2018 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Facelift spotted testing yet again

The Auto Expo is nearly a month away and many car manufacturers are preparing for new launches. One such possible launch is the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Facelift. The facelifted, 2018 Ciaz was recently spotted testing in Delhi NCR region. The spy shots show a new radiator grille design with two horizontal slats(one at top and other at the bottom). The new Ciaz was supposed to look like the facelifted Suzuki Alivio Pro, but this looks nothing like that. The rear end of the car looks similar to current model.

The current model is sold with a 1.4 litre petrol engine (94 Bhp-130 Nm) mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox or a 4 speed automatic transmission. The other option is a 1.3 litre diesel engine (89 Bhp-200 Nm) with a 5 Speed manual transmission as standard. Maruti Suzuki is also planning to update the diesel option with a successfully tested in-house developed 1.5 litre engine which is likely to debut later this year.

The facelifted Ciaz is also likely to get the M15A petrol engine which is currently built in India for the export version of S-Cross. This 1.5 liter four cylinder petrol engine will produce 108 Bhp and 138 Nm Torque. With the introduction of this engine Ciaz will be much more powerful, but will still fall short of both the City and the Verna in terms of outright power and torque.

The Ciaz was launched as a replacement to the SX4 sedan in 2014. The car has been one of the best selling C-segment sedans in the country. The main competitors to Ciaz in this segment are Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Both the City and Verna received major updates in 2017 and Maruti Suzuki should take a note of that, because if the new Ciaz is not attractive and stylish enough, there is a possibility that it might lose the race to the other two.

Spyshots courtesy GaadiWaadi