2018 Maruti Ciaz Facelift (1.5L Petrol) : Official Review

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by MMV

Great review and a loud cheer for the same.
The car to say the least is uninspiring and Maruti again failed to get itself established in C2 segment.

LOL!

Please do go through monthly sales charts for the last 20 months and reread what you have written here.

[sandx]

Originally Posted by MMV

The car to say the least is uninspiring and Maruti again failed to get itself established in C2 segment. Unless they (read Maruti and Suzuki) make their presence felt in higher priced cars, they will soon end up being gobbled by big rivals which in my opinion is not far away (5-8 yrs max).

Sorry, but failed to understand this. Is it some sort of sarcasm.

Unless a government clears an ordinance banning sale of maruti cars, gobbled up is not going to happen anytime soon.

Coming back to the car, the facelift has made the car droolworthy. Was following one on my way back from office, man the tail lights look amazing. 2 star safety or not, Maruti has worked some hours to put up some striking tail lamp combinations lately with optimum use of LED elements.

I would have definitely put the facelifted Ciaz at the top of my list if i was looking for a full sized sedan today. This will make an ideal ride for folks with a sedate driving style. But I would have also done a point by point tear down comparison with the Verna.

[landcruiser123]

I'd say Maruti should try mating the 1.0 boosterjet and sell a limited edition Ciaz with 6 airbags, sporty suspension and the body kit. I'm sure the market has evolved enough. If people are willing to buy the expensive Polo TSI, they's buy a sporty Ciaz too.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

A good cruiser : The Diesel Gearbox has a really taller 5th Gear and this I realised when I was looking at the RPM Dial.....

That is majorly due to weight. Ertiga is heavier and needs to lug more weight (7 pax,) therefore has short gearing.

Having recently read about the Crash test reports of both Brezza and the New Swift, it truly shows 2 faces of the same coin of MSIL....

If Maruti claims that their cars are ready to meet the safety standards, I'd be worried about the watered down safety norms of the BNVSAP.
p.s. I'm not a Maruti fanboy. (More a Toyota fanboy )

[MMV]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

LOL!

Please do go through monthly sales charts for the last 20 months and reread what you have written here.

Apologies for misquoting the stat, it was a IMO statement on Ciaz and Maruti as a brand for 10+lac cost vehicles.

Originally Posted by sandx

Sorry, but failed to understand this. Is it some sort of sarcasm.

Unless a government clears an ordinance banning sale of maruti cars, gobbled up is not going to happen anytime soon.

Coming back to the car, the facelift has made the car droolworthy. Was following one on my way back from office, man the tail lights look amazing. 2 star safety or not, Maruti has worked some hours to put up some striking tail lamp combinations lately with optimum use of LED elements.

I would have definitely put the facelifted Ciaz at the top of my list if i was looking for a full sized sedan today. This will make an ideal ride for folks with a sedate driving style. But I would have also done a point by point tear down comparison with the Verna.

Noted the hegemony of Maruti in Indian markets, but I still feel even Suzuki may not remain independent after 5-8years, suggest lets read this later towards end of 2020s. Reasons for the above view includes the fact that Suzuki lags others in innovation, product pipeline across segments, in India currently it may be unchallenged

[F150]

Nice throw from the LED headlights, Finally a car with great stock headlights.
Can these LED bulbs be retrofitted in other cars with projectors ?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by MMV

I still feel even Suzuki may not remain independent after 5-8years

Don't know about Suzuki, but Maruti will almost certainly become a subsidiary of Toyota. At least that's my prediction.

Originally Posted by F150

Can these LED bulbs be retrofitted in other cars with projectors ?

Can certainly be fitted on the old Ciaz! Thanks to BHPian PraNeel for originally sharing this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffg_pMm4qDU

[turbowhistle]

Nice Review! Seriously not a single auto portal/ forum covers official reviews like Team-BHP does!!

Coming back to the car, it’s certainly not for enthusiasts but then we form a minuscule percentage and rest of the junta will certainly love the car due to the bling factor!
Not sure what is stopping Maruti from plonking the 1.0L boosterjet into Ciaz and get a alpha + /RS model with sunroof and other nice things!!

[theredliner]

Originally Posted by Aditya

This really goes to prove that Suzuki's competence is in small engines, not big ones (even the SX4's 1.6L & Vitara's 2.0L weren't that impressive).

It is not that Suzuki is incapable of producing good bigger engines. The M16A from the previous Swift Sport was apparently an awesome rev-happy engine - Peak Power @ 6900 RPM and rev limit of 7200 RPM. (It's sad that they replaced that engine with a 1.4 turbo). The 1.4 and 1.5 they use here in Ertiga/Ciaz don't seem to use sophisticated components in order to keep the costs low and in a way it makes sense too as most average Indian drivers never bother revving beyond 3500 RPM anyway (I know many owners of City i-Vtec who have never experienced that Vtec kicked in yo moment). For an enthusiast though, it'd be a disappointment. This car has absolutely nothing to offer for those who love enthusiastic driving as has been mentioned in the review.

[kskthere]

With new 1.5-litre K15 petrol engine under the hood, SHVS system on a petrol engine for the first time, bold front fascia with re-designed headlamp cluster with LED projector lamps, Cruise control and other features, there were enough reasons to take a test drive of the new facelifted Ciaz. Somehow, there ended the excitement. Step inside the cabin, there isn't much difference from the outgoing one apart from a few inserts and Baleno-like MID. Hit the throttle, the new 1.5-litre engine is never the one for spirited driving, somehow lacks urgency. And as mentioned in the review, Maruti surely missed a trick to grab a bigger share of pie in C2 segment by not including 6 airbags, at least on the top variant, and other premium features. All in all, aggressive pricing, good fuel efficiency and comfortable ride quality, this car still strikes a chord in the mass market.

[SJM1214]

Thanks, Aditya & ChiragM for the detailed review.

Originally Posted by Aditya

• Value-for-money pricing that undercuts almost all rivals
• Spacious cabin with lots of practical features. Rear legroom is particularly impressive
• Maruti’s excellent after-sales service, wide dealer network & fuss-free ownership experience

Maruti surely has a winner in Ciaz. Ciaz is constantly giving a tough fight to likes of Honda City and Hyundai Verna. I liked the new face of Ciaz it looks more mature than old Ciaz.

Yesterday, I visited NEXA for some minor issues in my MS Brezza. NEXA, Anand delivered 19 New Ciaz on the first day of Navratri. I talked to some of the customers. As per them, space and comfort were the major reasons to go for Ciaz. A perfect Family sedan under 11 big ones with Maruti badge.

[SRM]

Again a missed opportunity by Maruti to make this a complete product and take the competition head-on. While it surely leads on the comfort and space side, it was always about missing adequate power and safety (Airbags). Both these have not been addressed in this facelift.

Not sure why has Maruti not yet warmed up to the idea of having 6 airbags, none of their cars have that option. And, honestly I didn't quite like the new front of Ciaz, it looks pressed from the top. The earlier front looked really good.

Still feel Verna is the best all-round package in this segment.

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by jassi_jeeper

I wonder why Maruti have kept the specifications, life and cost of the Lithium battery a secret. Even the car manual is silent about it.

I am more worried at the placement of the battery below the Drivers Seat. If the battery exploded it would eject the driver thru the roof

Is this the normal/ideal place to keep the battery where it is placed currently? Could Maruti not have placed it in that class leading boot that they have ?

That apart I think this car is one of the most "Value for Money" cars in the country right now. Hope they also bring in the new Suzuki BS VI Diesel engine soon and mate it with a autobox...

[jpcoolguy]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

For cars measuring < 4 meters, its 1.2 ltr for petrol & 1.5 ltr for diesel

For cars measuring > 4 meters, its 1.5 ltr for petrol & 1.5 ltr for diesel.

Currently except for the Verna (barring the 1.4 ltr variants), rest of the C2 sedans enjoy the excise benefit. Verna loses for both 1.6 petrol & diesel variants.

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

Is it So? As far as I know, if a petrol car is >4 m in length, it attracts a 20% excise tax irrespective of the size of engine (it is 8% if it fulfills BOTH the conditions of <12.L engine AND <4 m Length). Only thing is, if engine capacity is >1.5L the excise duty is even more at 24%.

Originally Posted by SoumenD

As per SIAM website this was the structure till sometime back. March 2018 i.e. If its more than 1.5L and >4m, 27%. Guess Verna falls in this bracket.

Was it changed post GST? The SIAM website doesn't seem to be working properly now.

The cess levied on the cars have been changed post GST and I have captured in this post here (Revenue calculation of cars sold in India - How many $$$ each model brings to its maker).

The new calculation is based on the fixed % of GST (28%) + the additional cess on different segments of cars and they are defined as below:

- Base GST : 28%
- < 4m passenger vehicles (petrol, CNG, Ethanol, Methanol) - 1%
- < 4m passenger vehicles (diesel, Ethanol, Methanol) - 3%
- > 4m midsize Sedans (petrol, diesel, CNG, Ethanol, Methanol, Hybrid) - 17%
- > 4m Luxury Sedans (petrol, diesel, CNG, Ethanol, Methanol, Hybrid) - 20%
- > 4m SUVs (petrol, diesel, CNG, Ethanol, Methanol, Hybrid) - 22%

So, now Verna doesn't lose out on the taxes part since all the C2 Sedans fall under the tax bracket of 45% (28% + 17%), however it loses big time in the third party insurance premium where the engines with size greater than 1.5L attracts more premium.

The cost of third-party cover is decided by the IRDA and is revised each year. The current figures are as follows:

[Sri Vathsa]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Boot lid now gets full cladding underneath (check older one here)!

Finally the boot lid gets the full cladding!! hoping that its a easy fit for older ciaz. I would love to change the headlamps to the new version and also the boot lid cladding.

[deetjohn]

The new Ciaz looks quite smart in person. Especially the Alpha with all its LED shenanigans.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Smart Hybrid system:
Most of the FE improvements come from the idling start / stop system..... Yep, there is a button to disable the annoying feature.

The S-Cross doesn't remember this setting however once you switch the ignition off. Its doubly annoying. Guess its the same too for Ciaz?

Nexa personal is quite proud of the secondary Li-ion battery in the cabin. Was the second thing he showed us in the showroom while my friend and I were doing a PDI of his new S-Cross. 'The hybrid tag' surely looks the part now. But does it mean business? A question below.

Originally Posted by Aditya

The system also includes brake energy regeneration. In this, when the brakes are applied, the kinetic energy generated is converted into electric energy. This electric energy is stored in both the batteries. The Li-ion battery assists the engine by providing a little extra torque when the car needs to accelerate quickly.

Do we know the details here? Can the Starter Generator Unit help turn the crankshaft during acceleration? If it can, it is really impressive at this price point!