The Celerio made its global debut at the 2014 Auto Expo in India and later the European model was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. The right-hand-drive model of the car is yet to go on sale which might be around February 2015 whereas the left-hand-drive models might go on sale by end of this year.
Suzuki has presented it as an A+ compact car in Europe for the additional space it offers. Dimension wise the car is identical to the Indian model at 3.6 metre in length, 1.6 metre width and 1.56 metre height and a 2.425 metre long wheelbase, but the boot size is larger at 254 litre(19litre more). While the Celerio in India, is made at Maruti’s plant in Manesar, the European model will be built in Rayang, Thailand.
The European model will be powered by the same K-series, 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine churning out 67bhp mated to a five-speed gearbox and an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) gearbox. According to the source, Suzuki has confirmed that the initial lot of Celerios will emit 99g/km of CO2, with a series of revisions and the introduction of the company’s Dualjet technology it might come down by 84g/km by 2015.
The Celerio will be available in two variants - SZ3 and SZ4. The SZ3 will get air conditioning, alloy wheels, DAB digital radio, Bluetooth, a USB connection and a CD player. The SZ4 will get all that is available on the SZ3 but will add polished alloy wheels, front foglights, rear electric windows,a chrome front grilleand body-coloured door mirrors.The SZ3 variant is priced at £7999 (Rs 7.74 lakh).
While we aren’t sure if the new petrol engine that will feature Suzuki’s new Dualjet technology will make it to India, but a Celerio diesel is planned for the Indian market. Several test mules have been caught testing and eventhough these are early days to predict its launch, but we expect it to make its debut in late 2015.