We want convenience but
we really don’t want to pay too much for it. Similarly many of us could love an
automatic transmission in our cars, but we want it cheap and that’s why the
Maruti Celerio VXI with auto gear shift priced at 4.6 Lac Rupees ex showroom Delhi has a winning
preposition.
Now you have different
kinds of automatics, you have the traditional torque converter automatic, you
have the CVT or Constantly Variable Transmission automatic, you have the most
sporty DSG or dual clutch transmission automatic which a lot of high end car
and sporty cars use and then you have this, which is the automated manual
transmission. All of these now have slightly different driving characteristics
and you have to get used to it.
The automated manual
transmission in the Celerio is identical to its 5 speed manual transmission
counter part. The only difference is being the absence of Clutch and shifts
taking place to an electro hydraulic unit mounted on the top of the gear box
and that is what keeps cost down and there is no puff position, you need to use
the hand brake to keep it from rolling when parked.
Now if going to blind
fall me and ask me what car I am driving just by the engine note I would tell you
it’s a Maruti Suzuki. This car uses the same K 10 engine, that’s in the Wagon-R
and the Alto K10 but it has got some modifications made to it to enhance
performance and to improve fuel economy. For instance, it doesn’t have an
accelerated cable instead it goes drive by wire technology which means it got
the electronic throttle.
The car puts out 67 BHP
of power and 90 NM of torque but with the AMT you need to modulate your
throttle inputs for shifts to happen smoothly.
Now the Celerio is easy
drive transmission has a kind of lazy shift patterns to it, it takes its time
to going about from one gear to the next but when you want some instant
acceleration, put your foot down on the throttle and it as of its electronic
brain have been given a toss of double espresso, 5th gear to 2nd
gear and you get that instant bit of acceleration.
How ever don’t expect the
shifts to be as smooth as the conventional automatic, there are some jerks felt
between shifts although its not really bothers some.
How ever if you want some
sporty performance for some quick overtaking for instant, shift it to manual,
down a gear, accelerate, you get an instant pick up, up shift, up shift as and
when you want and these up shifts are much faster and for more about how these
auto gear shifts are work you can watch our video about the Celerio EZ Drive.
What this combination of
automated manual transmission and the K10 Engine does give you though is decent
fuel efficiency; claim mileage is 23.1 KMPL while we got nearly 16 KMPL in mix
city conditions. The MID also shows you temperature, trip, odometer and instant
consumptions besides the selected gear. The Celerio’s electric power steering
is light and can get twitchy at speeds. The car’s suspensions are fairly stiff
and you do feel a few of the bumps filter through. The 14 inch tyres are decent
enough for this car. It’s not a car that likes to be driven in a hurry. In
terms of looks, the car isn’t much too write whom about. Looking like a typical
creation from standard Suzuki issue.
Its not exactly a tall boy, the space is
pretty good and comfort is decent despite the seats being rather thin. It can
hold about 235 liters of luggage as much as of the Maruti Ritz, and has split
folding seats to increase space when need it. This model only gets standard
features such as Air conditioning and manually adjustable mirrors. Tachometers,
multi speed wipers and four power windows are also standard.
Over all, is the Maruti
Suzuki Celerio good value for money? We think it is. It’s a car that provides
convenience of an automatic with the performance of a manual at a really good
price point. No wonder, the car is seen in pretty good demand.


