Maruti Suzuki Ciaz facelift launch in early August

UPDATE: Maruti Ciaz facelift launch will now take place in the second half of August 2018

Maruti will launch the Ciaz facelift in the domestic market sometime early next month. Nexa premium dealers are now currently in the process of liquidating unsold stocks of the pre-facelift car by offering discounts in the range of Rs 75,000 to a whopping Rs 1.3 lakh – depending on inventory.

At launch, the updated Ciaz will face competition from the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and the Toyota Yaris. The new Ciaz (as seen in many spy shots earlier) will get a new fascia with a wider grille along with a reprofiled front bumper and hood. These updates give the Ciaz a more rounded look when viewed up front, as compared to the slightly more angular look of the outgoing model. The Ciaz will get LED elements for headlights, daytime running units and LED tail-lamps. The grille is expected styling bits similar to the all-new Ertiga MPV which is currently sold in Indonesia. On the side, a new alloy wheel design could be the only change on the updated Ciaz. The mid-life refresh will have minimal changes seen at the rear.

On the inside, the Ciaz facelift will get a lighter shade of faux-wood trim. There will be no change to the dashboard layout or the steering wheel. A few days ago, we reported that the Ciaz will get a new instrument cluster with a larger multi-info display (possibly in colour, like the Baleno) along with blue highlights for the speedometer and the tachometer which are currently only seen on the Ciaz diesel SHVS.

Apart from the above updates, the big news is that the Ciaz facelift will come with an all-new 104hp, 1.5-litre petrol engine. This new motor (Codename K15B) will replace the 1.4-litre petrol that powers the outgoing model. What’s more, the new Ciaz 1.5-litre petrol will come with smart-hybrid tech similar to the one seen on the current Ciaz diesel.

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 is likely to be Maruti’s next big launch, later this year.