2014 Maruti Suzuki Celerio’s interiors come into focus

Snapshot: The 2014 Maruti Suzuki Celerio, a replacement to the likes of the A-Star and the Estilo, and the all-new global Suzuki Alto will be revealed officially at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo. While the reveal is a few weeks away, the leaks have begun in full earnest. The latest leak reveals the interiors of the 2014 Celerio hatchback, and from the looks of it, the interiors are a step up from those of the A-Star and Estilo.

With the interiors of the Celerio, Maruti Suzuki seems to be adopting an upmarket design language with a “twin cockpit” look. The Celerio features a black and beige colour scheme for its interiors. The Celerio’s rear seat looks decidedly more spacious than the A-Star, a car that was much derided for its cramped rear seat, which one of the factors that led to the car’s poor sales in India.

The Celerio will feature the 1 liter K-Series petrol engine (67 Bhp-90 Nm), a tried and tested 3 cylinder motor that is used on a range of Maruti Suzuki cars such as the Alto K10, WagonR, A-Star and the Estilo. The big story surrounding the Celerio is the fact that it will be the first car in India to feature the automated manual transmission (AMT), a gearbox that eliminates the manual clutch.

The automated manual transmission of the Celerio is sourced from Magneti Marelli, an Italian auto parts maker. This transmission is lighter than a conventional automatic gearbox while also being cheaper to build given its lower complexity. While being fairly common among the newer crop of heavy haulage trucks, AMTs are yet to take off in the passenger car sector.

Click here to learn more about the Automated Manual Transmission

The Celerio is also likely to be sold with a 5 speed manual gearbox. As is the case with petrol-only Maruti Suzuki car models, expect LXi, VXi and ZXi trims on the Celerio. A diesel engine for the Celerio is currently under consideration what with Suzuki Japan developing a range of turbo diesel engines with capacities between 800 cc and 1.4 liters. The Celerio is likely to get an 800 cc twin cylinder turbo diesel engine in 2015.

Images courtesy Motorbeam