For the first half of the drive I was given the petrol car. After adjusting the seat and steering to the most comfortable driving position, it was time to see what the new Ciaz was capable of. A push on the start-stop brings the engine to life. It is extremely refined and you can hardly hear it or feel it running as it settles down to a steady idle. The performance felt all right in town, but once one got on to the open roads, one could feel the lack of performance as the engine felt starved for fuel, being tuned for fuel efficiency. The clutch action was very smooth and light to operate and so was the gear-shift, which had short throws and the shifts were positive.
The DDiS, on the other hand, performed brilliantly, pulling from as low as 900 RPM in the fifth gear and it pulled cleanly all the way to 160 km/h. This engine has been further refined and one can hardly hear the oil-burner inside the cabin. The wide spread of power lets one drive the diesel Ciaz like an automatic car since one needs very few gear-shifts to keep on song. The gear-shift itself is slick with short throws and makes driving a pleasurable experience. Overtaking on the highway was a child’s play in the oil-burner compared to the petrol car, where one had to wring its neck to get it going.
On the suspension front, the car is well sorted and soaks up all the potholes and bumps well and also feels planted. The ride quality is good for the driver as well as for the rear-seat passengers. The handling is good and you one throw this car round corners with confidence. Even under hard braking the car did not lose its composure. The steering feedback, however, was not the best; it felt a little vague while doing lane-changes.
With the Ciaz, Maruti Suzuki have a good product on their hands, loaded with a lot of kit, and, knowing Maruti, they will price the car competitively, thus making it a force to reckon with in this segment.
