Maruti Suzuki Celerio Hatchback has been officially launched in the Indian market today at a starting price of Rs 3.90 lakh.
India’s biggest biennial automotive convention – the 2014 Auto Expo or as it is known by its official name – 12th Auto Expo 2014 ‘The Motor Show’ is upon us and has every auto enthusiast glued to the news and updates coming from India Expo Mart in Greater Noida.
After a very busy and maddening first day of the event that concluded late last evening, it is none other than India’s largest and most trusted automotive brand, Maruti Suzuki that has grabbed the spotlight today with its all-new 2014 Maruti Suzuki Celerio Hatchback. Officially launched in the Indian market today at a starting price of Rs 3.90 Lakhs for the base LXI variant, the Celerio Hatch is bound to shake up the crowded small car segment in the country.
The Celerio Hatchback first made its debut in Concept form at the 30th Thailand Motor Expo in November last year. Built on an all-new platform, the newest Maruti Hatchback was completely designed and developed in Japan by a team of 175 people comprising of designers, engineers, product planners and marketeers.
The biggest highlight of the Celerio is unarguably, the new automatic gearbox setup called Automatic Manual Transmission (AMT), which Maruti Suzuki is calling ‘EZ Drive’; wherein the transmission does not use a torque convertor but rather relies on an electronic control unit that manages hydraulic actuators to control clutch engagement and gearshifts. In Layman’s speak, the ‘EZ Drive’ combines the goodies from an automatic transmission and a manual transmission in one system, giving the driver a clutch-free driving experience.
Under the hood is a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder. Petrol K10B motor called K-Next that churns out 68PS of power and 90Nm of peak torque. With the Celerio, Maruti Suzuki has focused the most on mileage, in times of soaring fuel prices. The company claimed fuel efficiency for the Celerio EZ Drive is an impressive 23.1 kmpl, which is up to 5 per cent more than its manual counterpart. In all, the Celerio will be offered in a total of six variants: Lxi MT, Lxi AMT, VXi MT, VXi AMT, ZXi MT and ZXi MT Option. Celerio Diesel variants are also expected to launch later in the year.
Feature wise, the Maruti Suzuki Celerio has been packed with Bluetooth-enabled audio system, steering mounted controls for audio, manual air-con, 235-litre boot space, fixed headrests for the front seats, map pocket on the co-driver seat back, dual tone interiors and blinkers on door mirrors.
Following is the list of all the variants and the corresponding prices of the 2014 Maruti Suzuki Celerio.
Maruti Suzuki Celerio LXi – Rs 3.90 lakhs
Maruti Suzuki Celerio LXi AMT – Rs 4.29 lakhs
Maruti Suzuki Celerio VXi – Rs 4.20 lakh
Maruti Suzuki Celerio VXi AMT – Rs 4.59 lakhs
Maruti Suzuki Celerio ZXi – Rs 4.50 lakhs
Maruti Suzuki Celerio (O) – Rs 4.96 lakhs
(All prices are ex-showroom, New Delhi)
Most probably, Maruti Suzuki Celerio Hatchback – EZ Drive with Automatic Manual Transmission – in the range of 4 to 5 Lakhs – will definitely become the symbol for the youngsters of today.
