Maruti Suzuki Celerio CNG - Efficient green car in India

Maruti Suzuki has had a strong history of delivering budget friendly cars with higher fuel efficiency figures. The Celerio hatchback launched by the Indian car-maker this year sprang to instant fame due to its innovative EZDrive technology, that offered convenient driving options at a very lucrative price tag of about Rs. 4,36,677 (Ex-showroom Mumbai) for the Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) technology. Owing to to its popularity the car-maker has brought-in a new CNG variant that has been rechristened as Celerio Green. The new Celerio CNG is available for sale in India at Rs 4.92 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).

The interiors in the Maruti Suzuki Celerio is said to be intelligently designed to maximize space and comfort. The rear seats get 60:40 split option known as 'XpanDesign' for more luggage space. The cabin space is neat and has a premium feel too it. Moreover, the occupants get ample headroom, legroom and shoulder-room for a comfortable travel. News has now been doing rounds that Celerio may be launched in diesel version soon. Based on unconfirmed reports, the Celerio hatchback may receive a 800cc diesel engine. Currently the engine is at a development stage and the popular hatchback Celerio shall be the first one to receive it. When successful, it may find its way into the Eeco van as well. With the launch of the cars in a diesel variant, the Indian manufacturer aims at gaining an entry in commercial vehicle segment.

The new CNG variant uses the existing 1.0-litre K-Series engine, which generates about 68 Ps of power with about 90 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a five speed gearbox in manual transmission. Whereas, the Auto Gear Shift system version has no manual clutch and thus there are only two pedals. It is based on an electronic control unit which drives the precision hydraulic actuator to control the clutch engagement and the gear shifting. It also ensures that the gear and clutch operations happen at optimal timings. The hatchback is stated to be highly fuel efficient and delivers an impressive mileage of about 23.1 kmpl in petrol, whereas the CNG variant shall return a fuel economy of about 31.79 km/kg.