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The petrol engine is smooth and has linear power delivery
Performance – The Maruti Dzire continues to come with the same set of engines. The petrol engine is a 1.2-litre K-series unit churning out 82 horses at 6000 RPM and 113 Nm at 4200 RPM and it is offered with a 5-speed manual or AMT gearbox. The engine is smooth and refined and power delivery is decent for a car of this size. The engine likes to be revved and there is plenty of action even near the redline. The clutch is light and the petrol engine can churn out an efficiency of 13-4 km/l in the city and around 16-17 km/l on the highway in real world conditions. The AMT gearbox is a tad jerky but overall response is good and the petrol mill is definitely the more fun motor of the two.
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The diesel engine is noisy but has good power surge
Both powerplants offer good performance and high fuel efficiency
Talking about the diesel engine, it is the famous 1.3-litre DDiS mill that is offered in the 74 HP tune (at 4000 RPM) with 190 Nm of torque at 2000 RM. The powerplant is again offered with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or an AMT unit. The oil burner has quite a lot of clatter and sounds noisy at high RPMs. Turbo lag is present but power delivery in the mid-range is punchy and the Maruti Dzire has good performance to boot. In terms of efficiency, the claimed figure for the diesel engine is 28.40 km/l and in real-world conditions, you can expect 16-17 km/l in the city and 19-21 km/l on the highway. The clutch is light here too while the gearbox feels smooth. The AMT will be a good pick for those who want convenience and efficiency but it isn’t meant for enthusiastic drivers.
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Both handling and ride quality have improved over the previous Dzire
Driving Dynamics – The suspension gets a softer setup and hence the ride feels much better than the previous generation Maruti Dzire. The body control has also improved and the car feels composed even over bad patches. Talking about steering feel, the diesel variant gets a heavier steering and has decent feel while the petrol variant gets a lighter steering which lacks feel. Just like other newer Maruti cars, the steering doesn’t self-centre and feels dead at times. Handling is good and the Dzire is fun to drive. The ground clearance isn’t the best but the vehicle didn’t really scrape anywhere. Braking performance has improved and the stopping power is really good.
