[TSIched'Out]

Kudos to Suzuki for bringing the Automatic "add-on" down from Rs. 90k to Rs. 39k. Lets hope that it increases Automatic penetration in our country. However, I still don't see any reason why AMT can't be offered as option on Zxi (o). After all, it is "Optional" variant. I guess Suzuki wants us to choose either "Safety" or "Convenience".

[avi550m]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

The celerio is now launched @ Rs.3.9 Lacs for Manual & Rs.4.29 Lacs for the AMT Version.

Prices for Maruti Celerio (courtesy ACI)
Manual
LXi – Rs 3.90 lakh
VXi – Rs 4.20 lakh
ZXi – Rs 4.50 lakh
ZXi (O) – Rs 4.96 lakh

Automatic
LXi – Rs 4.29 lakh
VXi – Rs 4.59 lakh
(all prices, ex-showroom, Delhi)

While a Rs. 39k (round off to 40k) Price difference between AMT and MT versions seems like a bargain, I do not really find it to be much better than the current price difference between the A-Star AT and MT.

The A-Star VXi AT w/ ABS is for Rs. 4.97 L ex-showroom Mumbai, while the VXi MT (NO ABS) is for Rs. 4.40 L ex-showroom Mumbai. Granted, higher taxes and insurance will push up the price differentiation further, but for Rs. 57k, you got a Torque Convertor Auto (more expensive to produce than MT) and ABS.

And this is the part where I get p***ed off with Maruti. Having owned an A-Star AT, with no engine braking, I definitely feel that the car needs ABS (it saved me skin twice already). Does the AMT gearbox offer engine braking in Automatic Mode, so it can take off some load from the brakes?

Either ways, I do not like this segregation of safety features to just the top-top-end variant. Plus the fact that neither of the AMT variants come with ABS at all

I guess I am going to recommend the A-Star to my aunt, if she can find one. With the Rs. 50k discount, it comes out to cheaper than the Celerio Vxi AMT presently.

Hope Maruti does not increase the price a lot after the initial booking period / launch price period is over.

[aniketi]

Good pricing by Maruti for sure. Car looks good. Its a very good option for first time buyers as it has AMT. So people don't have to worry about the clutch. They can easily drive it. Also its very convenient for the ladies. It is a very neutral car with decent package like good looks, enough space inside, better interiors than average car, AMT, very good FE & the most importantly the Maruti A.S.S. Total VFM package IMHO. Also its a very good option as a second car in the house. It will be easy to drive for city congested roads without clutch and with good FE. Also it can be used by all family members as it has AMT.

I guess this car is a threat mainly to cars like Santro, Wagon R, i10, Brio, Figo petrol, Micra, Datsun Go, Ritz etc. Eagerly waiting for T-BHP review now

[h@r$h@l]

Car couldnt have come at a better time.

We were in plans to replace our 2008 Wagon R Vxi and were not sure which one to get. And just about 10 days ago mom had a minor leg issue and dr has advised her not to drive a MT due to constant use of clutch. We are considering Celerio Vxi AMT.

I have sent a test drive request on the Celerio site and waiting if something happens. Else i would go drop by at a dealership sometime over the weekend and get more info on OTR, Delivery etc.

Celerio doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles and it may not appeal to many, but as a 100% city car to be used by parents mainly for shopping, social, etc I see no harm. We have driven our Wagon R about 33k kms since we got it in Sept 2008.

Still not 100% sure on it, but definitely worth considering. Saw the AUTOCAR India review on the Celerio last time and it seems pretty alright.

Regards,

[romeomidhun]

This car has a very good balanced between space, price, style and practicality.

[volkman10]

Maruti has priced the car taking into consideration the upcoming launch of the Datsun Go!

Datsun has released a statement the top end of the Datsun Go will be under Rs 4 lakh. So now lets watch what impact Celerio will have on the GO!( though not the same target segment)

Cheers!

[h@r$h@l]

I just a call back from Maruti. Less than 2 hours after registering on their site about test drive. The lady said that tomorrow onwards the dealers will have the cars on display as well as test drive. She was confident that dealers will also have the AMT VXI variant as their TD car. Maruti is very serious it seems.

She has forwarded my TD request to one of the dealers here and i shall be hearing from them soon. Might go for a TD tomorrow IF they arrange one.

Regards,

[jinojohnt]

I am disappointed with the launch price of Celerio AMT.
I paid 40K extra for an A-Star Automatic compared to the manual version (2 years back).
The Automatic also had ABS as extra compared to the manual Vxi, so I can say that I paid only around 20K extra for the automatic version.
Better mileage and less maintenance? May be yes, but price difference with a manual is too steep IMO.

[JishD]

Great pricing for a small automatic hatch - however the Celerio screams ugly whichever angle you look at it from. Not much different from the current Alto, which itself is a visual eyesore . I'd go with the current A star automatic anyday at that price point.

[chncar]

Disappointed that Maruti omitted safety features from the Automatic variants. I am sure a lot of the intended market for automatics would also be safety conscious people and a lot of people will not consider it simply for that reason.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by JishD

Great pricing for a small automatic hatch - however the Celerio screams ugly whichever angle you look at it from. Not much different from the current Alto, which itself is a visual eyesore . I'd go with the current A star automatic anyday at that price point.

I thought A-star has been discontinued now (please correct me if I am wrong). If that is the case then I guess Celerio is a good option (of course I am not happy with Maruti omitting safety features from the auto variant).

[Rajeevraj]

With respect to safety features in the amt variants I think we are missing the point here. Majority of Indian buyers do not care for things like abs and airbags. I am sure if we do an analysis we will find that majority of the buyers will be at max buying the vxi model. Maruti wants to convert this population to the amt version. I don't think at this point they care about the small percentage who will only buy a car with safety features. Once they b establish the popularity and volumes of the amt they will bring it in their other models and maybe in the top variants also.

[aaggoswami]

Had a look at the car today.

1) The front seat height is quite good. Not that tough to get in and out.

2) Excellent visibility ( as per modern standards ) from front seats.

3) After adjusting the front seat as per my driving position, there was reasonable space at rear.

4) Rear seat height helps in having a small seat base and yet provides more than reasonable under thigh support.

5) Boot space is nice for such a small car.

6) The seeming build quality is better than Wagon R IMO.

7) Engine bay is large enough to have a small diesel or bigger petrol.

7) Rear seat does not have proper head restraints. Pretty bad. The rear seat support is quite low.

8) Car is not overtly flashy, yet looks quite good.

[torque!!]

I would love for this technology to succeed. But I have serious reservations about an AMT. In the type of bumper to bumper traffic that I drive every day to work, I have to constantly use the clutch and keep changing gears between 1st and 2nd.

With an AMT, I just do not see the ‘intelligent’ actuators upshifting and downshifting as often. So the car is going to be stuck in 1st for more than I would manually. Thats going to burn a lot of fuel. If it does upshift and downshift frequently, the ride is going to be highly choppy and jerky. Also, I wonder how much is the AMT going to ‘ride’ the clutch. Don’t want to be dealing with a clutch replacement in 10-15k kms.

Don’t get me wrong. I want this to be successful. Just that I am skeptical and won’t consider an AMT car till the technology is proven in real world indian conditions.

[jha.shailesh]

Took the test drive of Celerio AMT yesterday, and here are my initial impressions:

1. Exterior: A mix of Etios & Alto, at front and back - both of which don't impress me much. Body color ORVM and handles only in ZXI, others get basic black. The doors do close with some thud, giving some confidence on improved quality.
2. Interior: Quality of plastics in similar to Swift, similar textural finish and reasonably good. Front seats are offer good support, back seats are fairly flat. Till VXI the interiors really don't get anything - no music system or controls on steering. However, VXI does gets power windows but ZXI is where all the frills are, but its shame that's not available with AMT. MID shows a variety of information DTE, avg. fuel consumption, trips among others. Ac was fairly effective, cooled pretty fast in Hyderabadi afternoon.
3. Drive: Noisy and Jerky. Those are 2 words that come to mind to sum-up the ride. I've been driving automatics for a long time, but never drove one that's so jerky. You can feel all the gear changes right up to the fifth gear. The car holds the gear longer, so there is enough power available. I was driving on a slope and the car was intelligent enough to not up-shift even at 4000 rpm. I feel speed to gear matching was pretty well done, and never really felt loss of power. However, every throttle press and every sound from the engine is heard crystal clear inside the cabin, there is little if any cabin insulation.
4. Ride: Suspension is ok but bumps do percolate inside. The steering position did feel a little awkward and because there is no steering adjust, you can't really do much. the seat position is little higher, like Santro's, and provides good visibility. There is no seat height adjust, so for taller drivers it may be a problem.

But, don't get me wrong, the comfort of an automatic with the fuel efficiency they promise, does overshadow some of it. The TD car that I was driving showed 12.5 km/l. I'd think 15-16 can be achieved easily, post the drive-in period.

Now the VFM part for which Maruti (Suzuki) is so famous. I am based out of Hyderabad, which probably is second to Bangalore in terms of pricing. Here, VXI (AMT) comes for 5,53,500 OTR. Now, This would not give you even a basic music system. Add cost of a decent bluetooth enabled ICE with speakers it would take the OTR to 5, 70,000. Now thats 1, 14,000 less than next cheapest automatic in the market - Grand i10 - Sportz (6,84,000). Now, Grand i10 feels and probably is a level above this Celerio, in every way - exteriors, interiors, ride quality, space and refinement. Moreover, other top of the line features which Hyundai offers even to its Sportz variant is more than ZXI of Maruti.
Frankly, if you are going for financing - this would be around INR 2400 in EMI over 5 years, which I guess is negligible considering the benefits of Grand i10.

Thats where I am going for my second (additional) car.