Maruti Suzuki Ciaz- Road Test Review

With regards to fuel efficiency, it will offer 20.73 kmpl for the petrol version and 26.21kmpl for the diesel version, again the segment best. The petrol car engine will deliver a power of 91.18bhp @6000rpm while the diesel will generate as much as 88.76bhp @ 4000 rpm. Torque for the petrol and diesel variants would be around 130Nm@4000rpm and 200Nm@1750rpm respectively.

The car now comes with a host of smart features like SmartPlay in car infotainment system, auto day/night IRVM, projector headlamps, glass integrated antenna, reverse parking sensors, reverse parking camera, electric trunk lid opening and intelligent key (push start/stop).

The premium black and beige interior theme, with luxurious wooden garnish looks elegant and upmarket. The car has loads of cubby holes and smart storage spaces such as sunglass holder, illuminated front console box, etc. The central armrest in the front seats has a neatly concealed console box. To make things more comfortable for rear passengers, the car also comes with rear AC vents, rear accessory socket, rear sunshade, rear centre armrest with cup holders and twin personal reading lamps. To add to all this are auto AC, foot well lamps and plush leather upholstery.

On the move, the car has quiet cabin space, thanks to the adequate use of noise dampeners at the right places. 

What I liked about the car when I drove the car on a rainy day in Jaipur was the fact that it is really spacious, sporty to drive and even has feel-rich interiors. Not many would know, CIAZ stands for Comfortable, Intelligent, Attitude and Zing. I simply think the car has great pizzazz. Even though the car comes in four variants, even the base variants have the rear AC vents (A first in the segment) and a ditto looking front console with all it chic sliding covers. Wood garnishing on the dashboard remain in the base model too. The front stylish grill also remains same for all the variants. Except for things like air bags, alloy wheels and a bit of aluminium here and there, the smart features of the car are fairly distributed among all the four variants.

While driving at high speeds on a rugged track off the national highway, I noticed the car’s suspension was perfectly tuned to provide the right comfort as also a sporty experience. Though between the petrol and the diesel, my preference would be for the diesel with its extremely torque centric performance.

With the Ciaz, Maruti Suzuki has definitely raised the bar, not just for the mid-size segment as a whole, but also for itself too. The team at Maruti Suzuki has been able to put together the finer elements of performance, design, styling, comfort and performance in perfect sync. It’s bound to change the way Indians feel about a mid-size car. To begin with, they will be a lot happier!