[cpbopanna]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Hi - from your test drive, can you maybe answer a couple of queries:

In the sequential shift mode, do we need to 'lift' (i.e release the accelerator) while shifting?

Does the car auto shift up or down to save the transmission/engine from redlining/lugging in sequential shift mode?

It drives just like a slush-box automatic.
Voluntary (or involuntary) throttle lifts cause upshifting and voluntary (or involuntary) flooring the throttle causes downshifting.

However, the lag (that I mentioned earlier) on a shift is noticeable, especially on upshifts!

Yes, the car up/down shifts to prevent redlining/stalling respectively.

[tanwaramit]

I think its good that Maruti gave two options for Celerio, so that people looking for automatic transmission vehicle can have choice.

Though they haven't given AT in ZxI variant, however atleast they should have given ABS in this variant.

Airbags, well not sure how the airbags would have performed seeing the other thread on NCAP ratings for Indian cars. Just having airbags wont help, the car structure should be such that airbags save life instead of taking lives. Scorpio even with airbags is a failure for front crash.

[cpbopanna]

It is just a basic car, meant to be second vehicle, city roundabout. At such a level, features like the air-con, power steering and power windows suffice.
In my personal opinion, it would be an over-indulgence to kit such a vehicle with ABS, EBD, air bags, etc., which would push the pricing into the next category where better products are available.
Maruti appears to have done their homework right!

[tj123]

Are AMTs a natural progression towards Automatics? Read on

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-featur...omatics/17864/

[avi550m]

Eagerly awaiting the Team-Bhp review of the Celerio, esp about how good or bad the Automated Manual transmission is. Given that the A-Star AT is now discontinued, the Celerio takes over the mantle of cheapest Automatic car in India.

[pradkumar]

Hi,

What I read in a review is that it automatically downshifts when you reduce speed in manual mode to prevent stalling, but does not upshift. Can somebody confirm this please?

Thanks,

Pradeep

Originally Posted by cpbopanna

It drives just like a slush-box automatic.
Voluntary (or involuntary) throttle lifts cause upshifting and voluntary (or involuntary) flooring the throttle causes downshifting.

However, the lag (that I mentioned earlier) on a shift is noticeable, especially on upshifts!

Yes, the car up/down shifts to prevent redlining/stalling respectively.

[srishiva]

I think the AMT should function like any automatic. They should have taken care of that. Doesn't make sense to have a different kind of transmission (use wise), then it might not find favour with customers. I am expecting it to be similar to any manual override AT.

The implementation is a efficient one and dont think people will care after a while. Maruti is hyping this just to make a marketing point and even magazines are going gaga over this (above zigwheels being one example). Even the advanced DCT didn't make this much noise differentiating with AT.

[vinair]

Just back from driving a Celerio AMT and first impressions about the car is not very great, specially on the AMT box. There is a very, very noticeable lag when shifting from 2nd to 1 first on the full auto mode and this is so very obvious that, there are good chances of one wondering if the car will ever move!! Also, the engine sounded very rough when trying to drive a little enthusiastically. The car, otherwise is a typical Maruti, nothing there to make you feel special. Overall, a technology that really doesn't live up to the hype surrounding it!

[h@r$h@l]

Teat drove the Celerio VXi AMT today. The dealer had sent the car to my office. Very nice follow up by company and the dealer.

Now to the car, we were 5 of us in the car. I drove the car on my home to office route and I found it simply amazing. Considering the fact it 5 kms of traffic I have to drive in one way I had no reason to complain.

The car has some lag, some vibrations and noticeable gear shifts. But not that it would matter or affect in normal driving conditions. Considering we may replace our 2008 Wagon R with this its not bad. Celerio Vxi is 5.35L on road Ahmedabad which is almost 1.56L less than i10 Grand AT.

The car has few good features which I don't remember reading in the brochure.

1. If you slot in D mode without pressing the brakes the car wont go forward.

2. If you slot in D mode after pressing the brakes and say the driver side door is not closed properly, the car won't move forward.

3. When the gear slotting was done without pressing the brake pedal it would indicate the same in the center console.

They had a company driver along who gave a detailed over view of the car and the AMT box. Even when I told him I am used to AT cars he insisted that I listen to it as they have strict instructions from their boss to first explain the AMT box to the customer before they are allowed to drive.

We only plan to go for it post April. So by then we would have more ownership reviews too. I personally feel the AMT @ 5L is a boon for lot of people. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts we were looking for a AT car for mom due to her left knee issue. This couldn't have come at a better time.

The dealer indicated that any variant any color can be made available in 10-12 days if booked now and later the waiting periods and MAY be prices are only going to increase.

Regards,

[Sherlocked]

A smart pricing by Maruti. Introductory price of Celerio is kept high as they want to book maximum profits in the initial months of this car due to the launch hype which new models generate. Anyways after 4-5 months the discounts will start pouring just like the current discounts on Alto 800, K10, WagonR which even though are sales chart topper but still have discounts throughout the year.

If I was in the market for Celerio, i'll probably hold on my decision for 4-5 months.

[Guna]

I drove the Celerio AMT today.
Some observations:

• Creep forward in D is not as strong as in conventional AT cars.
• From a stand still, it gets in to slightly jerky movement to get going. But I did not feel other gear shifts as jerky or intrusive
• One may need to use manual option to get very good FE as the shifts happen late
• Did not notice 'kick-down' on hard acceleration
• Car's ride was very bumpy, may be the tires were over-inflated

[volkman10]

Autocar India review the Celerio Vs Competition and here is their Verdict!

Ultimately, the new Maruti Celerio does come across as the best value, even if purely on the basis of its great pricing. The lower two trims are a bit down on kit in some areas, but then, the top two trims aren’t too expensive either. The automatic in LXi (Rs 4.29 lakh) and VXi (Rs 4.59 lakh) trims represents the best value of all, although we’d have liked the option of a two-pedal Celerio with more equipment.

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...-372095.aspx/3

[carwatcher]

Today I took the TD of Celerio AT and my initial impressions...

Background :
I had purchased an A-Star AT just a week ago for my better half before the first teaser of Celerio appeared on the print media so I was caught napping (despite being a T-BHPian) and cursing myself that I should've waited for Celerio and the resale value of my A-Star AT will fall down quickly (this may happen anyway). So I was bound to TD the Celerio even though its been ages since I had been to Maruti showroom. My review is also based on A-Star v Celerio.

Requesting a TD :
At the dealership main entrance where a security guard cabin is located, we met two SEs who noted down my contact number and promised the TD within three hours by sending the car to our residence as the AT car was out for TD at some distant place, MT car was available there itself. As promised the car came before the stipulated time and the SE was quite friendly. All in all a pleasant experience.

TD and Car:
I took the car on my favourite route where I took TDs of all my previous cars especially the Linea T-Jet. I found the handling and all other aspects as reported by others and can say that it is quite similar to A-Star which is considered quite good. AC is not very effective on I (similar to my A-Star) even for a single person and has to be put on II before any sort of cooling is noted. The build quality is nothing great to write about but is in league of other Maruti cars in general. Pardon me but I have Fiat Linea and Ford Fusion as my daily drives so can't help it.
The car has a feature where you have to start the car in Neutral with the brake pedal pressed with your foot and if you leave the brake pedal after the car is started and will try to shift the gear, the gear stick will shift to D or R but the car wont move and a light indicating press the brake pedal will glow on the speedometer console. Quite a safety feature I must say.

A quick comparo of A-Star and Celerio:

Advantage A-Star :
Conventional Automatic with slightly lesser lag between gearshifts. Torque converter something, excuse my poor knowledge.
ABS - very relevant since the justification by MUL for providing ABS in AT was to compensate for lesser Engine Braking so I am surprised at the omission in Celerio or maybe Engine Braking is more in Celerio, I am not sure. To me this is the biggest advantage in A-Star vis-a-vis Celerio.
Interior colour combination and feel is more of my taste. This is subjective.

Advantage Celerio :
Huge space as compared to A-Star, be it rear legroom, boot space, etc. Infact its very very very spacious car on its own, even if you don't take into account A-Star. They have also increased the wheel base so its quite normal.
Manual shifts - gives enthusiasts a feel of complete control.
Tachometer - In my books, this is the biggest thing I miss on my A-Star. To add to this we have gear indicator also in the Celerio which gives that feel good factor as to the car is running in exactly which gear. I would like any expert to advise me whether is it possible to install it in the A-Star AT aftermarket.
Mileage gap is also not too small to be ignored if it really is the case. Till date we have measured mileage only once and we are getting around 14-15 KMPL which I have found to my satisfaction as 7.5-8 KMPL reported in i10 AT was the primary reason I opted for A-Star otherwise I must admit I didn't like the A-Star 0.00000001% all these years. So on that front A-Star has pleased me immensely. Now if Celerio gives around 20-21 its clearly a big advantage Celerio which can't be overlooked.

The AMT is excellent and very easy to drive and mark my words, this car is bound to succeed in our country as it ticks all the right boxes, be it space, price, brand name, ease to drive and last but not the least (actually the first) ITNA DETI HAI. Maruti has done its homework well and going by the initial data as per the SE, AMT variant bookings are going very great. Waiting period reported is around 3 weeks so its quite reasonable. I feel that to create an impact, Nano AT has to do something unconventional, be it an all new name, killer pricing or a step further Diesel AT or else it will sink without trace.

The smallest yet the most important aspect about the car IMHO is its name. Everyone knows this car is replacement of A-Star and is known worldwide as A-Star or A-Wind. Had MUL launched it as A-Star or even A-wind for that matter, this car would have sunk without a trace. Come to think of it, how many of us would go out and take a TD of Estilo if its relaunched tomorrow. We also have classic examples of Honda Jazz and Ford Fiesta in the recent past. Tata Motors should learn how to launch a car and generate interest among public. Vista, Manza, Grande and recently Storme launches prove the importance of the model name.
Also it shows the power of marketing as there were very very few takers of A-Star and miniscule of A-Star AT, so general public is not aware about A-Star AT and functioning of AT, so while the A-Star AT has P R N D 3 2 L (1) out of which 3 2 and L(1) can be used to get the Engine Braking Effect (as per car's manual too) and now the Celerio has Manual R N D and Manual + and - so if one really wants, he can drive the A-Star also in the desired gear but as very few people are aware about the functioning of the ATs, they feel the AMT technology as 'pathbreaking' etc. etc. even though in my opinion it is more of a marketing gimmick. I may be wrong but atleast this is what I had observed till now. I am not yet conversant with the intricate technical details of new transmission by Magneti Marelli.

Thanks to all who are still reading.

For the record, we bought Mar 2012 registered Pacific Blue A-Star AT (single owner) for 3.40 Lac with 11250 KMs on the Odo.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Guna

I drove the Celerio AMT today.
Some observations:

Adding few more points:

• Nice weighted feeling of the A-Star steering seem to have gone. Steering feels pretty dead in Celerio
• Car feels fairly well built expect for the door which have very flimsy feel.
• A pillar is thick and is almost right in front of right eye
• Vibrations (more like an imbalance) from the 3 potter can be felt bellow the floor.

[mail2vm]

Originally Posted by pradkumar

Hi,

What I read in a review is that it automatically downshifts when you reduce speed in manual mode to prevent stalling, but does not upshift. Can somebody confirm this please?

Thanks,

Pradeep

It does upshifting too. When you change to manual mode & drive, it will automatically swift to higher gears even if you don't change the gears manually. When you apply the breaks, it will automatically come down to a lower gear, which is awesome