Maruti Ciaz long term review, third report

With one of my cars at the service centre for over a month, the other one sold and the family still pondering the replacement, I was in dire need of a car. The petrol Ciaz from our long-term fleet filled the gap, taking the place of the workhorse car, the one that does numerous runs up and down town all day. It very quickly became a favourite with the family.

Mornings began with my son’s ride to school. He loved the Ciaz as he can not only play music from
his phone via Bluetooth but can also fit all his musical equipment into the boot comfortably.

Then there were the runs with the mother-in-law – the car pool for elderly ladies that go off to play cards every afternoon. All the ladies with knee or back problems found it incredibly easy to slide into the backseat and more importantly, the ample leg room makes it a comfortable place to be in.

I use my phone a lot while I’m being driven around and the true test of the car for me is in how sick I get in the back seat or how soon I have to stop messaging. At city speeds, the Ciaz feels quite composed and the bumps and potholes never really unsettled my touchscreen typing at any time. The other feature I really liked was the air-conditioning. With the kind of heat we have been experiencing, the Ciaz is really a boon. Even after being left out in the sun for long periods of time, it takes barely a minute to get all nice and cool again. In fact, so strong and effective is the AC that more often than not, we had to turn the temperature up a bit and keep the fan dialled to 1 or 2 at the most.

My husband drove the Ciaz around for errands and absolutely loved it as well. The petrol engine feels responsive and nice he said, adding, “I don’t really have to change gears too much”. It gets off the line nicely and potters around in traffic in higher gears at low speeds quite comfortably. When you do put your foot down to nip into a traffic gap, it’s happy to serve up the power too.

The chauffeur said, “Madam, yeh hi gaadi lena” (When you decide buy a car, choose this one).  He found the steering light and easy, especially when he had to squeeze in and out of tight parking spots. The clutch is nice and light also and with a large, comfy driver’s seat, he was happy to drive around all day.

Last but not the least, Scotch, our dog, gave it a thumbs up, with the back seat being at just the right height for him to be able to stick his head out of the window and catch the breeze. Jumping in and out of the back seat is also easy for him with plenty of space on the floorboard between the front seat and back seat, which enables him to do it in just two steps.

Alright, admittedly, I wasn’t very excited with the Ciaz at any point of time, and I certainly never imagined I’d land up buying one. But what our family found was that although this may not be exciting or punchy or the best for ride or handling either, it does everything well enough and is quite practical and comfortable. So yes, this Maruti will be the next car for our family.