Maruti Suzuki is the king of the car market in India, selling more cars than all its rivals thanks to the advantage of an early entry resulting in a vast dealership network which is simply unmatched. The Japanese automaker is also the king of the small car market and has now announced that its K-Series engine has crossed the 25 lakh production milestone. Maruti Suzuki claims the K-Series engine boasts of new generation technology for gasoline motors. The K-Series replaced the G-Series of engines for Suzuki in the last decade.
Almost all Maruti cars are using K-Series engines with three different motors on offer – 1.0-litre 3-cylinder K-Series unit produces 68 PS and 90 Nm is called K10 and powers the Alto K10, Wagon R and Celerio. The 1.2-litre 4-cylinder K12 mill produces 87 PS and 114 Nm, it’s used in the Ritz, Swift and DZire while the 1.4-litre K14 motor produces 95 PS and 130 Nm and powers the Ertiga (it will also be seen in the upcoming Ciaz). The K10, K12 and K14 have replaced the 1.1-litre, 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre engines respectively.
The K-Series engines are quite good, specially the K12 which is among the best petrol engines in its segment. The first K-Series engine was introduced in 2008, powering the now erstwhile A-Star. Maruti Suzuki plans to further improve the K-Series powertrain by incorporating more fuel saving technologies in it. Key highlights of this series of engines include better drivability, reduced NVH and good fuel efficiency. The three engines are mated to 5-speed manual transmissions while AMT has been adapted for the K10 motor powering the Celerio. The 1.2-litre K12 mill is also paired to a 4-speed automatic gearbox.
