Maruti Ciaz SHVS Long Term Review
Long Term Test No. 103
Car Tested: Maruti Ciaz SHVS
Kms Done: 6482 kms
Test Started at: 4237 kms
Test Concluded at: 10,719 kms
Mileage: 16.15 km/l, 19.8 km/l (best), 12.5 km/l (worst)
Fuel Consumed: 401-litres
Fuel Cost: Rs. 24,060/-
Rs. per km: Rs. 3.71/-
The Ciaz is what I can call a brilliant, no-nonsense, executive sedan!
Maruti has been selling the Ciaz in India since the past couple of years. When it was first launched, we were quick enough to compare it with the Honda City and the latter was the winner. However, the Ciaz did create an impression that it was a good package offered at a VFM price. We really wanted to get to know the car better and what better way than to drive it on a daily basis for 6 months? The Ciaz SHVS entered our long term fleet and I was handed it when my Jazz i-DTEC long termer went back to its automaker. Coming from such a fun-to-drive car like the Jazz, I wasn’t too excited about having the Ciaz but read on to find out how this C-segment sedan has won over my heart.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/32620380266/[/flickr]
Don’t you think the Ciaz looks quite elegant and premium?
The Maruti Ciaz is the longest and widest car in the C-segment. What does this mean? It means that there is oodles of space on the inside (more on this later) and even the exterior proportions look really well-balanced and the Ciaz carries the persona of a proper executive sedan. The styling is spot on and while the front fascia does have similar elements as other Maruti cars, the design is still very nice and it appeals to people of all ages, young and old alike. Our test car came in the Pearl Sangria Red colour which is a fancy name for Maroon.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/32620380546/[/flickr]
Low beams are on projectors while high beams are regular halogens
The shade looks elegant when the car is clean and shows the curves of the car properly. On a personal basis, I’m not a fan of this colour and would have preferred a silver or grey shade. Since our car was the top spec ZDI+ trim, it came with 16-inch alloys finished in a gunmetal shade. The car makes its long length felt while parking in tight spaces or taking U-turns on city roads, with the turning radius being a bit on the higher side. I particularly like the projector headlamps which have a good throw which is complimented by the powerful fog lamps.
[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/31848713293/[/flickr]
The cabin is well laid-out with easy-to-use controls
The Ciaz is very spacious with oodles of space and lots of storage spaces
Step inside the large cabin and you will find familiar bits everywhere. The switches on the door pads are shared with a bunch of other Maruti cars and so are other stalks and switches. The steering wheel feels nice to hold and comes with a discrete chrome strip at the bottom, breaking the all-black monotony. The dashboard has a very nice layout with controls falling in easy reach of the driver as well as the passenger. The dual tone black and beige colour scheme looks very pleasant too. The instrument cluster is easy to read and the MID displays a lot of info like instantaneous and average fuel efficiency, average trip speed, two trip meters, distance to empty, etc. There are also a bunch of other settings for the door locks and power windows which you can toggle through the stalks on the instrument cluster but those are a bit complicated to do and require usage of the owner’s manual.
