The new 2021 Maruti Celerio is currently grabbing plenty of attention. The company’s first all-new small car in a very long time, the new Celerio gets a fresh new face, an all-new design direction and something that makes it stand out in its class – real curves. Even more interesting, especially in these days of inflated and unaffordable fuel prices, is that it is now also India’s most fuel-efficient car, with an officially certified figure of 26.68kpl.
This has a lot to do with Maruti's new 1.0 DualJet engine under the hood. Known as the K10C, it is the second DualJet equipped engine to be sold in India after the 1.2 DualJet that powers the Baleno and Swift. The engine here comes mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT gearbox and, importantly, comes with a host of high-tech new features, many not seen on competitors.
But what is it that gives it a leg up on the competition and helps it achieve its record-breaking 26.68kpl under ARAI test conditions? The 1.0 DualJet engine, after all, doesn’t use direct injection or turbocharging. We’ve listed some of the main reasons below.
Two fuel injectors per cylinder
The DualJet tech places two injectors very close to the engine inlet valves. This arrangement allows for finer atomisation of fuel, resulting in more complete combustion as well as the cooler running of the engine. The dual jets also help deliver smoother and faster responses at low throttle openings, important in our city driving conditions, as it means the car can pull cleanly with only a light foot on the throttle.
A higher compression ratio
Cooler running, importantly, allows engineers to use a higher compression ratio; a very high 11.5:1 here. A higher compression, in turn, helps convert the energy in the fuel to mechanical energy more efficiently. The combustion chamber used here is also more compact, which makes the fuel and air mix better before it is ignited, and also helps the flame from the spark plug pass through better.
Higher thermal efficiency
Better thermal efficiency is the ultimate goal and simply means the extraction of more energy from every drop of fuel. To help achieve this, Suzuki has utilised a variety of friction-reduction technologies, such as the implementation of roller-rocker type valve lifters, jets of oil that cool and reduce friction and also reduced hot-spots in the combustion chamber, allowing the engine to run a more aggressive and efficient (advanced) spark timing.
Cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation system
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) systems basically take air from the exhaust and put it back into the combustion chamber. The exhaust-sourced air, however, is hot, which lowers its density and reduces the amount that can go into the compact combustion chamber. A cooled EGR lowers the temperature of the air and allows the engine to run a higher compression ratio with reduced engine knocking. Important.
Automatic start-stop
The 1.0 DualJet engine also features Engine Automatic Stop Start (EASS). As many of you are aware, Auto Start-Stop automatically turns off the car when it is stationary and starts it up again when you want to move off. Doing this saves fuel and has a positive impact on long-term efficiency and only adds to the overall efficiency of the engine.
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