India’s largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki will finally make its maiden entry into the commercial vehicle space with a light commercial vehicle (LCV). Codenamed Y9T, the LCV also packs in the very important 800cc diesel engine that will power not only the Y9T, but also a range of passenger vehicles in the future. While the launch is still sometime away, the body shell of the Y9T was snapped revealing significant details on what to expect from the upcoming LCV.
The unpainted body shell of the Y9T LCV and the chassis of the Eeco diesel were snapped inside Maruti’s factory premises. Based on the Suzuki Carry LCV sold internationally, the Y9T gets some changes to the exteriors compared to the Carry. While the Carry gets a protruding front, the Y9T sports a flat front fascia (like the Omni) and rectangular shaped headlamps. The doors seem to have come from the Omni as well. On the inside, the Y9T’s cabin is expected to be drastically different from the Carry LCV and also gets a smaller rear view windshield.
The Eeco diesel will also sport minor changes to accommodate the new diesel engine, but is expected to stay the same as the current version. The upcoming engine is expected to be a 792cc, twin-cylinder, turbocharged diesel unit, paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The 1.2-litre petrol motor currently available on the Eeco is also expected to power the Y9T LCV and will also come with a factory fitted CNG variant, as an option. The loading bay on the other hand will be on par with competition and is expected to have a payload capacity of around 800 kgs.
Maruti Suzuki is also working on improving the NVH levels inside the cabin of the Y9T LCV that will be competing against the Tata Ace and Mahindra Maxximo in the segment and will see an early 2015 launch in the country. Apart from powering the Y9T LCV and Eeco diesel, the new diesel motor will also find application starting with the Celerio hatchback that is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2015.
Source – Gaadiwaadi.com
