We have got our hands on the spy images of the Maruti SX4 diesel, ahead of its official launch. The car was spotted at a Maruti dealer near Hubli, Karnataka, by our reader Nishant Magavi. Maruti will reveal the prices for the diesel SX4 in the second-half of this month.

The car spotted is a demo car with decals all around. The DDiS and ZDi badge can be clearly seen, differentiating it from the petrol sibling. Apart from the badges, there are no visible changes to the exteriors that separate the diesel from the petrol.

The mid-size Maruti saloon will use the same Fiat-sourced 90bhp, 1.3 Multi-jet diesel, that powers the Linea and the refreshed Tata Manza. While the SX4 hatchback in Europe uses Fiat’s 1.9 diesel engines, for India, the 1.3 Multi-jet was considered a more practical choice as it is essentially the same base engine as the one in the Swift and Dzire but with a Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT).

With growing competition from diesel mid-sizers, especially VW Vento, the SX4 which only has a petrol option was under threat.  According to company sources, the diesel SX4 could undercut the Vento by around Rs 1lakh. Hence, expect the diesel SX4 to cost around Rs 70,000 more than the existing petrol version.

Read SX4 Diesel first drive report.