We have already seen the Maruti Suzuki Celerio undisguised, courtesy Motorbeam, which obtained pictures of the car at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida. This time, the motoring website has procured pictures of the interiors of the car.

As the pictures reveal, the overall cabin space is an improvement over the A-Star's, but probably not as roomy as the Estilo's. The dashboard of the car has three colours, beige, black and silver. The instrument cluster is dominated by a large speedometer, with a tachometer to its left and a multi-information display to the right. There is an HVAC unit and an aftermarket, 2 DIN, Kenwood audio system. The steering wheel appears similar to that of a Maruti Swift. The semi-automatic gearshift appears dash-mounted and has the regular automatic modes - R, P, N, D with a + and - option for manual shifting. It is clear that this is a budget offering from Maruti, when you consider that this is the ZXi variant and Maruti has left out steering mounted controls and airbags. The rear seat shot of the car shows a dual tone seat fabric.

The Celerio is likely to be powered by the 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, K-10 unit that we are familiar with. There are rumours of an 800 cc, 2-cylinder, diesel motor being added later on.

Maruti will debut the Celerio at the Auto Expo in February.

Maruti Suzuki, India’s leading car maker looks to be well on course to debut its new hatchback, the Celerio at the Auto Expo in February. The car is being spotted in India on a fairly, regular basis now. The latest catch comes from the motoring website, MotorBeam, which has spied the hatchback at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida.

Spotted in the ZXi trim, pictures suggest that production version does not look too different to the A:Wind concept, which was displayed at the Thailand International Motor Expo. Apart from the overall shape, it retains the strong character lines running along its sides. The big grille at the front has made way for a smaller one, but it continues to sport the two chrome slats that were seen on the concept. The sporty bumpers have made way for more conventional ones. A pair of fog lights has been housed in the front bumpers. The car rides on 6-spoke alloy wheels and has turning indicators integrated into its ORVMs.

The Celerio is likely to be powered by the 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, K-10 engine, found in some of Maruti’s current offerings. The car is rumoured to be getting Magneti Marelli’s Automated Manual Transmission (AMT), which allows the driver to shift gears in a conventional manual pattern, without engaging a clutch. This clutch-less transmission is expected to reduce the effort needed to drive the car in stop-go conditions.

Economic Times reports that leading Indian manufacturer Maruti Suzuki, is planning to introduce a clutch-less manual transmission in its upcoming hatchback, the Celerio. Called Automated Manual Transmission (AMT), this technology allows drivers to shift gears like a manual transmission, but, without engaging a clutch.

The Celerio, which is the replacement for the Estilo and A-Star, will be debuted at the Auto Expo in February 2014. The car is likely to be powered by the 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, K10 engine that is being used in some cars in Maruti’s current line-up. The absense of a clutch will mean that the effort required to drive the car in stop-go traffic will be considerably reduced, which will boost the car's appeal.

The AMT is not as expensive as a conventional automatic transmission, which will mean the price of the car will cost only a little more than its manual sibling. Additionally, a car fitted with AMT is supposed to be just as fuel-efficient as one with a manual transmission.

The AMT is developed and patented by Italian component manufacturer, Magnetti Marelli S.p.A., which has set up a facility, dedicated to the technology at Manesar, Haryana.

Maruti Suzuki is planning to use the Auto Expo as a platform for the debut of its global hatchback, the Celerio. The car, which has been codenamed YL7 and shown as the Suzuki A:Wind concept at the Thailand International Motor Expo, is expected to be a replacement for the A-Star and the erstwhile Estilo in India and the Alto (A-Star) and Splash (Ritz) in European markets.

For India, the Celerio is expected to lose the 16-inch alloy wheels and the sporty bumper that were seen on the A:Wind concept. On the inside, it is believed to be more spacious than the A-Star.

Under the hood, the Celerio is likely to use a 1.0-litre K-series engine that powers Suzuki’s current generation of cars. It will be tuned for better fuel-efficiency in the Celerio. Though the concept was displayed with a CVT automatic gearbox, it is unclear whether the production version will get it.

Source: Autocar India