The arrival of the new Honda City today opens another battlefront in the increasingly competitive compact sedan segment and it can only intensify with time. Maruti Suzuki, the market leader may already have left a dent in the sales of Honda in the country but it's not packing its bags yet.
Also Read: 2017 Honda City facelift launch highlights
The premium sedan of Maruti Suzuki is reportedly flaunting huge benefits of up to Rs 50,000. This windfall has left many wondering whether it has been done to keep the momentum going or to clear the old inventories before it presents its own bait – the new Maruti Ciaz facelift. It has been rumoured that the Ciaz is getting a facelifted avatar soon in India and could be in the market by April.
Currently, the Ciaz in India is sold through the regular dealerships of Maruti and with the arrival of its facelift, the sedan is rumoured to join the Nexa line-up. Nexa is the destination for Maruti's premium cars in the county. The current Nexa line-up includes the S-Cross, the Baleno and the new Ignis.
Fuelling the suspense, a fresh image of the Ciaz, which sports Nexa-like badging at the rear, was also spotted recently. Ciaz is currently powered by the 1,373cc petrol unit that develops 91bhp at 6,000rpm and 130Nm of torque at 4,000rpm mated to five-speed manual transmission.
The petrol variant is also available with four-speed automatic transmission. The diesel unit comes equipped with a small hybrid system with 1,248cc displacement and develops 89bhp at 4,000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 1,750rpm. The engine is paired with a five-speed manual transmission. Rumour has it that a new Suzuki's M15 1.5 litre petrol engine is expected in the Ciaz facelift.
