Contrary to the popular belief that Maruti Suzuki India will launch the Ertiga much before it launches the Swift Dzire Compact sedan, here is a piece of news that could bring a smile on the Swift DZire lovers.
In the early days of next month, Maruti Suzuki India is all set to launch its Maruti Suzuki Dzire 3.99 compact sedan. The Dzire compact sedan will be priced less than the present Dzire sedan. As the name depicts the compact Dzire sedan is less than 4 m in length thus qualifying for the excise duty benefits which the Government of India offers to the manufacturers whose cars measure less than 4 meters in length, in a way it helps in reducing the cost of the vehicle. The Dzire 3.99 Compact Sedan will be placed below the current Dzire sedan, which is also expected to get a facelift very soon. Since its launch in 2008, 3.2 lakh units of the Dzire has been sold so far. The existing model did not enjoy the excise benefit of 10 per cent on small cars as it is longer than four metres.
The Dzire 3.99 compact sedan is expected to be based on the Swift platform therefore will possess a front end similar to the new Swift. The interior will be more luxurious and spacious owing to the increased wheelbase which the new platform provides. The interior quality will be enhanced as this sedan is going to use the interiors from the new swift which already possesses a better quality dashboard.
The Dzire is expected to be equipped with a 1.2 litre K-series petrol engine churning out 80 bhp power (the same engine which is available in various models of Maruti such as Swift, Ritz and Dzire) and 1.3 litre Multijet diesel engine that Fiat supplies MSIL (Maruti Suzuki India Limited). It will deliver 75 bhp power and the torque will be 190 Nm. The Dzire compact sedan will prove to be a fuel efficient sedan. By the way, a automatic transmission might also find its way in the new Dzire CS.
“We have invested a lot on the new Dzire. It is on a brand new platform. There are at least 150 new features compared to the existing Dzire and it is unlikely that the new one will be priced lesser,” Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said. He said that the company and its vendors have invested over Rs 230 crore for the model change and the new Dzire is expected to be available in both petrol and diesel option. He also added that “There is demand for the existing one and we will continue it for some specific variants for the commercial segment.”
According to MSI Chief General Manager (Marketing) Shashank Srivastava said that the company is planning to discontinue the mid and top variants of the existing Dzire and offer the base model with chopped off version. He also added that the new Dzire will be launched in the first week of February. The new Dzire will be manufactured at the company’s Manesar plant. The pricing has not yet been finalized.
The dispatch of the Maruti DZire CS have already begun and its about time before the dealerships flaunt these cars in their showrooms. As for the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, we wouldn’t mind waiting for another month or so as we already waited for the MPV for the past two years since it was first showcased as a concept in the 2009 Auto Expo held at New Delhi.
Image Coutesy: Rajesh Dogra
