Launched back in 2014, the Ciaz has been on the market for nearly four years and was shifted to the Nexa scheme of things just last year. We had expected the car to receive its midlife upgrade along with the channel switch but it has been delayed by a year. With the test mules spotted, there is a chance that Maruti might unveil the facelift at the Auto Expo to be launched later this year.
The new 2018 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is a facelift and as we can see form the spy images, it isn’t just a nip and tuck job. The Ciaz will get a new fascia, but will not be much different from the existing one. It will get a new grille, a new front bumper and tweaked headlamps which we think might be LEDs like the Dzire. The profile remains the same, but it will get new multi-spoke alloys along with a new rear bumper and reworked tail lamps.
On the inside, the Ciaz will get a new instrument console with a different layout that will house the speedometer, rev counter, fuel and temperature gauges along with multi-information display. It will also get a new touchscreen infotainment system like the Baleno and the new S-Cross along with wooden inserts like that on the Dzire.
Under the hood, expect no changes at all. The 1.4-litre 91bhp petrol engine and the 1.3-litre 89bhp diesel engine, both mated to manual gearboxes, will continue to power the Ciaz. We had expected the Ciaz to get a 1.6-litre diesel earlier, but since that has been discontinued even in the S-Cross, all possibilities of that happening have been negated. There is a buzz about the new 1.5-litre turbo-diesel being developed based on the 1.6, but that might need some more time.
