[BigWheels]

Originally Posted by Jeevith

FIRST SERVICE

So I had now completed 1400 km in about 13 days. Big figure, but that's only because of extenuating circumstances (i.e. One Coorg trip with family and One Mysore trip with friends). Completed the first free service at this point.

Took the car in a little late (I had completed 1350 km). The Pratham guys were kind enough to let me witness the entire service process. Had to pay for the oil change as that's not part of the first free service. The service person did try to convince me a lot about how it wasn't required that I change the oil after 1000km. His explanation was that the car is dyno tested and unlike older cars there actually isn't any wearing of the pistons. He may have been right for all I know considering I didn't see any shiny bits in the drained out oil either. Nevertheless, I didn't see a downside to changing the oil other than an outlay of approx INR 3600/- (including the oil filter).

Hi Jeevith, I know its almost a year since your first service. But since i just bought a ZDi+ SHVS and it will be ready for its first service soon. I wanted to ask you why you insisted on changing the oil on its first service? Thanks

[Jeevith]

Originally Posted by BigWheels

Hi Jeevith, I know its almost a year since your first service. But since i just bought a ZDi+ SHVS and it will be ready for its first service soon. I wanted to ask you why you insisted on changing the oil on its first service? Thanks

Abundant caution more than anything actually. Old school of thought is that the first 1000 kilometres is when there is maximum wearing of the pistons, so accordingly an oil change is recommended to remove these particles.

Alternatively, the Suzuki guys will tell you that you that the engine is dyno tested before being dispatched from the factory and so there wouldn't be as much wearing off of the pistons. While this is true in all likelihood, but there's no way of verifying for how many kilometres the engine been dyno tested.

The cost of the oil is relatively cheap according to me (approx 1800 bucks for 3.2 litres of Shell MGO 0W20 fully synthetic engine oil), so I went ahead and got it changed.

I know I paid more during the first service, that's only cause I wasnt aware of the right grade (I got it replaced with Castoroil 5W40 fully synthetic). I've since found out that Maruti has tie up with Shell for the recommended oil grade.

FYI, I've complete 30000 kilometres now (I know, it's a big number, no typo) and I've changed the oil 4 times, i.e. at 1k, 10k, 20k and 30k. I intend to change the oil at smaller intervals from hence forth.

[BigWheels]

Originally Posted by Jeevith

Abundant caution more than anything actually. Old school of thought is that the first 1000 kilometres is when there is maximum wearing of the pistons, so accordingly an oil change is recommended to remove these particles.

Alternatively, the Suzuki guys will tell you that you that the engine is dyno tested before being dispatched from the factory and so there wouldn't be as much wearing off of the pistons. While this is true in all likelihood, but there's no way of verifying for how many kilometres the engine been dyno tested.

The cost of the oil is relatively cheap according to me (approx 1800 bucks for 3.2 litres of Shell MGO 0W20 fully synthetic engine oil), so I went ahead and got it changed.

FYI, I've complete 30000 kilometres now (I know, it's a big number, no typo) and I've changed the oil 4 times, i.e. at 1k, 10k, 20k and 30k. I intend to change the oil at smaller intervals from hence forth.

Thanks and congrats on the milestone. So typically my question is "kitna deti hai?" (whats the mileage?) Any major hiccups?

[Jeevith]

Originally Posted by BigWheels

Thanks and congrats on the milestone. So typically my question is "kitna deti hai?" (whats the mileage?) Any major hiccups?

Haha!

20 on highways, which is where most of my driving is. And 15-16 in the city. Really heavy traffic might plummet the figure to about 12, and clear highways (night and early morning (3am to 5am) driving) takes the figure all the way up to 22.

But this is a petrol car. My wife's S-Cross (same engine as your ZDI) gives 16-17 in traffic and 24 on highways.

There's this small ratling noise from the dash board. Pretty common niggle from what I've read (bhpian Visaster seems to have found a solution also). Other than that no complaints. Very happy with the car!!!

[andescondor]

Originally Posted by Jeevith

The 10k Mark (Well....Almost)
Air Conditioner:

Before my purchase of the, I had heard legendary stories about how awesome the air conditioner of the erstwhile Baleno was (the sedan and not the 2015 hatch). I was hoping the Ciaz follows suit. It's not legendary of the sort, but it sure does the job. Again, I can't really give you an honest opinion as a matter of general practice I used the automatic climate control feature and the temperature I use in 22.5 c. It's a comfortable cabin within a minute during normal conditions. There have been instances where the car had been parked in the sun, on such occasions the AC takes about 3-4 minutes to get the cabin to comfortable temperatures. Note; all the above is using the Automatic Climate Control, pretty sure you can accelerate the process by manually decreasing the temperature and increasing the fan speed.

Jeevith - fantastic review, thank you for sharing the minutest of details. Question: How does the A/C perform during low revs in the city as opposed to > 2000+ rev on the highway? Do you notice any slight delay of power delivery due to the A/C? Or, is the power delivery is not affected at all by the A/C? Maybe you can tell me how the car behaved on the Coorg trip?

[Jeevith]

Originally Posted by andescondor

Maybe you can tell me how the car behaved on the Coorg trip?

Thanks for the compliments andescondor. Well they've been a LOT of Coorg trips (the car completed around 36,000 kilometers in the first 12 months (the odo reads about 39k right now after 15 months).

Originally Posted by andescondor

How does the A/C perform during low revs in the city as opposed to > 2000+ rev on the highway? Do you notice any slight delay of power delivery due to the A/C? Or, is the power delivery is not affected at all by the A/C?

Well, during idle (which is about 800 rpm) there's approximately a 50 rpm increase in the revs. It's fairly discernible in the terms of sound when the car is at idle.

But you can hardly the tell the difference while driving. Maybe (just maybe) on the highways, though I've personally never experienced any (note: the max rpm I use is 3k).

So yea, to summarize, you most certainly can hear the increased rpm (especially at idle), but little or no delay in power delivery. In fact the lower end torque is pretty good on this car (with or without the A/C).

[SamuraiJack]

Hi, I'm on the verge of buying a black ciaz, how hard has it been to maintain? Any paint protection considered?

[Jeevith]

Originally Posted by SamuraiJack

Hi, I'm on the verge of buying a black ciaz, how hard has it been to maintain? Any paint protection considered?

Hi Samurai,

Apologies for the delayed response. It's not been that hard actually (compared to what I was expecting before purchasing).

I've engaged the watchman of the building to dust / wipe (without water) every morning, and a shampoo wash every week. His wage is about 700 bucks, and there's the cost of the shampoo.

Apart from that, for about 2k I get some kind of waxing / polishing, interior cleaning, etc. done as and when I feel like (I've tried many places, most often used this app called Cartisan, and usually 2-3 months apart). This happens at my doorstep now.

Nicks and dents are taken care during annual servicing at MSSC itself. This too has cost me 6k one year because I had dents in 4 places (both bumpers and two quarter panels) and I was able to claim insurance for an additional 6k-8k (don't remember the exact amount). No major expense here either (certainly no additional expenses on account of the car being black)

Hope this helps. You should definitely buy black (best looking by far).

[Jeevith]

Probably my last post on this thread....but here's my latest odo reading.



This car has been a work horse for it's driver (who unfortunately is not me). The stock tyres have not yet been changed (but will be now ).

[DriverNo.420]

Hey Jeevith,
Have you sold the ciaz?

[Jeevith]

Originally Posted by DriverNo.420

Hey Jeevith,
Have you sold the ciaz?

Oh no no....not yet. Just bought another one (also black, but with the new 1.5 litre engine). My dad uses this one, so in a manner of speaking I've parted ways with this car.

Car is still very much in the family, but don't see myself posting updates on this thread (I'm penning a new one for the new car).

[DriverNo.420]

Originally Posted by Jeevith

Oh no no....not yet. Just bought another one (also black, but with the new 1.5 litre engine). My dad uses this one, so in a manner of speaking I've parted ways with this car.

Car is still very much in the family, but don't see myself posting updates on this thread (I'm penning a new one for the new car).

Very good choice indeed for a new car. But there are very less people who upgrade to the same car. I could've given you infinite reasons why you verna was was a better choice in 2019 but at the end, if you're happy with your purchase, then nothing else matters and we are no one to complain about it.