Maruti has launched the top-spec ZDi Dzire with an AMT gearbox at Rs 8.39 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). This is the first diesel-equipped offering and the first sedan from Maruti to be equipped with this gearbox. Test mules of the car were seen last year, indicating that the carmaker had been working on the Dzire diesel AMT for some time now.
Mechanically, the Dzire AMT uses the same 74bhp 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine like the standard diesel Dzire mated to a Magneti Marelli-supplied AMT gearbox. The model has only one direct rival in sight, the Tata’s Zest compact sedan which also gets a diesel-AMT configuration. However, the Zest comes with a more robust 89bhp version of the same 1.3-litre diesel engine, sourced from Fiat and is also available in two variants, both are priced (Rs 7.33 lakh and Rs 8.15 lakh) lower than the Dzire AMT.
The Maruti Dzire ZDi comes with equipment such as dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, alloy wheels, climate control system and push button start to name a few.
(All prices, ex-showroom, Delhi.)