The new Celerio diesel will sport Maruti’s self-developed 0.8-litre 2-cylinder diesel engine and is expected to be the most fuel efficient car in the country.
The Maruti Celerio diesel was caught completely undisguised in the company’s stockyard with the DDiS badging on the front fender. With the model almost production ready, the launch does not seem far away and is expected to be scheduled sometime in early 2015. The Celerio diesel gets no changes to the exteriors or interiors, apart from the new alloy wheel design that come from the international version. While details are very scarce, we do know that the Celerio diesel will most likely be available only with a manual gearbox, with front airbags and ABS available on the top-end ZDi variant.
The new Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel will be powered by 798cc, 2-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that is expected to churn out around 50 BHP of power. Self developed by Maruti in collaboration with engineers from Suzuki Japan, the new engine will also power the upcoming Y9T LCV that is scheduled to go on sale next year. The new engine will be the smallest capacity diesel motor to be sold in the country and is expected to make the Celerio India’s most fuel efficient vehicle beating the Ciaz sedan for the title. In addition, the diesel version could come with an AMT unit later in the timeline, making it the most affordable diesel automatic beating the Tata Zest for the title.
With the kind of success the Celerio currently enjoys, the diesel model is only expected to add to the popularity. However, NVH levels do remain a concern for the 2-cylinder engine, while a decent mid-range can be expected. The Celerio will be competing against the Chevrolet Beat diesel, Ford Figo diesel as well as the Hyundai Grand i10 diesel in the segment with prices expected to start around Rs. 4.5 lakhs for the base LDi trim. More details on the new engine will be available as we get closer to the launch.
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Source – Gaadiwaadi