Maruti Suzuki has taken more than two years to introduce a new generation car. It has big shoes to fill since the previous generation of the Celerio tried to sell over 5.9 lakh units in the country and boasted a 20% market share in the hatchback sector, which is essential because it demonstrates how famous it was.
The new Celerio is more prominent, broader, and shorter than the previous model. It is based on the Heartect platform’s 5th generation. It is supposed to be more vibrant, as seen by its appearance, and the design creates a 3D illusion. The change from the square-shaped design works in its favour, as seen by the lovely headlights and the single chrome line on the front. It is modest and gives it a happy face, and we’re delighted the chrome isn’t overused. There are also no LED DRLs here, but it isn’t a show stopper.
It has a more modern dashboard that’s quite soothing. It’s a unique design with certain elements derived from some of its elders. The steering wheel and control board are from the Wagon R, but the power windows are located on the centre console, seen on S-Presso. The 7-inch navigation system, on the other hand, quickly draws your interest.
The top-tier model has a 7-inch touchscreen system. Then there is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and it’s wired. The seats are also adequately cushioned, which is comparable to what we have experienced in the Ignis.
The length has been extended by 10 mm, and now it is 2435 mm. So there’s plenty of room back here. Unfortunately, there are no genuine conveniences for back seat passengers, including the bottle container and possibly the phone holder. However, because the vehicle is more comprehensive than previously, you get more shoulder space and more height. We would have been delighted to have adjustable headrests in the rear and front because, after all, the Wagon R has them and is now valued cheaper than this one!
There’s one more thing to address here, and this is boot space. It has grown by a significant amount, 40% to be precise. There are now 313 litres of storage accessible here. The Swift has 268 litres of storage capacity, whereas its main competitors, the Tiago, have 242 litres, and the Santro has 235 litres.
It has a lot of power for a car its size: 66 horsepower and 89 Nm of torque. The AMT model is not fast, but there’s plenty of control once the meter hits 2200 rpm. But it’s when you’re overtaking that you need to think about your action since it requires a few moments for your input to be processed. It was never intended to be fast, but the key selling point here is that this is the best fuel-efficient petrol car in the nation, with 26.68 km on the AGS model.
