Maruti Suzuki will soon introduce the Ciaz with the
E15A 1.5-litre diesel engine and a 6-speed manual transmission. GaadiWaadi.com
has published a spy shot showing the shift lever of the new manual
transmission. At the moment, no Maruti Suzuki model is available with a 6-speed
manual transmission. All models fitted with the Fiat-developed D13A 1.3-litre
diesel engine come with a 5-speed manual transmission as standard. The E15A
1.5-litre diesel engine and 6-speed manual transmission should offer
substantially better performance.
The 1.5-litre diesel engine produces 95 PS at 4,000 rpm and 225 Nm of torque 1,500-2,500 rpm. It will be branded DDiS
225, although one cannot rule out more powerful and torquier configurations in
the future. Initially, it won’t meet the tighter BS-VI emission norms. The
in-house developed diesel engine will get the costly BS-VI upgrade closer to
the deadline (1 April 2020).
The D13A engine, which still features a
single-battery mild-hybrid system, returns a fuel economy of 28.09 km/l. The
E15A engine won’t feature a mild-hybrid system but will still return a good
fuel economy of 26.82 km/l. Maruti Suzuki will offer the Ciaz fitted with the 1.5-litre diesel
engine and 6-speed manual transmission in only the Delta, Zeta and Alpha
grades. It is possible that the basic Sigma grade isn’t able to soak up the
high cost of the new engine and transmission.
Following the Ciaz, the Ertiga, Vitara Brezza and
S-Cross should get the E15A diesel engine and a 6-speed manual transmission.
Maruti Suzuki may price the Ciaz 1.5L diesel from around INR 10.50 lakh
(ex-showroom Delhi).
