[Reinhard]

Thanks for the excellent review of another volume-player from Maruti. Just like the decades before - Maruti seems to have managed to get the things in the sweet spot where bulk of our car sales still continue to happen. The Celerio with a modernized workhorse K10c can be an excellent proposition as a 1st car for many families. I'll not comment anything about safety, that aspect is well known now, and people should make the right call when picking the car for their specific requirements, and then not alter the requirements. For example I don't mind my Alto for the purpose I use it for, but then I don't go road-tripping with it. I go to office in the city, or drop the kid to school/playground in it.

I used to like the clean looks of the outgoing Celerio. And I hated the interiors of it altogether.
Now with the new one - I completely hate the exterior looks of the car, while the interiors are excellent for a practical city car. Everything that is needed, is included along with decent ergonomics and utility items. I have a feeling that the new Celerio may pull much better numbers than the previous Celerio did. This might be the modern alternative to the people who want something below the WagonR but are extremely off-put by the Spresso! Good to see that features like day-night mirror, split folding seats etc are included VXi onwards.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by swageo

Did you try hill hold scenario with this AMT.. Does the car roll back when you release break... ie like other AMTs ?

Nope. It doesn't move back even an inch even on the steepest of slopes. This is a proper hill hold that uses the brakes rather than alternatives like extending the creep functionality to implement hill hold.

[W.A.G.7]

That's a very detailed and nicely written review. The car looks great in the brown colour. The rounded shape reminds me of the 1st Gen Micra that was launched in 2010. I think this car has been positioned as a city car, probably the second or third beater car in the family and it will do that job pretty well. Thus it will get in the numbers for Maruti; and most likely it will cannibalize the S-Presso, which many people may feel is cheap for the price.

I still however like the Ignis for what it is, and this new iteration of the Celerio can't be compared to the Ignis. Pricing the top-end variant of the Celerio below the INR 6 lakh mark would have worked wonders for Maruti, is what I feel and for 90% of the people, the VXi variant will be the most VFM one.

[PrasannaDhana]

I had to visit Maruti dealer today to get my 2016 Celerio serviced. New celerio was put up on display floor. I asked if the test drive cars have reached and was informed they are yet to get the TD cars.

Meanwhile the sales people handed me a brochure.

The nerve Maruti has!!



While Maruti boasts 26.6 kmpl on ads, reality is 25.xx and 24.xx kmpl for MT users.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

While Maruti boasts 26.6 kmpl on ads, reality is 25.xx and 24.xx kmpl for MT users.

Makes me wonder whats the difference that causes the difference in mileage. Is it just the weight difference? And the AMT is returning higher mileage compared to MT which was not the case earlier in the earlier generation.

And guess they have hired a few people with good english skills for R&D. For example, manual air conditioning became "Dial type climate control"

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by audioholic

And guess they have hired a few people with good english skills for R&D. For example, manual air conditioning became "Dial type climate control"

Seems perfectly normal to me, as there is no automatic climate control so all the variants comes equipped with a "dial" based controller. Plus, another reason they could have used this word is because the dial's colour varies wrt the model. The LXI comes equipped with a black colored whereas the rest of the variants with a silver colored dial.

[itwasntme]

Saw a unregistered red one today. Looked superb. MS has a winner here I feel.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Saw a unregistered red one today. Looked superb. MS has a winner here I feel.

My dad loves it in white

And you know what, I have already sent my 2016 celerio for evaluation to Truvalue.

Top end ZXI+ comes to 7.45 lakhs on road. While ZXI seems more value at 6.88 lakhs on road, it misses out on 15 inch alloy wheels and touch screen infotainment.

[Nanolover]

Presenting, first new Celerio on Team Bhp



Got it an hour ago (home delivery) and took it for a quick spin to brim it up with petrol and bleed air pressure down to 32 psi front and 30 rear (was an insane 43 psi all round !). Will be going for a longer drive in the afternoon.

Initial impressions
- Engine is silent and way way smoother than the unit in the spresso especially at city speeds. Honestly our spresso feels like a tractor in comparison (I might be biased due to new car wow factor).

- Horn is useless and will be replacing soon. Couple of updates planned and she will be going to get those done tomorrow.

- Only accessories taken from MGA were the rear spoiler (red), vinyl floor mats and the 3D boot mat.

- Indus Motors and my Sales Advisor Ms. Raji (she handles all our cars) did a fabulous job of coordinating and handling everything. Kudos to them for a seamless experience.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by Nanolover

Presenting, first new Celerio on Team Bhp

Congratulations on your new ride and I wish you many happy years with it! I did not know deliveries for the Celerio would start so soon, or even this year, for that matter. It looks a lot better in your picture than it did during the media drives, and I actually think it looks quite nice in this paint. Which transmission option is this?

On another note, based on deliveries I was quite sure Global NCAP would test the Celerio only next year but this might just change that. One thing that might make a difference is that Maruti is targeting the Tata Tiago head-on, and considering how well it's selling with its 4-star (adult) performance I think there is a small chance Maruti might be aiming higher.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Saw a unregistered red one today. Looked superb. MS has a winner here I feel.

Originally Posted by Nanolover

Got it an hour ago ( home delivery) and took it for a quick spin

Coincidence?

[Nanolover]

Originally Posted by ron178

Coincidence?

Yeah, I was one of the first ones who booked even before official bookings had started ( converter my spresso booking into celerio).

I am based out of Trivandrum, even though the location in my handle still shows Bangalore

Yup, not seen any Celerio delivered in my city. Mine has got to be the first few I guess ( in Kerala, you cant drive on TP, you have to wait until number is allotted and number plate fixed to your car)

[swageo]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Nope. It doesn't move back even an inch even on the steepest of slopes. This is a proper hill hold that uses the brakes rather than alternatives like extending the creep functionality to implement hill hold.

Ok, so we are going closer and closer to a budget friendly good AT..

[kedar_GT]

Originally Posted by Nanolover

Presenting, first new Celerio on Team Bhp

Congratulations! Now for some tasty add ons!

[Nanolover]

Here are my impressions after a 50 km round trip on highway and city.

- engine is silky smooth for a three cylinder. You wouldn't feel it at all if you use the throttle sensibly and anyways AMT will upshift to the next gear. Almost comparable to the K12 in the swift. Absolutely no comparison refinement wise to the tiago. Tiago is 50-75% louder depending on rpm range.

- the transmission is super smooth. Sets off without any jerks in creep, pause between gear changes is minimal. In fact I think this might be Marutis best AMT . The spresso fees jerky and clumsy in comparison ( remember spresso was the best AMT I had driven till that point of time ,compared to the useless one I had in my Tiago)

- mileage. Engine feels tight and it has done only 60 kms for now. So can't comment. MID shows 9km/l average.

- stop/ start is the single most irritating feature. Need to manually switch it off everytime!

- stability at speeds upto 120 km/h is good and not twitchy or nervous like the spresso. Closer to the tiago ( Tiago might have a 10% edge here)

- road noise is compartvely more in the Celerio than tiago although the smooth drivetrain I guess, brings other noises to the fore.

- low speed ride of the Celerio is I feel superior to the tiago ( Tiago is stiffer and I used to get tossed around at alow speeds). I have kept my tyre pressure at 32 front and 30 rear.

- interior space there is simply no comparison. Celerio is at least 25% more spacious. Tiago is much tighter front and rear. This should be a deciding factor for families who have a single car.

- unlock request sensors on both doors. Very convinient to let in my kids without circling to the drivers door and then opening the left rear door.

- steering is light and easy to twirl, although Tiago one is far superior. Point to note is it is not sticky like the one in my ex-ignis

Now the big question. Was it worth the 2 lakhs over the spresso?

Oh absolutely! I suggest members to have a go in one and u will all be pleasently surprised. And the car looks much much better in person than pics.

Other points

- not seen another new Celerio on the road to date. Maybe deliveries have not started? Even accesories shop folks who are used to seeing all sorts of cars , were very much interested when mine rolled up, checking out the interiors and commenting on the spaciousness.

They were all shocked to see Maruti offering yokohama tyres as standard fitment. I thought of upgrading,but after today's drive I feel it is more than sufficient for the power on tap and grip/ noise is good

Negatives
- horn
- idle stop / start
- flap type and slippery door handles
- lateral and lumbar support of seats could be better ( I will be upgrading the seats soon like in the spresso, so that problem will be fixed)
- my mom was complaining about the huge front seats and how it blocks her view. She was saying it looks like lorry seats:(
- price

Reiterating once again friends. Drive and see it to believe it. Driving and seeing it in metal might help justify the higher price.

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by Nanolover

Here are my impressions after a 50 km round trip on highway and city.
<snip>

Thanks a lot for that short review. And I hate you for making me question myself now. But I am still planning to stick to my Spresso booking since 2L extra is pretty big amount for me to put for a new car when current one is 6L. If it was a 50L car and 2L extra, I wouldn't have thought once. Not that I have that kind of money.

May be couple of years down the line, I may evaluate other options.