Select NEXA dealers taking bookings for the 2018 Maruti Ciaz - Report

Autocar India has tweeted that a handful of NEXA dealerships are accepting bookings for the 2018 Maruti Ciaz at INR 21,000. Maruti Suzuki, though initiating the pre-launch promotional with the teaser in its new TVC, has yet to announce the start of bookings.

Earlier in the week, reports stated that the 2018 Maruti Ciaz (facelift) would be available only with a petrol engine owing to the growing preference towards petrol-powered vehicles. The diesel variant of the Maruti Ciaz facelift will be launched before Diwali this year.

The report quotes Maruti Suzuki’s senior executive director of marketing & sales, RS Kalsi, who confirmed that the Ciaz diesel will continue. According to CarDekho, the Ciaz facelift diesel will use the same 1.3-liter four-cylinder DDiS unit, which develops 90 PS and 200 Nm of torque, and is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. The diesel engine also gets the company's SHVS mild-hybrid system with integrated start-stop to further boost fuel efficiency.

The same SHVS technology will also be offered on the Ciaz facelift petrol which will be powered by an all-new 1.5-liter K15B VVT four-cylinder unit. The engine, which powers the 2018 (Maruti) Ertiga in the Indonesian market, develops 104.7 PS and 138 Nm of torque on the MPV. Transmission choices should include a manual and automatic, though the details of the gearboxes are unknown.

The Maruti Ciaz facelift sports LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, a new grille and minor tweaks to the bumpers. The insides are expected to be spruced up with faux-wood elements and a new instrument cluster with a new multi-info display (similar to what is seen on the Baleno) is also expected.

Also read: Suzuki Vitara spotted again in India, unlikely to launch anytime soon though

Maruti is known to be developing its diesel engine in-house. A 1.5-liter diesel is expected from the manufacturer for its B- and C-segment cars, but it looks like this engine will not be making its debut on the Ciaz facelift, which is expected to launch in the second half of August 2018.

[Source - CarDekho.com & Twitter.com]