UPDATE: Bookings for the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz facelift have officially opened for an amount of Rs 11,000.

A handful of Maruti Suzuki Nexa dealers have started accepting bookings for the Ciaz facelift, with the booking amount ranging from Rs 11,000 to Rs 21,000, depending on the dealership. These bookings are being accepted unofficially by the dealers as Maruti has not yet publicly announced the commencement of bookings. The facelifted Ciaz's launch was slated for the first week of August but has now been pushed to the second-half of the month. 

A latest set of spy shots show the Ciaz facelift inside and out. The refreshed sedan now gets a rounder look up front, with a smoother grille that fuses with the headlights; the grille also gets chrome-lined upper and lower edges. Adding to this new look is the redesigned bonnet that flows upwards from the grille. A welcome upgrade on the  Ciaz facelift  is the  switch to LED headlamps, with LED daytime running lights embellishing the look further. The front bumper also gets a new look and sports a wider air dam that connects directly with the fog lamp inserts. Moving on to the sides, the top-spec model gets chrome door handles and a new design for the diamond-cut alloy wheels. At the back, except for new inserts for the LED tail-lamps and chrome detailing on the rear bumper, the overall styling remains the same. 

On the inside, as reported by us earlier, the car gets a new instrument cluster and multi-info display, a lighter shade for the faux wood trim, an updated infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and new upholstery for the seats and door pads. Feature additions on the top-spec Ciaz come in the form of cruise control; auto headlights are expected too.

Powering the Ciaz will be Suzuki’s new 1.5-litre petrol motor that will come in place of the earlier 1.4 petrol. The engine will also be offered on the second-generation Ertiga that comes later this year. While the engine’s 104hp of power is average by sedan class standards, the 1.5-litre petrol unit will stand out for its mild-hybrid tech, branded SHVS by Suzuki.

The SHVS system comes with start-stop technology and uses an integrated starter generator (ISG). The ISG functions as a battery charger during braking and acts as the starter motor when the start-stop technology is in use. SHVS-equipped cars also get an electric boost via the Engine Power Assist (EPA) system, where the ISG supplements the engine’s power during acceleration. This system will continue to be offered on the unchanged 1.3-litre diesel engine powering the refreshed Ciaz.

This new petrol-hybrid system could also make its way to the next-gen Ertiga, which will be Maruti’s next big launch, later this year. Maruti is also working on an all-new, in-house, 1.5-litre diesel engine that will be introduced on its models at a later stage.

While prices for the updated Ciaz are not yet out, we can tell you that there are good deals currently available on unsold stocks of the outgoing, pre-facelift Ciaz. Nexa dealers are offering discounts ranging from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.3 lakh (depending on inventory and location) on the car.