The Maruti Ciaz sedan is one of the most eagerly anticipated cars of 2014. The Ciaz is Maruti's all-new mid-size sedan for India, after its two earlier attempts in the segment with the Baleno and the SX4 didn't quite manage to make a mark. Needless to say, Maruti has a lot riding on the Ciaz, and all eyes are on the car.
We take a look at how it compares on paper against the competition in the mid-size sedan segment – the Honda City, the Hyundai Verna, the Volkswagen Vento, Fiat Linea and Ford Fiesta.
Under the Hood
The Maruti Ciaz gets the option of a 1372cc, four-cylinder petrol engine and a Fiat-sourced 1248cc, four-cylinder diesel engine. The petrol motor makes 91.18bhp and 13.25kgm, while the diesel engine makes 88.76bhp and 20.39kgm. The petrol motor comes mated to a five speed manual and a four-speed automatic gearbox, while the diesel variant gets only a five-speed manual 'box.
The Honda City is also available in both petrol and diesel guise. The City petrol is powered by a 1497cc, four-cylinder, i-VTEC engine which makes 117.37bhp and 14.78kgm. It is offered with the option of a five-speed manual transmission and a CVT. The City diesel variant get a 1498cc, four-cylinder i-DTEC engine which is good for 98.63bhp and 20.39kgm. The diesel engine is only offered with a six-speed manual transmission.
The Volkswagen Vento, on the other hand, offers the option of two petrol engines – a smaller 1197cc, four-cylinder, turbocharged, direct injection motor which makes 103.56bhp and 17.84kgm, and a bigger 1598cc, four-cylinder petrol motor that also makes 103.56bhp but lower torque of 15.6kgm. While the former comes mated to a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox, the bigger motor gets coupled to a five-speed manual transmission.
The Vento diesel variant gets a 1598cc, four-cylinder motor which makes 103.56bhp and 25.49kgm and comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
Just like the Volkswagen Vento, even the Hyundai Verna is available with two petrol engine options. The petrol Verna offers buyers the choice of a 1396cc, four-cylinder engine which makes 105.53bhp and 13.8kgm of torque, and comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission. There's a bigger 1591cc, four-cylinder engine which generates 121.36bhp and 15.8kgm of torque. This motor is offered with the option of a five-speed manual transmission and a four-speed automatic gearbox.
The Hyundai Verna is the only mid-size sedan that gets two diesel engines. There's a 1396cc, four-cylinder unit which is good for 88.76bhp and 22.43kgm, while the bigger 1582cc mill makes 126.32bhp and 26.5kgm. The smaller engine gets a six-speed manual transmission. The Hyundai Verna 1.6 diesel offers the option of a six-speed manual gearbox and a four-speed automatic transmission.
Even the Fiat Linea offers the choice of two petrol engines. There's a 1368cc, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated motor which is good for 88bhp and 11.7kgm and a 1368cc, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine which develops 112.44bhp and 21.1kgm. The Fiat Linea diesel gets the same 1248cc Multijet engine as the Ciaz, but it produces 91.72bhp and 21.31kgm.
Unlike all the other mid-size sedans, the Ford Fiesta is available only with a diesel engine, a 1498cc, four-cylinder unit which makes 89.75bhp and 20.8kgm.
Space on Offer
At 2650mm, the Maruti Ciaz has the longest wheelbase in this group. The Fiat Linea comes closest with a wheelbase of 2603mm, but is 47mm less than the Ciaz. The Honda City is next, but its wheelbase at 2600mm is still 50mm short of the Ciaz. The City is followed by the Hyundai Verna with a 2570mm wheelbase (80mm short of the Ciaz), while the Volkswagen Vento slots in next at 2552mm (98mm shorter than the Ciaz). The Ford Fiesta finishes last with its 2489mm wheelbase (161mm less than the Ciaz).
At 4490mm in length, the Ciaz is 50mm longer than the City, 106mm over the Volkswagen Vento, 120mm than the Hyundai Verna and 170mm as compared to the Ford Fiesta. But, the Fiat Linea is 106mm longer than the Maruti Ciaz.
At 1730mm in width, it is also 35mm wider than the Honda City, 31mm than the Vento and 30mm wider when compared to the Hyundai Verna. The width of the Ciaz is identical to that of the Fiat Linea but the Ford Fiesta is wider by 34mm.
And at 1485mm, it is also taller than the Vento and the Verna by 19mm and 10mm, respectively. However, it is shorter than the City by 10mm and also shorter than the Linea and the Fiesta by a marginal 2mm and 1mm, respectively.
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
