Maruti Suzuki to launch the Kizashi in January

Autocar India Editor, Hormazd Sorabjee has revealed in a tweet on his twitter page that Maruti Suzuki is set to launch the Kizashi luxury saloon in January 2011, in the Indian car market.

The Kizashi is Suzuki's flagship model internationally and is also the most expensive Suzuki product worldwide. The Kizashi will carry the distinction of being the most expensive Suzuki product in India as well.

The Kizashi will be powered by a 2.4 litre petrol engine pumping out 185 bhp and 230 Nm, of power and torque respectively. The car is available internationally in both manual and automatic options, but we will have to wait and watch as to which transmission option is launched in India and at this point, the automatic transmission is the anticipated one. The Kizashi is also available in an All Wheel Drive (AWD) variant internationally, but it is highly unlikely that this version will be launched in India.

The Kizashi will be brought in through the Completely Built Unit (CBU) route initially, but Maruti could consider local assembly from Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits, if the sales volumes are good. The Kizashi could be priced between 17-24 lakh rupees.

It will also be interesting to see whether the Kizashi is badged as a Maruti Suzuki or simply Suzuki like Maruti Suzuki's lone CBU offering, the Grand Vitara. The car may carry only the Suzuki badge as the Maruti badge is too closely associated with all the small car offerings from the Maruti Suzuki stable.