Suzuki Boosterjet engine to power more Maruti cars and SUVs

When it launches later this month, the Maruti Suzuki Fronx will bring back the Boosterjet engine that first appeared in the previous Baleno. Interestingly, it’s now locally built and gets a mild-hybrid system, and these two factors ensure that it will find its way under the hood of more Maruti Suzuki models.

Responding to a question from Autocar India on this possibility, CV Raman – chief technical officer at Maruti – said, “Definitely, we have put in investments in localising this engine and so once we see numbers and customer acceptance we will definitely look at other products for this engine too.”

Lessons learnt

When Maruti first introduced the 1.0-litre turbocharged direct injection Boosterjet with the sportier Baleno RS, it did so by importing a fully built-up engine. This drove up the costs of what was already an expensive technology, which proved to be one of the hurdles for the Baleno RS. Having learnt from that, the company will now locally assemble this powerplant.

The mating of a hybrid system is also an indication that the company plans to use the powerplant elsewhere where efficiency demands could be higher than the sporty Fronx.

Baleno RS and Boosterjet Jimny likely

While Raman did not disclose models that would get the Boosterjet unit, it’s highly likely the Baleno would be a recipient given that the Fronx is, technically, a Baleno. We could, thus, see the return of the sporty RS version.

Other candidates could be the Jimny and Brezza, both of which would also benefit from the sub-4-metre tax subsidy with the 1.0-litre Boosterjet engine. Currently, both the Jimny and Brezza fall in the sub-4-metre category, but, with the 1.5-litre petrol unit that powers them, they do not benefit from the small car tax, which caps a petrol engine's capacity at 1.2 litres.

Thus, with the lower tax benefit as well as the localised engine, Maruti could offer the Boosterjet version of the two SUVs at a competitive price. Interestingly, given that the 1.5-litre K series engine in the Jimny and Brezza put out 103hp, Maruti would have to bump the Boosterjet's output from its current 100hp. This is something it could easily achieve as the same powerplant makes 110hp in certain international markets.

Another tantalising possibility is the Swift as ever since it was introduced in India, fans have been calling for the Swift Sport. A Boosterjet-powered Swift would be a nice way to meet that demand.