Maruti Suzuki has just pulled a fast one on Honda, the Ciaz is more efficient than the Honda City. Honda proudly claimed that the new City is the most frugal car in the country but the Ciaz beats the best-selling C-segment car to become India’s most fuel efficient car. The fuel efficiency of the diesel Ciaz has been rated by ARAI at 26.21 km/l, which is .21 km/l more than the City. The 1.3-litre oil burner powering the car outputs 90 PS at 4000 RPM and 200 Nm at 1750 RPM, the Fiat sourced mill has been tuned for improved efficiency and better drivability.
Maruti Suzuki was in the news some time back for not having any of their cars in the top ten frugal car list but with the Ciaz, the automaker has responded quite well to its critics. The ARAI mileage on the Ciaz is a big feat considering it is one of the biggest cars in the segment in terms of dimensions. What is baffling though is that the Ciaz uses the same engine which also powers the Ritz, Swift, DZire and Ertiga with mileage numbers being much lower on those cars. With the Swift, Ritz and DZire being lighter with lesser power output, it remains to be seen as to how the Ciaz is more efficient.
ARAI numbers are quite hogwash but they give a rough idea as to which car is more efficient. There is no way the Ciaz will return 26 km/l in the real world but neither will the City return anything close to its claimed mileage. While Honda uses smaller 175 mm 15-inch tyres on the City, the top variants of the Ciaz run on 195 mm 16-inch tyres. Manufacturers have started claiming different mileage for different variants so it remains to be seen if only the base variants of the Ciaz are rated at 26.21 km/l. The 26 km/l mileage on the City is for the lower variants.
In terms of petrol engines too, the Maruti Ciaz manages to beat the segment leader, the ARAI claimed mileage being 20.73 km/l against the City’s 17.8 km/l. The Ciaz is thus the most frugal car in its class but it is also the least powered. Will C-segment buyers give more priority to mileage over performance remains to be seen as that preference will be the deciding factor for the success of the latest Maruti in town.
