Maruti Ciaz Petrol: Review

Before Honda launched the new City in January, they didn’t have a diesel engine for the City. Despite that, before the previous generation City was discontinued, it sold around 3,000 units every month. This shows that popularity for a petrol C-segment car hasn’t died down. More so now, since the gap between petrol and diesel has narrowed quite a bit. That makes the Maruti Ciaz petrol an equally important car for India’s largest carmaker as the diesel.

Maruti has ditched the 1.6-litre unit that did duty in the SX4 for its thirsty nature. Instead, the 1.4-litre K-series petrol engine from the Ertiga makes its way into the Ciaz with an eye on a bit more performance, efficiency and drivability over outright performance. 

If you have missed our Maruti Ciaz diesel review, click here

The petrol and the diesel of course share common bits – 

Exterior Styling/Design 

Interior and Space

Features and Equipment

Each aspect impressed us, especially in context to a step up Maruti has taken compared to the SX4. To give you a gist of it, the exterior is decidedly upmarket, does turn a lot of heads and pictures do ample justice to highlight its design. The interiors are a bit of mixed bag. It doesn’t feel as premium as the exterior would suggest, but quality of materials, fit and finish and space inside the cabin are all remarkable. On the features front, Maruti has studied their competition well to equip the Ciaz with all the bells and whistles that a car of this class should have. The touchscreen system is a bit slow, especially while relaying feed from the rearview camera, the rear seats could have come with adjustable headrests and a reach adjustable steering could have done it some good, but overall, the Ciaz is a well rounded package.

Engine and Performance

As we mentioned earlier, the Ciaz gets the Ertiga’s 1.4-litre K-series petrol engine. Maruti has tweaked the ECU and mapped throttle response differently for the Ciaz for better performance, efficiency and drivability. Despite what the size of the Ciaz would suggest, it is a light car, tipping the scales at 1010kg for the petrol. That makes the engine feel sprightlier than it should. It develops 92PS of power and it doesn’t make for an underpowered car unless you need to make a quick overtake at triple digit speeds. 

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Maruti knows very well that most petrol car users want an easy going car for city conditions and it’s here where the Ciaz is completely in its elements. Acceleration is linear and has sufficient thrust to keep you from wanting for more. The engine does sound a bit too gruff over 2000rpm or thereabouts. It’s an irritant on a highway stint when you wring in the motor for more mid-to-top end performance but keep it in the low range and it makes for a relaxing drive. 

The five speed manual gearbox has short throws and coupled with the light clutch action accentuates the easy going nature of the car. Gears slot with a damped feel and if there’s a bit of nitpicking to do, they aren’t as enjoyable as the mechanical click you get from say the Swift. 

Rating: 3.5/5

Ride and ease of driving

The petrol Ciaz is about 100kg lighter than the diesel and that improves its weight distribution. The car feels light on its toes and soft on its springs to give you a very pliant low speed ride. The relatively inert steering is perfect for city driving and makes easy work of weaving through traffic. What also helps is a clear unobstructed view out of the driver’s seat aided by the small rear view mirror and A-pillar. While the Ciaz gains in the city, it loses out on the highway. Lack of steering feel and the softly sprung suspension doesn’t give you much confidence as say the Vento or Rapid but it isn’t all over the place by any means. The 195 section tyres offer good grip and the brakes have enough bite to give you a reassuring feel. This evens out its lack of agility at high speeds.

Rating:  4/5

Price and Fuel Efficiency

When you pay more for fuel, you want it to be efficient enough to not burn a hole in your wallet. While the Ciaz petrol doesn’t feel as refined, it certainly is very efficient. The Maruti Ciaz petrol returns 20.7kmpl under standard test conditions set by the ARAI, making it the most efficient C-segment petrol sedan in the country. Maruti dealers tell us that the petrol automatic is also quite efficient. While the company hasn’t officially stated its mileage figures, sources tell us an ARAI rated efficiency of 19.12kmpl. That’s better than the 18kmpl Honda City automatic figure and 17.9kmpl manual City mileage.

We expect Maruti to undercut its rivals comfortably in the pricing department. Prices for the base petrol Ciaz should start from Rs 7 lakh ex-showroom, Delhi which is about Rs 40,000 cheaper than a City and go up to Rs 9.5 lakh for the top-end Ciaz.

Rating: 4.5/5

Verdict

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t buy a Maruti Ciaz petrol as a city runabout over its rivals in the segment. It is easy to drive and more efficient, has all the set of features you’d want in a car of its class, looks premium enough and will in all likelihood come with a smashing price tag. The petrol Ciaz though falls short on the performance front. If you like your revs, enjoy the twisties and drive with a heavy foot more often than not, this isn’t the car for you. 

Rating: 4/5