels equating more than 105hp and 250Nm at crank.

The difference will be even more enjoyable for a lighter car like Ciaz.

Thanks Crazy Driver! It completely slipped my mind that yours was a 90HP. Your review was one of the reasons why I got this box for my i20 but even though the product is good and it did make a difference to its power output I found it lacking the perfection that I was expecting. At times it would make the engine stall and the low and high end delivery was still lacking for me even in P2 mode along with more clatter. But it was a rocket only in the mid range. Hence decided to try a custom remap and boy! the car has transformed into something else now. Never felt such a neck snapping response, low end torque and high end acceleration with the RD box. It makes me believe the original problem was with the stock maps in i20 and not a problem with the RD box. Will post an update after installing the box on the Ciaz and driving a few kms.