Maruti Suzuki Celerio- India’s very own auto-gear shift wonder

India has been grappling with the ideas that the other major car making countries like USA, Germany, Japan, and even Korea have perhaps mastered over the years. One such capability is the auto-gear shift mechanism which sees its first clear cut attempt in the form of Maruti Suzuki Celerio, launched at the 2014 Auto Expo. With the option of having a manual transmission other than the much publicized auto gear shift edition, the Celerio has managed to target the sweet spot for pricing of the car which ranges between Rs 3.90 lakhs to Rs 4.96 lakhs (ex-showroom).

Exteriors

The Celerio is something that perhaps has been noticed from the Maruti Suzuki stable before, with the vague resemblance to the Wagon R on the front, apart from some similarities with the Alto 800, which remains the highest selling model from the Indian car maker. However, that doesn’t make the car any less pretty to look at. The well placed broad headlamps, where the indicator and side lamps do extend towards the sides of the car, the chrome grille front structure does add to the good road presence in a big way.

One can easily make out that Maruti (Suzuki, rather) has been looking to modernize its designs with the new models, which includes the Celerio. The rising side creases run from above the front wheel till the rear lamps, make for an aerodynamic spectacle, and indeed a chiseled profile. The fog lamps, the ORVM indicators, and the alloy wheels mean that Maruti has slotted this car to be a big hit in the coming times, be it in the department of looks and style factor, price point, and innovation.

Interior

The interior of the Celerio has been no less impressive. The dual tone light beige contrasting with the dark slate gray interiors are things which were mainly preserved for cars of higher price bracket. Never the less, Maruti seems to have done well with that decision, and from the looks of it, it does give what the customers are looking for in this segment.

The central dashboard contains the infotainment system which integrates mobile phone usage through Bluetooth, apart from input with aux-in feature. The layout of buttons and fixtures are cluster-free where the infotainment system which its wide screen display is placed at the center, with the control buttons along the side, without much complication of use.

The instrument cluster ends with the controls for air-conditioning, which include the air direction flow, the temperature, and the fan. The interesting part in especially the higher end models include the steering mounted infotainment system controls, apart from some handy features like the door ajar indicator, low fuel warning light, and fuel efficiency indicator to name a few. There are also the 15 utility spaces in the front and rear part of the cabin which helps with getting in some space inside the car.

The engine

The engine in the Celerio is the K10B 998cc 3 cylinder machine, which has been mated with a 5-speed manual or the optional auto gear shift option. Since mileage has always been a strong point, tests show that this engine will give out around 23.1 kmpl of petrol on an average.

Color Variants: 7 (Blazing Red, Cerulean Blue, Cave Black, Sunshine Ray, Glistening Grey, Silky Silver, Pearl Arctic White).

Transmission Variants: 2 (manual and auto-shift gear).