It is a known fact that Maruti Suzuki has been working on an all new diesel engine that will power not only the upcoming light commercial vehicle (codename Y9T) but also the Celerio hatchback and a host of other models from the automaker in the future. While the Y9T is still some time away from launch, it is being reported that the Celerio diesel has entered its final phase of testing and six prototypes have been sent to Japan to complete the final tests. Fresh off the production line, the Celerio diesel was caught on camera in the top-end ZDi trim that will be available with all the bells and whistles, including ABS offered as standard.
The new diesel engine is a 793cc twin-cylinder unit with common rail diesel technology that has been completely developed in-house by Suzuki and will belt out around 50 BHP of power. The engine will be the smallest capacity diesel motor to be available in the country paired to a 5-speed manual transmission, taking the crown away from the Chevrolet Beat’s 936cc diesel unit. Maruti could also offer the Celerio diesel with an AMT unit that will be launched later in the pipeline, which will make the hatchback India’s most affordable diesel automatic.
The report also states that the Maruti Suzuki Celerio diesel will be offered in 3 variants namely LDi, VDi and ZDi with the mid-level VDi also getting ABS as optional. Expect most of the features from the petrol variants to feature on their diesel counterparts. In addition, the report says that Maruti Suzuki is planning to launch the Celerio diesel in the next three months. While not only is that sooner than we expected but also around the peak period of the festive season. Maruti certainly knows the Indian market well and would want to capitalize on the festive season with this launch.
Spy Pictures Source – CarDekho.com
