Maruti Suzuki may not discontinue all the diesel engines after all as the 1.5-litre DDiS 225 diesel could make a comeback in 2021 with BS-VI compliance
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) became the first mainstream manufacturer to introduce BS6 compliant engines in the domestic market earlier this year as the Alto 800 had its 796 cc upgraded while the Baleno followed up sooner with the 1.2-litre K-series VVT petrol and the new 1.2-litre DualJet petrol units. Carmakers are working overtime to launch BS-VI compliant engines before the April 2020 deadline and Maruti Suzuki is certainly on the forefront.
Hot on the heels of announcing the axing of diesel engines across its portfolio post BS-VI implementation, Maruti Suzuki expanded the presence of the long-running 1.2-litre K-series petrol in its BS6 avatar to the Swift, Dzire and Wagon R. It is worth noting that the newly developed 1.5-litre DDiS 225 diesel engine introduced in the Ciaz facelift last August has also seen expansion as it recently debuted under the bonnet of the Ertiga.
While the small capacity diesel engines do not have a future past BS6 deadline due to the comparatively high costs involved in the upgrade towards cleaner emissions, the 1.5-litre DDiS 225 will likely have takers in the segments of probably above Rs. 9 lakh price bracket as the costs incurred in BS-VI upgrades would largely be negligible.
According to Team-BHP forum, Maruti Suzuki has commenced BS6 work on the 1.5-litre diesel engine citing confirmation from a parts vendor but the Indo-Japanese manufacturer could miss the April 2020 deadline by nine to twelve months. Therefore, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder DDiS 225 oil-burner producing 95.15 PS of power at 4,000 rpm and 225 Nm of torque between 1,500 rpm and 2,500 rpm could be delayed till 2021.
The powertrain is mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Despite being a non-SHVS engine, it comprises of Dual Mass Flywheel (DMS) and optimised compression ratio for bettered refinement levels. The engine could also be introduced in the upcoming mid-size SUV expected to rival the likes of Hyundai Creta in the lower spec variants.
Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to launch the Concept Future S based micro SUV that could be dubbed the S-Presso by this festive season. Additionally, the facelifted Vitara Brezza with a petrol engine and the Cross version of Ertiga are said to be in the pipeline along the course of this year.