Maruti Celerio diesel review, test drive

What is it?

It’s no secret that fuel efficiency and running costs are a massive factor in car-buying decisions in India. Diesel engines are especially important for car owners who commute over long distances on a daily basis. Unfortunately, not many entry level cars in our market use diesel engines, because small-capacity diesel engines are both hard to engineer well and expensive to make.

However, nowadays, it’s starting to catch on. Hyundai’s Grand i10, for example, can be had with a 70bhp, 1,120cc three-cylinder engine and Chevrolet has a 58.5bhp, 936cc three-cylinder diesel in the Beat. The Chevrolet is, in fact, India’s most fuel efficient hatchback: with a fuel economy rating of 25.44kpl.

Now Maruti wants to up its game with this new Celerio diesel. What we’ve discovered is that the car has received an ARAI rating of 27.62kpl, and that places it ahead of Maruti’s own Ciaz diesel, which has held the title of most efficient car in India until now.

Maruti, unlike the competition however, hasn’t lopped a cylinder off an existing engine; it has designed an all-new one, from scratch, with a reduced cylinder count specifically in mind. Known internally as the E08A, Suzuki and Maruti’s first diesel will also be the first two-cylinder engine after the Nano. Displacing a mere 793cc, which would make it the smallest automotive diesel engine in the world, the unit will put out a mere 47bhp at a relatively relaxed 3,500rpm. While that kind of power is barely sufficient, what will help is the healthy torque of the diesel – 12.1kgm (versus 9.1kgm for the petrol). And what will also help the car will be its light kerb weight; between 880 and 900kg.