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-   -   Maruti Celerio Diesel : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/165305-maruti-celerio-diesel-official-review-6.html)

Here's the video review from Autocar India. Gavin is not impressed with its noise and highway performance, but the small two-pot diesel does excel in their real world fuel efficiency test (as one would expect):

http://youtu.be/L131AdaU4dE

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/arti...ackages/90622/

Too much praises for this engine!

Only one thing noticed by me from the autocarindia review. Only praise for the car is as per ACI : stellar fuel economy. The downer however? As per them, the fuel economy is 16kmpl..18kmpl (best ever achieved by ACI in all their tests).

Either autocarindia don't know how to drive or their figures are highly suspect, because they have claimed 15kmpl for the Xuv and 14 Kmpl for the Storme and higher for other small car tests. Case of memory loss?

Hi GTO,

Couple of points of clarification:

• The first diesel engine from Suzuki. Developed from a clean sheet of paper. Took 4 years of R&D.

This engine has been in development for about six years - I remember that the first version of the engine blew up in 2011.

Development started around the time GM started development of the 3 cylinder Multijet - which Suzuki was at that time very worried about.

The engine is cheap to build, small and fuel-efficient.

No diesel engine is 'cheap' to build if benchmarked with an equivalent petrol engine - the rule of thumb for small engines would be about double the manufacturing cost.

Similarly although there are no license fees to Fiat to be paid- the ENTIRE development cost in Hamamatsu and Gurgaon would be loaded on this product. It's very unlikely that this product (given its somewhat crude and unrefined nature) will find a market outside India. Hence the high price differential visavis the petrol.

I find this surprising too. 16 and 18 are not really great numbers. Most of us get that in a Swift Diesel or any other small hatchback with a way bigger engine in our regular drives.

This diesel engine makes me think of two set of people

1. City taxi operators: might find it as an alternative to replace it's ageing indica stable. The size and power is lower, but for just city commute it might suffice, considering the high economy and Maruti tag.

2. Buyers who felt Ritz isn't worth its money:
On a strictly lighter note, I think it's Maruti effort make customers realize that Ritz is indeed a great buy.
I see Ritz will be priced almost at same price point(with discounts on it) and if dealership wish and have a reason, can push people coming for celerio and are neutral to design/aged looks to Ritz. Now people will find it really worth the money as you get better build (personal I find quality and interiors better than celerio) and competent engine.

I don't know why they are forgetting

MSIL makes enough in the taxi segment from Eeco, Omni & Alto.

The Ritz is already being dumped in the taxi market too.

If now they start pushing Celerio there then they might soon face the same problem as TML

All the comments about the new DDiS engine made me really curious and I gathered up enough energy to drive myself to the nearest showroom and check it out myself.

The demo car was a top end ZDi(O) variant and while I noticed most of what GTO had stated, I did not hear the engine inside the cabin and in the traffic the engine sound was hardly noticeable. I even checked with the hood open - yes, it did sound like a diesel pumpset, but not too bad. It seems to have reasonable pickup and I was surprised to see it had reached 90KMPH without struggling. The suspension probably needs some tweaks.

I think it will sell, but not at 7.16 L (on-road, Bengaluru) quoted by the salesman [Ritz VDi sells for 7.14]. Maybe Maruti will cut prices down the line or make other changes to the car. If it really delivers about 25KMPL and is priced around 5 L on-road (ZDi(O) version), it could turn out be the Beetle of India, the start of a new era for mass market 2-cylinder diesel cars.

Celerio ZDi(O) at 5L will be tough to get even in second hand market next year. Unless Maruti faces a Honda Jazz type of built-up inventory situation, it is impossible to get such a price. Max it will come to 6.5L.

I have a feeling that Maruti is just testing the waters with this engine. They themselves dont want it to sell in huge numbers hence the slight overpricing. With this engine in the Celerio, they would see how the market reacts to the first two cylinder diesel. If it bombs, no harm Celerio is still not their big brand. Introducing this in Alto could have back fired since it could have dealt a blow to the brand that is Alto in India, if people didn't take liking to the Vibey engine.

On the other hand, if the engine gets decent response and proves to be reasonably reliable, they will plonk it into Alto too.

:p :cough: - there was a post by a certain TBHPian with the very same prediction on this very thread!

Agree on the overpricing part too!

It would be better if Maruti Suzuki were to start differentiating their private cars and taxis from now on.

Those vehicles designated to be sold to private buyers can carry the "S" logo of Suzuki at the front and rear, and they can get rid of the "Maruti Suzuki" badge at the rear. It's rumoured that they're planning to do this for their premium vehicles sold out of Nexa showrooms, but it's better to extend the same to all models that are aimed at private buyers.

As for those models solely aimed at the taxi segment (like the Dzire Tour), they can use the "winged" Maruti logo (that was used long ago) at the front and rear. There is no need for the "Maruti Suzuki" badge at the rear.

Apart from the Dzire Tour, this "winged" Maruti logo can be used on the upcoming Super Carry mini-truck & similar products. There are also cargo-special Maruti Suzukis like the Omni Cargo and Eeco Flexi panel vans. These commercial panel vans can also carry the "winged" Maruti logo, while their regular passenger variants can use Suzuki's "S" logo.

In future, they should only follow the Dzire Tour strategy of attracting taxi operators. Only a model that is being replaced by its next generation (or about to be discontinued) should be designated as taxi specials.

When the upcoming YRA / Fronx premium hatchback is introduced, the Swift can be positioned slightly lower to make enough space for it. This would free up the slow-selling (by Maruti Suzuki standards) & aging (but still very competent) Ritz hatchback to be unleashed with full force in the taxi segment.

Instead of discontinuing the Ritz, they can create a "Ritz Tour" aimed specifically at the hatchback taxi segment. This Ritz Tour can carry Maruti's "winged" logo and use the 1200cc three-pot diesel engine from their own engine family (instead of Fiat's Multijet) to differentiate it further from the Swift & YRA hatchbacks, and also price the Ritz Tour very attractively for the taxi segment. The Ritz Tour can also be made available in a factory-fitted CNG variant with the 1.2 litre K12M engine for those markets where CNG is mandated for commercial vehicles, or those where CNG is available cheaply.

It's better for Maruti Suzuki not to target both private customers and taxi operators with the same vehicle. So if the Celerio DDiS two-pot experiment doesn't succeed, they should wait before introducing it in the taxi segment. As the car gets older and gets ready to be replaced by the next generation model, then they can unleash it upon the taxi segment as a "Celerio Tour" carrying the "winged" Maruti logo.

They should also create a separate sales & service network (this is very important) to cater exclusively to mini-trucks, panel vans, taxi specials and any yellow-board vehicle from their stable. Such service centres can have extremely quick turnaround times for these commercial vehicle operators, slightly cheaper service rates and spare parts available for sale over-the-counter. They need not have huge workshops and the best customer lounges - just small-to-medium sized basic facilities that get the job done very quickly, efficiently and in a cost-effective manner. clap:

In effect, it would be like dividing the company's sales & service network into two verticals - one for white-board customers (vehicles that carry Suzuki's "S" logo) and another for yellow-board customers (vehicles that carry the "winged" Maruti logo).

In this manner, they can prevent the mainstream Maruti Suzuki brand's equity (represented by the "S" logo) from getting affected adversely by the "commercial" or "taxi" image. At the same time, the company can target the large and rock-steady revenue stream from mini-trucks (& passenger derivatives), panel vans & taxi specials with vehicles carrying the "winged " Maruti logo.

They must aim to set very high standards for the private (white-board) customers, and also aim to set very quick & cost-effective standards for the commercial (yellow-board) customers, with very strong (i.e. widespread & omnipresent) sales & service networks for both of them!

Higher, Faster, Stronger! i.e. Altius, Citius, Fortius!

Go on, Maruti Suzuki! :Cheering:

Good suggestions, except for the Ritz to be continued in the taxi segment. Throw that (design wise) rotten-egg away.

That would mean the Celerio DDiS taking on other hatchback taxis sooner than desirable. It would succeed in a big way for sure, but I'd rather wait patiently till the car nears its end-of-life period in the private segment.

Black-and-yellow Ritz taxis have already been spotted in places like Mumbai. It has been discontinued in Europe, but can still go on for a few more years as a comfortable small taxi in India. Looks are subjective and don't really matter in this segment.

I can cop-up with the tail lamps, but that egg-shaped roof is what destroys everything. Even the front and dash board are good designs, IMO.