Maruti Suzuki’s long served 1.3-litre Fiat-sourced DDiS diesel engine in the Swift, Dzire and Baleno has been discontinued
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is reaping the benefits of becoming the first mainstream manufacturer to aggressively expand its BSVI portfolio right from April 2019. The brand has already gone past five lakh sales mark with its BSVI compliant vehicles. The soon arriving new emission standards have also resulted in one of the highly reliable engines in the mass-market space being shown the exit doors.
The 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine had been extensively employed within the company’s domestic range over the last several years. The production of the same engine powering the Swift, Baleno and Dzire has been stopped. It kicked out 74 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque delivered at 2,000 rpm.
It was mated to either a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT transmission. Currently, the Swift is powered by the BSVI compliant 1.2-litre petrol engine developing 82 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 113 Nm at 4,200 rpm. It is also used in the Dzire compact sedan and the Baleno premium hatchback.
Maruti Suzuki is currently emphasising on alternative fuels such as CNG and hybrid. The Swift Hybrid sold in Japan was on display at the 2020 Auto Expo last month. It could make its way into the India in the near future and with high fuel economy it could make up for the discontinuation of the Fiat-sourced diesel powertrain.
The segment-topping Dzire is waiting to get a facelift soon and we showed you first picture of it. It will likely go on sale towards the end of this month or in early April. The 2020 Maruti Suzuki Dzire comprises of frontal design revisions including a bigger hexagonal grille, slightly slimmer headlamps and new fog lamp housing along with subtle cosmetic changes to the rear.
The most important of the updates will be the presence of the new 1.2-litre DualJet petrol engine found in the Baleno. New features like Electronic Stability Program with Hill Hold, cruise control, latest SmartPlay touchscreen infotainment system with cloud-based functions, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, bigger brakes, coloured TFI multi-info display will be part of the package.