Maruti Suzuki shook
the entire auto sector by announcing departure from diesel engines in the wake
of stringent emission norms. But the latest set of events reaffirm
silver-lining for India's biggest carmaker and market leader. Only a few days
back, an alleged BS-VI Maruti S-Cross diesel was caught testing, and now a
BS-VI Ertiga diesel has been caught on the camera, suggesting that Maruti
Suzuki hasn't entirely given up on the diesel engines.
As seen in the
spied picture, the partly camouflaged test mule of the Maruti Ertiga was seen
with the DDiS badging on the front fender which is a clear indication of it
being a diesel vehicle. Also, when looked upon closely, the document stuck on
the backglass clearly say that the test mule employs a BS-VI compliant unit.
The engine in
question could very well be the Fiat-developed 1.6-litre diesel engine which
was earlier reported getting tested in the BS-VI Maruti S-Cross diesel. This
1.6-litre unit is called DDiS 320 at Maruti Suzuki, and in the previous, BS-IV
avatar it developed 120 PS of maximum power and 320 Nm of peak torque output.
If you recall, a previous report had claimed that Maruti Suzuki is working on
the BS-VI version of the DDIS 320 engine.
The engine options
of the current Maruti Ertiga include a BS-VI compliant 1.5-litre petrol unit
and a BS-IV compliant 1.5-litre diesel unit. The former produces 105 PS of
power and 138 Nm of torque, while the latter produces 94 PS of power and 225 Nm
of torque. A CNG variant is also available now.
