Maruti Suzuki upped its own benchmark by finally entering the premium sedan segment with the luxury offering, the Ciaz. Mid-Sized sedan market is not new to the company as it enjoys a market share of 39.5% with the likes of SwiftDZire. The SX4 was the only available option above the Swift DZire but lack of features made consumers shy away from it.
Maruti Suzuki displayed the Ciaz concept at the 12th Auto Expo and garnered amazing response. The Ciaz was launched at Rs.6.99 lakh, ex-showroom to rival the erstwhile leader, Honda City. The new Generation City was launched in 2013. It was one of the most highly anticipated cars as it was Honda’s debut in diesel in the premium sedan segment. Honda City was launched at Rs. 7.42 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.
With the new City, Honda also launched a new ‘Exciting H-Design’ theme. The front face of the car sports an arrow head jetting out design. It gets a very muscular chrome band hiding the radiator grille. The headlights follow the lines of the chrome band and slender in corners. The rear portion looks grand with a wider car feel. It reminds you of an earlier generation BMW 5 Series. The crease lines running on it make the rear profile look visually wide.
Honda City Vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is not too far in terms of design. In fact, there are profiles where the Ciaz beats the City. Large, wide and sweeping back headlights with projectors are a standard feature across all variants. Elaborate tail lamps flow from the side panel to the tail gate for better illumination. There is a chrome strip joining the rear lights. The boot lip has been designed to act as an integrated spoiler again contributing to the overall flowing aerodynamics of the Ciaz.
Inside the Ciaz, Instrumental panel has a twin pod display with an analog speedometer and tachometer. The scaling and digits on the cluster are lucid and clean. The multi information display at the centre displays average fuel consumption and trip distance settings. Even with the front seats pushed back in the most comfortable position, there is still sizeable room left for rear passengers
The New Gen City’s instrumental cluster is more Tech-savvy than before as it has numbers and information floating everywhere aiding the driver to get the best out of the car. It gets a Multi information combination meter which displays Instantaneous and Average F/E, temperature, cruising range, clock and gear indicator. In addition to this there is a fuel consumption meter to alert the driver on fuel-efficient driving. Even the ambient meter changes colour to indicate the same.
Performance: Honda City Vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
The 1.5L i-VTEC engine in the new City makes a maximum power of 119 PS at 6600 rpm and a maximum torque of 145 Nm at 4600 rpm. The petrol engine is offered in both manual as well as in automatic-CVT transmission. The 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine produces a maximum power of 100 PS at 3600 rpm and maximum torque of 200 Nm at 1750 rpm. The 1248cc DDiS200 diesel engine in the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz produces 90PS of power and 200Nm of torque at 1750 rpm. The gasoline 1372cc engine produces 92.45PS of power and 130Nm of torque at 4000 rpm.
Honda City Vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
Conclusion: Honda City Vs Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
Honda continues its winning streak with the new Generation City as recently the company announced fantastic sales of 85,000 units sold in a short tenure of 13 months. The City is presently Honda’s best seller as it sells more units than the entry level mid-size Amaze sedan. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz too did get a good response post its launch. Since it is the first from Maruti Suzuki, Ciaz will need time to be universally accepted as a premium offering from the Indian car maker.
