[ak10]

This is my first post in this thread. I own a 2017 ciaz alpha petrol MT. Currently the the odo stands at 76k km. I have had an almost niggle free ownership experience so far. But was getting bored of the car and was thinking of an upgrade. I maintained the car absolutely stock so far. I thought why not try some aesthetic mods before I sell, because I absolutely have no complaints about this car. Started with blacking the alloys. I love this look and I somehow feel like I bought a new car . It was almost like falling in love all over again with the same person situation for me. Decided to go ahead and black vinyl wrap the roof and the ORVMs, what do you guys think?

[Goutsdk]

Experience With Ciaz after 97k

I am giving my review of why I bought the Ciaz in 2016 and my experience with it since then. Some of the facts below appear to be similar to others story.

In 2016, my 2007 swift with around 1.6 L km was ageing. Also my children had become adults and the need for a more spacious car was felt. We decided on a budget of Rs. 10L. We wanted to move to a vehicle above 4m. We were open to all body types.

Following options were considered:
S CROSS: We couldn't get a test drive. However, I was able to check it out. Rejected it because of the lack of AC vents for the rear passenger and huge hump in the middle.
Creta: Again I was unable to get a test drive. Plus only the base model seemed to be in the budget. Also the middle seat seemed to lack space.
Honda City: We liked it. It was spacious, had a good boot. Loved the engine.
Maruti Ciaz: It was as spacious (or slightly more) than the City. It had more bells and whistles than the City.
Verna: Checked out the Verna too, but after sitting in the City and Ciaz, it wasn't as spacious.

In the final shortlist, I had the City and Ciaz.

Safety, I tried to check for the NCAP ratings and found both City and Ciaz to be 4 star rated in the one of the regional Asian NCAPs.

Kitna deti hai- Ciaz manual was the outright winner. But in the case of automatics, the figures were close. I get around 13- 14 kmpl in the city and 17-18 kmpl on the highway (claimed mileage is over 20 kmpl).

Didn't choose the diesel looking at my vehicle running at that time and the noise regarding diesel being more polluting.

Within the budget: we could get a mid range City or top end Ciaz. It was a mind vs heart. Family took the decision to go with the Ciaz as they would be enjoy the ride , bell and whistles.

The delivery experience was not very great as when we reached the showroom, the car was brought from its parking lot and we were informed that a tree branch had fallen and dented above the front door.

Our SA apologized, got it fixed and delivered the vehicle at our residence.l after a week's delay.

From then till Mar'20, we had done around 62k in 3.5 years when COVID struck. We enjoyed our ride. This includes a trip to Rann of Kutch, multiple short trips to Mahabaleshwar, Dapoli etc.

NVH- While the car is silent, when stationery, it's road insulation is poor, leading to noise coming in.

Engine performance- though it is weak in terms of number (1.4 l NA around 90bhp), it is more than sufficient for our requirements. I rarely felt the lack of power during my ownership.

The Infotainment system came with Radio, Bluetooth connectivity, preloaded maps and mirror link. It has a reverse camera which has been very useful.

It did not come with Android auto and Apple Car play. It is difficult to select the place on the preloaded maps. However, you can select a mark a place as favourite and store. It does not show the traffic. After around an year, they upgraded the software once, after which Android Auto and Apple Car play became available. That is the only upgrade they have done till date.

The boot (nearly 500 l) is huge and got tested a few times- once when we were going for a destination marriage (it gobbled up all the luggage). However, on one occasion we were not able to load a furniture due to gap between the loading lip and boot door.

After COVID, the car seemed to jump a lot. Had to get the second set of tyres changed at 72k as the tyre dealer suggested changing the same.
Also showed the problem to SA where a lower arm was changed. After a few trials, finally got JK Treel TPMS installed. Maintaining correct tyre pressure in all 4 tyres helped resolve the problem.

Maintenance Issues: Apart from the regular service, I found the faux leather on the door coming off and had to get it changed. Also the original faux leather on the seat started peeling off, and I had to get a cover for the same.

The gear Knob needs a change as it's plastic has started peeling off.

The coils, brakes have been changed once each.

The engine is still in good condition.

After the recent purchase of Harrier automatic, this vehicle's usage has reduced. But lately, I have started re-discovering the joy of a manual in the city. The manual makes one feel one is in control. Also, its smaller dimensions compared to the Harrier make it easier to maneuver in traffic.

[StripleRider03]

Hi all, here's my experience with my 1.3 DDiS Ciaz ZDi+ from 2016:

The car was a dream for my dad and I since we saw it at an auto expo earlier in the year. We never dreamt of parting ways with our Swift VXi Petrol from 2011 at the time of the expo. Fast forward a few months, the new Brezza was launched, which my dad and I went to test drive, as we had no better work (I used to have my weekly offs from work during the week at that time). The test drive went well and we were impressed with the car. When we returned to the showroom, the ciaz test car was parked right next to where the Brezza was, so we thought what's there to lose and requested for a test drive of the ciaz diesel.

During the test drive, we found the car to be extremely spacious and comfortable compared to our Swift. The SA even called the evaluator and the value quoted was really impressive that dad started calculating the finances at that instant. We went back that evening, finalised the price for the Swift and made a booking for the Ciaz Diesel in Pearl Arctic White. The waiting time was a week and the car was delivered on the 10th of May, 2016.

We have had a lot of trips and a lot of memories have been made over the last 7+ years that we've owned the car. It has run just over 57k kms (thanks to COVID).

I was getting a bit bored with the lethargic performance of the 1.3 DDiS and invested in the DieselTronic from RaceDynamics sometime around early 2022 and it has made a world of difference to the response! The car is eager to get off the line (when compared to stock, that is) and is a hoot to drive in the hilly regions. Mileage has seen a marginal improvement as well (not that it was bad to begin with).

The time has come to let it go though, as I have booked a Skoda Slavia 1.5 DSG in Red. I hope the car finds a good home and will be cared for just like we did. Here are a few pics of the car over the years.

[PrasannaDhana]

Congratulations on the Slavia 1.5 booking!

As a previous ciaz owner, I understand that the Slavia is a perfect upgrade to the ciaz.

It is as comfortable, more or less as spacious and it is a proper 3 boxer with elegant looks. Did I forget, better driving dynamics!?

Main reason for me selling my ciaz was the safety concern. Now with Slavia, you solve the only issue with ciaz as a car.

5 star Safety, very comfortable ride and an amazing engine. I am sure you will have a great time with it.

I wish the Slavia proves to be as reliable as the trustworthy ciaz 1.3

[StripleRider03]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Congratulations on the Slavia 1.5 booking!

As a previous ciaz owner, I understand that the Slavia is a perfect upgrade to the ciaz.

It is as comfortable, more or less as spacious and it is a proper 3 boxer with elegant looks. Did I forget, better driving dynamics!?

Main reason for me selling my ciaz was the safety concern. Now with Slavia, you solve the only issue with ciaz as a car.

5 star Safety, very comfortable ride and an amazing engine. I am sure you will have a great time with it.

I wish the Slavia proves to be as reliable as the trustworthy ciaz 1.3

Thank you PrasannaDhana! Safety is the reason why I'm changing as well

I have heard good things about the Skoda service near my place and I hope to have a niggle free ownership experience.

[armaaan.in]

Hello Fellow Car Enthusiasts,

This is my first post on Team-BHP so kindly bare with me. I hope you're all having a great day. I'm reaching out to this wonderful community for some advice and insights regarding a perplexing issue I've been facing with my beloved Maruti Ciaz 1.3 diesel hybrid alpha.

Here's the background:

My car has been my faithful companion for quite some time and has clocked over 131,000 kilometers. Recently, I decided it was time for a major service, which included the installation of a new clutch set (without flywheel), timing chain replacement, and EGR cleaning, in addition to the regular servicing.

Now, here's where things get interesting:

Since the service, I've encountered a couple of rather frustrating problems:

1. **Juddering in 1st Gear**: Whenever I release the clutch in 1st gear, my car experiences an annoying juddering sensation, it happens only when the clutch is about to bite and this doesn’t repeat if I pick my car in any other gear. Interestingly, this juddering ceases as soon as the speedometer touches 3-4 kilometers per hour.

2. **Increased Idle Vibrations**: I've also noticed a slight uptick in vibrations when my car is idling. This was never an issue before the service.

I've made multiple visits to the service center (at least 2-3 times) to address these concerns, and their explanation is that the juddering is a result of a "run-in period" for the new clutch set. They assured me that this issue will naturally dissipate with time.

However, it's been more than 2,000-2,500 kilometers since the service, and while the juddering has marginally improved, it's nowhere near acceptable. As a matter of fact, the idle vibrations persist as well.

I invested over 50,000 rupees in this service, and my expectation was that my car would be in top-notch condition afterward.

I'm turning to this community with a sense of hope and a bit of frustration. Has anyone else ever encountered a similar issue following a major service? Do you agree with the service center's explanation, or do you think I should seek a second opinion?

Your collective wisdom and advice are invaluable to me at this point, and I'm eager to hear your thoughts on how to resolve this matter. My car has been extremely reliable in the past, and I'm committed to getting it back to its optimal performance.

Thank you all in advance for your time and assistance!

Best regards,

armaaan.in

[Golden Chariot]

I bought the Ciaz Alpha Petrol mild hybrid after returning to India in year 2019. Drove about 12000 Km until Mar 2020 until Covid hit. Did some memorable road trips. The car was unfortunately sparsely used during the lockdown for about a year. Did some serious running in March 2021, until Covid again struck and the car was again standing for 5 months.

Thereafter from Oct 2021, I am driving it regularly till date. Have clocked about 54000 Km till date. The things I like about the car are, great manoeuvrability. very comfortable ride quality on long rides, plush cabin, 1.5L petrol engine is a decent trade-off between power and mileage. The cruise control is a great feature, you can essntially use on any 6 lane highway and rest your legs on the long ride. No rattle noise like the smaller maruti cars. The suspension is also great and contributes to the good ride quality. The boot is very spacious and is a boon during long trips as it can fit in 2 large and 1 small suitcase easily , with a few smaller bags. if you pull down the armset on the back seat, 2 x people can sit very compfrtably. 3x can be a bit cramped especially on long rides.

The cons are the touch screen system. I did update the software to the latest one and after that the screen stopped hanging. The USB port broke, leaving me to connect only using bluetooth. In the new model the USB port design is changed from square to circular. So, I am not able to use Android Auto. Most Ciaz dealerships take a request to order the part (USB port) and then say it's not available. This in my opinion is a bummer from MSIL. The plastic quality in certian sections, like the door holders appears cheap and fragile. Although, the ground clearance is decent, when the car has 5 occupants, the underside scrapes with speed breakers on the road, especially those which are not is standard design. The tyres are low profile. (Again a feedback from tyre delaership as my first tyre burst happened within the first 3 months, due to the side wall rupture. The car went though a pot hole ( not visible due to rains) at speed of 60 Kmph.

I had to replace the tyres (Goodyear) 195/55R16 at 34,000Km. The tyre dealership told me that they have seen this issue with all cars bought in 2019 as most of these cars were standing for about 1-2 years during covid, leading to tyre rubber cracking up. My tyre was hit my a nail in 2022, but there was a big chunk of rubber that came off. So, decided to replace all 4 x tyres. That costed Rs.30,000/- with Goodyear tyres, same rating and size. I was told Yokohama tyres are more durable but costed 40,000 for 4 x tyres.

From a service cost perspective car needs it at every 10,000 Km. I spend about Rs. 8000/- on the service, twice an year due to high running. Recently at 50,000 Km, they changed the front brakes disc. I also got the interiors cleaned and that added another Rs.4000/- to the bill.

Overall, am happy with the Ciaz Petrol Alpha 1.5L. It may lack in terms of premium plastic parts or a sunroof, but those are not necessities either. The criticism around poor build quality or poor door thud sound are unwarranted. Ciaz comes with a 4 star NCAP safety rating for front occupants. Has 2 x airbags for front passengers, which is decent, MSIL uses tectile steel for the frame. It is great value for Money. A good balance between a city car and a highway ride. We buy the car to drive, not to open-close the door for the perfect thud sound....... or knock the car sheet metal for sound.

Someone aspiring for a more premium sedan may obviously drift towards the Verna, City or Virtus. But the mileage of these cars is a bummer, so essentially you need a 2nd car for driving within the city, maybe a hybrid? Getting an additional parking spot also is a challenge in cities.

In that sense, Ciaz petrol Alpha can be the one mode of transport that caters to both City and highway driving needs, saving you ownership costs of 2 x cars and an additional parking spot.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by Golden Chariot

I bought the Ciaz Alpha Petrol mild hybrid after returning to India in year 2019..

The Ciaz is a good car and I had it on radar when I was looking to replace my 11 year old car back in ~2018. I was there at the time of the car unveil (facelift) in one the dealership but ended up buying a Swift for different reasons. I hope the Goodyear tyres do not trouble you as the first set did. Also what is the average are you getting? Is this a auto or a manual?

[Iva1311]

Great to see positive review of Ciaz after 50+k kilometers by Golden Chariot

I bought a base model Ciaz in Dec,2022. I was nowhere close to buying a car. But my Father's humble Wagon R was about to complete 12 years and now with Uttar Pradesh RTO also banning the extension of vehicle registration, Dad wanted to switch to a new car.

Our search and hunt begin and as Dad is an Ex-Air Force employee, he had the option to buy from Army Canteen.
We decided to contact Sainik Car Options in Delhi Cantonment, New Delhi.
We bought our previous car Grand i10 Diesel from them and had a good repo with them.

Our options were very limited because of the cap Defence has setup. My father was allowed to get a car with base price of below 6L.
Only base variants of some compact SUV were available, mid variants of hatchbacks/compact sedans and top variants of Smaller hatchbacks.

We had below options
1. Tata Nexon
2. Hyundai Grandi10/Xcent
3. MSI Dzire/Swift
4. Kiger/Magnite

and a few more in that range.

I decided to try Nexon, Magnite, Kiger as now the trend is drifting to SUVs, sedans are no longer people's first choice.

I tried them all and have only base trims available in my allowed price bracket.
All of a sudden Mr. Kashyap from Sainik Car Options advised to go for Ciaz base variant. He suggested if you are getting all the base variants then why not settle down for a full size Sedan. Compact SUVs will not be able to match the Space/Comfort Ciaz has to provide.

My wife and I immediately decided to test drive Ciaz and check out if there are any features available.
To our surprise, Sigma Ciaz which is the base variant has some good useful features which were not available in other base variants
1. Power windows
2. Steering Controls
3. rear Arm rest
4. Electronically adjustable ORVM(not foldable which is a duh!)
5. Mild Hybrid
6. Great Comfort for 4 passengers
7. Massive Boot space.
8. Defogger
and some more compared to other car base variants.

My wife loved the rear seats comfort, but she is the daily driver now(more on that below)
I loved the drivability, visibility of the Ciaz.

It does lack the premiumness of sedans has to offer. But it justified the price it came at.
For us it was just short of INR 250 by jumping over the allowed limit of 6L.
My father who is a bike person does not want to drive much and as it happened my wife is now the daily driver of Ciaz, although she loved the rear
seats.

I installed a few accessories which were important for me,
1. Android/Apple Car play
2. LED Bulbs(4 bulbs , 2 on each side for High/low beams)
3. Fog lamps
4. Seat covers, steering cover


My overall experience is good with my purchase.

I am unsure about the 4 Star NCAP Safety Rating which Golden Chariot stated. I don't have any authenticity on it. Can anyone comment on this and confirm this?

About the engine power, I feel that it is aptly powered. On daily basis we are not redlining the RPM, not overtaking heavy vehicles.

In a recent Incident, I mistakenly left Ciaz unlocked and it was parked for 10 days without use.
After 10 days when I checked, the battery was fully drained and the car did not wake up to unlock/lock button press on key.
The battery was completely empty, I had to jump start the car with the help of a friend. After a few idle minutes of start and a short sprint of 50 kms, the battery is good.

Amazingly the Hybrid battery (secondary battery) had the 70% charge in it.
That means it is only used during the drive.

[Goutsdk]

@IVA1311- Good reading that some people are buying sedans (above 4 mtr) too instead of the SUVs. The Compact SUVs appear overpriced and do provide less space compared to the C segment (above 4 m sedans).

It is high time Maruti brings an upgrade to the Ciaz. It may help increase interest in the sedans.

[biju1971]

I have completed about 110000 kms on my Ciaz ZDI 2016 model. The performance has been flawless. There is adequate comfort with the soft suspension and decent power/torque to stay ahead/keep up with the traffic. I have been doing the service regularly at Nexa with no major replacements.Battery lasted 3.5 years and that is due to the SHVS system.I have replaced the rear shock absorbers at 90000km. My only grouse is with the sheet metal thickness and the poor paint quality. Rust spots at various places and paint coming off due to road gravel is a sore point.This is one reason i may not buy a Maruti again.

I completed the timing belt replacement at 110000 kms. There was a debate on what should be the interval to replace the timing chain, since the manual does not mention the interval.I believe 110000-120000 should be a comfortable zone for a sedate driver. On opening the engine, the auto tensioner was at the end of its travel and would not be able to take any more slack. The timing chain connects the crankshaft and camshaft(which controls the opening of the inlet and exhaust valves). A slack chain would alter the valve timing and affect the pick up, power and fuel efficiency(as combustion is not optimum),. It would still be sometime away from chain snapping as they are robustly built. If the chain snaps, the camshaft and crankshaft connection snaps, the valves could be in open position and the pistons travelling with momentum could hit the valves, causing catastrophic damage.The most important thing in the replacement is the relative position of crankshaft and camshaft, any altering in relative position during replacement would affect the engine for a long time to come.It is important to lock the crankshaft and camshaft before taking out the chain. IT is also a good idea to replace the water pump also. I could hear a faint noise while turning the pump, signalling bearing failure soon along with seal damage and coolant loss. They also replace the sprockets, chain guide and the tensioners.

[ak10]

Had a minor incident with my ciaz involving an autoricshaw. Got dent on both the right side doors and the panel below it. Dents are not major and mostly towards the bottom of the door. Took it to nexa sarjapur road and the SA informed 3 panels need dent repair and paint job. He said if i am opting for insurance, he can get the two doors replaced at the same cost instead of repainting. I declined this as I felt this may show up in the vehicle history as a major repair, and asked him to just get the panels repainted. I still have time to decide so requesting advice on this matter.

[gck_tourer]

Hi, replacement is always better than repaint and repair. Especially if it is at same cost and you intend to hold on to the car for long. Fresh metal, long life.

[kslives]

My 2018 Ciaz’s driver’s side car seat leather has been damaged due to wear and tear I guess. Any recommendations of someone who can repair/restore this to its original state? I’m based in Delhi so a vendor is Delhi NCR would be preferred. Thanks in advance!

[Golden Chariot]

Usually, for minor denting and painting, I pay an advance and get the panel replaced. The dealership usually keep the care for a few days, first day they accept the car, next day, they call the insurance person, the following day they receive approval, followed by 2-3 days to complete the work. The cost of using a taxi is quite high for 5 days, especially, since I have a running of about 60 Km/ day. So, getting panels replaced is cheaper considering the opportunity cost of having your car at the garage. Also, you get to keep your no claim bonus during renewal.