Maruti Suzuki Celerio reviewed!

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Maruti Suzuki recently launched Celerio at the 12th Auto Expo 2014 in Greater Noida. The Celerio has officially replaced the A-Star in India and the company claims that with this new car, it offers more than the usual needs of customers. It is the first car to feature an AMT – automated manual shift transmission.

Maruti Suzuki Celerio comes with the same powertrain as seen on the A-Star, Estilo and Wagon R Stingray. However, the engine has been tuned to deliver better performance and greater mileage.

The Celerio is already getting close to 1,000 bookings per day and from the rising trend it is evident that the Celerio will be another success story for the company. 

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Black grill is beautifully placed with space between each grill to enable easier flow of air. The counters used on the bonnet shell gives a updated look than a plane look. Side body panel is given good lot of attention with introduction of contours running from top of rear side panel to front fender.

At first look, Celerio appears broad and bold in styling. Bold clear lens headlights combined with lengthier chrome grill with Suzuki emblem is the main attraction. The front bumper is broad and has space for fog lamps.

Black grill is beautifully placed with space between each grill to enable easier flow of air. The counters used on the bonnet shell gives a updated look than a plane look. Side body panel is given good lot of attention with introduction of contours running from top of rear side panel to front fender.

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The wheel arches are given fine finishing. The door window panels are almost as good as in the earlier version and won’t make much difference. Outer rear view mirrors are provided with side indicators in top end variant ie ZXI. The tail door panel is almost same as earlier version i.e. A star. The difference being name tag, glossy effect colours, slight variation in tail lamp design.

The door panels have wide opening and hence getting into the car won’t be a problem. The main attraction about interiors is the broad dash board. Appealing design of steering wheel combined with round shaped blower vents, centrally placed music system, dual tone finishing given to the top model dashboard adds to the good impression. 

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The same instrument cluster is retained in new model. Except availability of tachometer in Auto gear selection version. Seat cushioning is good and integrated head rest adds to comfort. The rear seat is comfortable for three average sized persons. Door panels are given options for holding magazines, bottle holders etc.

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Driving the car is as good as driving the earlier version A star. However, one can feel the smooth performance of the new engine and comfortable driving position. Visibility is good and somehow the side pillars looks a bit big while gazing at the corners.

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All-new 2014 Honda City

Honda has just unveiled the much awaited all-new City in a global reveal in New Delhi. The fourth-generation car is bigger, sleeker and sharper looking than its predecessor but it’s more of an evolution than a revolution. The New Honda City follows its ‘Exciting H’ design language which is to be carried over to other Honda models as well.

The front still retains the ‘arrow-head’ shape of the earlier car but has a more prominent grille, twin-barrel headlights and a sharper bumper.

The sides of the car have strong character lines running through the doors whilst the rear tail-lamps which extend into the boot lid of the car, accentuates the 1695mm width of the car. In fact, carmaker claims the new Honda City is the widest car in its class which is quite believable when you get into the car. Legroom is particularly spacious thanks to the increased wheelbase (up by 50mm to 2600mm) and the flat floor only adds to the sense of space and comfort. Rear seat passengers are further pampered with a rear air-con vent, a first on a City.

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The new 2014 Honda City is loaded with equipment like never before. You get a large, five inch multi-function screen takes care of all the audio functions but the talking point is a unique touch panel for the all the aircon controls which is easy to use and looks pretty high-tech and upmarket.

The 8-speaker sound system is supported with USB, aux-in inputs and unlike the previous City Honda has caved heeded to customer feedback and given a CD player. Another unique feature are four power output sockets to keep to full house of battery munching smart phones topped up. Other features include; a start/stop button, sunroof, cruise control and a rear view camera with different views.

The all-new interiors feel much more upmarket than before with richer plastics, a piano black finish on the top bit of the instrument panel and sturdy vents that sit right at the top of the dash. The chunky steering wheel feels great to hold and the mesh finish on one of the spokes is a cue taken from the Honda Civic.

The driving position, like most Hondas, is spot on with the stubby, leather clad gearlever falling nicely to hand. The dashboard cowl, however, is higher than before which will make short drivers make full use of the seat height adjust function.

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The new Honda City will be powered by the familiar 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine from the previous City but this latest version has been tuned for further efficiency. The big news, however, is the addition of a diesel engine in the City, which is essentially the same 1.5 i-DTEC motor from the Amaze. Honda has concentrated on fuel efficiency over performance and the Honda City diesel is expected to return best-in-class fuel economy, no doubt aided by the disappointingly skinny 175/65 R15 tyres.

The new Honda City is expected to go on sale in January 2014 and is likely to cost between Rs. 8.3 lakh for the base petrol model to Rs. 11.6 lakh for the top-end diesel.

Disclaimer : All prices estd. ex-showroom