The Maruti Celerio is a few days away from launch. The company has begun announcing the car through advertisements on newspapers and dealers have commenced bookings as well.
Notably, the Celerio will feature an automated manual transmission, dubbed by Maruti as 'EZ Drive'. As we've detailed in previous stories, this system eliminates the need for a clutch by employing an electronic control unit to select the gear.
By doing so, customers get the convenience of an automatic transmission, yet the cost of the technology is believed to be cheaper than a conventional automatic transmission. Autocar India reports that the Celerio could be India's cheapest automatic car with ex-showroom prices expected at under INR 5 lakhs.
The engine of the Celerio is carried over from the A-Star, albeit with retuning. The three cylinder 998 cc K10 engine produces 67 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 9.1 kgm of torque at 3,500 rpm. Apart from the automated transmission, Maruti will also offer the car with a conventional 5-speed manual transmission. Autocar estimates the manual variants to start from INR 3.9 lakhs ex-Showroom.
The Celerio (is expected) to have its market launch at the Auto Expo next month. This would mark the world premiere for the small car which will replace the Suzuki Alto (Suzuki Celerio in some places) globally.
[Source - AutocarIndia.com]
