A new set of spied Maruti Suzuki Ciaz facelift pictures have made their way online and give us our best look of the updated sedan’s cabin. At first glance, changes to the cabin seem restricted to a lighter grain for the faux wood on the dashboard. The layout of the dashboard and steering wheel is identical to the outgoing versions’.
However, a close look brings to light that the updated Ciaz will get more features. The right spoke of the steering wheel now houses buttons for cruise control – a feature so far absent, even on the fully-loaded Ciaz. What’s also visible is a new instrument console with a repositioned multi-info display (possibly in colour, like the Baleno) and blue highlights for the speedometer and tachometer a la outgoing diesel Ciaz SHVS mild-hybrid.
The new set of interior images has a big revelation – the car pictured is a petrol hybrid. That the tacho reads up to 8,000rpm, coupled with the inclusion of a new auto-start-stop ‘Off’ button in the vicinity of the fog lamp switch seems to suggest as much. The outgoing Ciaz diesel is sold with Suzuki’s SHVS mild hybrid system, although the tech never made it to the petrol engine version of the car. Note: the updated Ciaz will also make the switch to a 104hp, 1.5-litre petrol engine in lieu of the earlier 1.4-litre unit.
This new engine will also see duty under the hood of the next-gen Ertiga, which opens up the possibility of a mild-hybrid version of the new MPV, as well. 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. Maruti is expected to continue offering the hybrid system on the 1.3-litre diesel engine; which will be the diesel engine of choice on the updated Ciaz and new Ertiga, until such a time that Suzuki is ready with its in-house-developed 1.5-litre diesel motor.
It is worth mentioning that the Ciaz diesel was the first beneficiary in Maruti’s line-up to get the SHVS mild-hybrid tech, back in 2015. The addition of mild-hybrid tech gave the Ciaz a fuel economy bump of around 2kpl, overall. For a brief period the tech even qualified it for sops on hybrid cars, which helped bring its price down. Interestingly, Maruti is one of the manufacturers that is looking to hybrids to boost efficiency and meet the new CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) norms that will come into effect in 2022.
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
