Maruti Ciaz diesel to be offered only as hybrid

Maruti Suzuki launched the Ciaz SHVS in India today but also announced that standard Maruti Ciaz diesel production has been stopped. The Maruti Ciaz diesel will now be only offered as a mild hybrid or the SHVS as Maruti prefers to call it. All the new Maruti Ciaz diesel variants get idle start/stop and engine recuperation as standard features. This move really doesn’t come as a surprise as Maruti has got various excise benefits on the Diesel Hybrid which means price difference between the standard diesel car and SHVS is marginal despite the addition of features. Also what makes the Maruti Ciaz SHVS even more enticing is the fact that it is the most fuel efficient car on sale (barring the Mahindra e2o) with an ARAI certified mileage of 28.09kmpl! The Maruti Ciaz diesel hybrid has been priced at Rs 8.23 lakh for the base variant.

The Maruti Ciaz SHVS employs automatic start-stop technology to turn off the engine when the car is stationary at stop-lights or otherwise for over a few seconds. This feature would be ideally useful for consumers staying in metro cities or face lots of traffic signals during their commute. The Ciaz SHVS will come with Brake energy recuperation system that sends wasted energy during deceleration and braking into an electrical system for storage. This system takes load off the alternator which improves fuel economy over a period of time. Powering the Maruti Ciaz SHVS is the same 1.3-litre displacement diesel motor with identical power and torque figures. The fact that the new batteries weigh around8 to 10kg, expect acceleration and top speed to be affected marginally. The Maruti Ciaz SHVS also receives Rs 13,000 incentive from the Government and excise duty has also been reduced from 24 per cent to 12.5 per cent.