You read it first on MotorBeam. After three months of phenomenal success since the launch in February, Maruti Suzuki will be adding a CNG version to the Celerio next month in the country. The company had launched the Celerio with a 1.0-litre petrol unit only and had announced plans to launch a CNG variant in the later months of the product’s lifecycle. Maruti currently offers CNG kit for the Alto 800, Wagon R and the Ertiga in its lineup. The Celerio CNG will be offered in VXi variant only.
Te Celerio CNG will continue to draw power from a 1.0-litre K-Series engine that produces 68 PS of power and 90 Nm of torque, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. While the petrol only unit returns a claimed efficiency of 23.1 km/l, the addition of CNG unit will make the Celerio very friendly on the pocket, reducing the running costs of the car. There could be some lag of power on the CNG variant though, but considering that the hatchback is a light car weighing just 830 kgs, the difference in performance should be marginal. Do expect the boot space to take a massive toll though.
The move does come earlier than anticipated, however, considering the kind of waiting period the Celerio commands, adding a CNG option will only sweeten the deal for prospective buyers. However the Celerio CNG is restricted to the manual variant only and will not come with an AMT gearbox. Currently the Celerio VXi manual variant is priced at Rs. 4.20 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi), while the Celerio CNG variant could be priced at around Rs. 4.70 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). Maruti is also working on the diesel variant of the Celerio which will debut in the first quarter of 2015.
