Sibling Rivalry: 2018 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz vs Maruti Suzuki Dzire

The 2018 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz rekindled the C-segment tussle as it arrived right on time just ahead of the Indian festive season. It instantly became the bestselling sedan in its segment last month, outselling the City and the Verna by a considerable margin. Meanwhile, Maruti also has another sedan in its portfolio, the one which is the country’s favourite compact sedan. Now in its third-generation, the Dzire has been ruling the roost since its introduction and has been selling in large numbers consistently all-through the last decade. 

Interestingly, under the price bracket of Rs 10 lakhs, you have the option of buying either the top-spec fully-loaded Dzire compact sedan or opt for a full-size sedan, the Ciaz, in its entry-level variants. Let us find out which is the more viable buying option amongst the two on paper.

The Ciaz retails through Maruti’s premium dealership, Nexa, and is available across 11 trims in both petrol and diesel engine options. The Ciaz also offers petrol automatic as an option. On the other hand, the Dzire can be had in 14 trims, across two engine and two transmission options. The Dzire is available with the option of diesel AMT.

Now comes the pricing. The Dzire tops out at Rs 9.45 lakhs for the fully-loaded ZDI+ AMT trim (ex-showroom). At around the same price, the new Ciaz can be had in either the Sigma diesel trim (Rs 9.19 lakhs) or the Zeta petrol manual trim (Rs 9.57 lakhs). This means that the fully loaded automatic Dzire is a little more expensive than the entry-level Ciaz. 

Which brings us to the features; the Ciaz Sigma isn’t exactly a bare-bones car but it does miss out on some fancy and important features offered on higher spec variants. The Ciaz Sigma comes standard with two airbags, ABS, EBD, parking sensors, driver armrest, electric ORVMs, projector headlamps et al. But it misses out on key features like the touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, keyless button, cruise control, LED lamps and a few other features which are a must have in the C-segment these days. The fully-loaded Dzire additionally gets features such as brake assist, remote central locking, automatic climate control, two 12V outlets, rear parking camera, LED lights both fore and aft, and the latest touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone integration and navigation.

The Dzire being a sub-four metre offering, the Ciaz offers more space all around. It has more cabin space, a slightly higher ground clearance and a massive boot space of 510litres compared to Dzire’s 378litres. Although they both use the same DDiS diesel motor, the Ciaz produces 89bhp and the Dzire puts out 74bhp. The Ciaz even triumphs in the gasoline engine outputs. However, the convenience of a two-pedal set-up of the Dzire ZDI+ AMT is unmatched by the Ciaz which doesn’t offer a diesel automatic and has petrol automatic only from the Delta trim.

The Dzire is a lot of car for its price which explains why it sells in such huge numbers each month. The Ciaz is no doubt a bigger car with more appeal than the compact sedan. But you’ll have to shell out a little more than Rs 11 lakhs to get a nicely-specced trim. However, if you are on a budget and need a boot under Rs 10 lakhs, the Dzire is your best bet.