Maruti Suzuki Ciaz 1.5L Diesel Discontinued – Details

Maruti Suzuki has taken the BS4-compliant 1.5-litre diesel powertrain of the Ciaz off the shelf, over one month ahead of the BS6 deadline

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has silently stopped the production the diesel variants of the Ciaz, and taken the said trims off its official website. In order to avoid unsold leftover inventory, the Japanese carmaker has made the move over a month ahead of the BS6 deadline of April 1.

The 1.5-litre DDiS 225 engine on the Ciaz replaced the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre DDiS 200 engine (90 PS/200 Nm), which was offered with the car until last year. The new in-house oil burner produced 95 PS of maximum power, and 225 Nm peak torque. The engine came coupled with a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard.

While Maruti Suzuki has decided to completely phase out diesel engines from the country since the cost to upgrade to BS6 emission norms on diesel powertrains is too high for affordable cars, reports suggest that the Japanese manufacturer will study the demand for diesel vehicles in the BS6 era, and re-introduce the updated 1.5-litre diesel engine if its market share starts depleting.

Going forward, the Ciaz will now be offered with a sole BS6-compliant 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine that comes with SHVS mild-hybrid technology. The said engine belts out 105 PS of power and 138 Nm torque, and can be had with either a 5-speed MT or a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The engine also powers the Ertiga, the XL6 and the upcoming Vitara Brezza facelift as well.

In terms of features on offer, the Ciaz comes equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, automatic climate control, cruise control, push button start/stop and more. On the safety front, the car gets dual frontal airbags, ABS with EBD and rear parking sensors as standard equipment.

Maruti Suzuki currently retails the BS6 Petrol Ciaz at a starting price of Rs 8.31 lakh for the base trim, which goes up to Rs 11.09 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom) for the top-end automatic variant. The car competes against the likes of Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Skoda Rapid, VW Vento and the Toyota Yaris in the Indian market.