Maruti Suzuki Ciaz 1.5 diesel vs Honda City vs Hyundai Verna

Maruti Suzuki has officially launched the Ciaz with its new in-house developed 1.5-litre DDiS 225 diesel engine. So with a bigger heart, here is how the Ciaz 1.5 fares against the diesel variants of its direct rivals – the Honda City 1.5 and Hyundai Verna 1.6. 

Engine:

The new 1.5-litre DDiS 225 Diesel engine puts out 94bhp at 4,000rpm and 225Nm of twisting force available to the right foot between 1,500-2,500rpm. It gets a six-speed manual as the only transmission choice. Maruti Suzuki has claimed the best-in-class fuel efficiency of 26.82kmpl. But we’ll have to wait for a thorough CarWale Road Test to see how it performs in the real world.

Under the hood of the City is the 1.5-litre i-DTEC motor producing 99bhp at 3600rpm and a max torque of 200Nm at 1750rpm. Mated to a six-speed manual, the City claims a fuel efficiency of 25.6kmpl. Even though there is a noticeable turbo-lag, the i-DTEC produces power in a smooth and linear manner. There is a strong low- and mid-range grunt with strong acceleration in the narrow power band. 

With the 1582cc engine, the Verna has the biggest and most powerful engine of the lot. It produces 126bhp at 4000rpm and 260Nm at 1500rpm with a claimed fuel efficiency of 24.75kmpl. Moreover, it is the only car amongst the three which offers a diesel-automatic as well as the standard six-speed manual. The engine builds power in a very linear fashion and picks up speed quite quickly. Outright acceleration is pretty good but the drivability is even better. Hyundai has re-tuned the engine to deliver more power at the bottom end.

Features and Dimensions:

Dimension wise, the Ciaz is the biggest car of the trio, measuring 4490x1730x1485mm compared to City’s 4440x1695x1495mm and Verna’s 4440x1729x1475mm. The wheelbase of the 2650mm is also the largest compared to the other two’s 2600mm. It has more ground clearance as well and is also the lightest amongst the three. 

As far as features are concerned, all three sedans are equally matched in terms of the equipment they offer. But where the City and Verna both offer six airbags, the Ciaz has to make do with just two. It also misses out on sunroof which the other two offer. Apart from that, the Verna also offers projector headlamps, cornering and follow-me-home lights, ventilated seats, and gearshift indicator as well. 

Pricing:

When it comes to pricing, the Ciaz is the cheapest car here, followed by Verna, and the City is the most expensive. If we compare the top-spec diesel-manual guise, the Ciaz retails at Rs 11.37 lakhs and the Verna can be had at Rs 12.98 lakhs. The City, meanwhile, is almost two lakh rupees more expensive as it carries a price tag of Rs 14.29 lakhs (all prices ex-showroom).