Reference Auto

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has launched a new version of the SX4, a car which has come a cropper in the Indian market, but by keeping the prices unchanged, can Maruti change the way people look at the SX4 and make it popular as other cars in its category like Hyundai’s Fluidic Verna, Honda City and Skoda Rapid?

The price for Maruti’s mid-sized sedan remains the same (in the range of Rs 7.38-9.79 lakh, ex-showroom price). The petrol versions carry a price tag of between Rs 7.38 lakh and Rs 8.84 lakh while the diesel variants come for Rs 8.27 lakh-Rs 9.79 lakh.

The new SX4 has two engine options - the Super Turbo 1.3 litre diesel and the 1.6 litre VVT petrol engines and comes with a slew of exterior and interior add-ons along with enhanced performance, according to the company.

The SX4’s 1.6-litre VVT petrol engine offers 103 BHP and 145 Nm torque on tap. The diesel model has 89 BHP and 200 Nm torque.

The new SX4 is believed to deliver an improved fuel efficiency of 16.51 km per litre in petrol.

The diesel one offers 21.79 km per litre and the CNG variant comes with fuel economy of 22.1 km/kg.

On the exterior, the new SX4 sports changes like: it is 10 mm longer owing to the new bumper design. It comes with new chrome front grille, smoked out headlamp garnish and fog lamp with dual-tone garnish.

On the inside, it has black and beige dual-tone interiors, black dashboard and beige seat upholstery, black and marble prints on the interior.

There is also a touchscreen audio system with GPS navigation and Bluetooth and electrically foldable outside rear view mirrors or ORVMs with integrated blinkers. Also present are faux wood armrests along with chrome air conditioner side louvers and chrome finish side handles.

The car is being offered in two new colours — Serene Blue and Granite Grey.

Maruti Suzuki India vice-president (marketing) Manohar Bhat said in a statement, “The all new Maruti Suzuki SX4 comes with fresh looks and also brings new features like touchscreen audio navigation and electronically foldable ORVMs with turn indicator.”

The SX4 was first rolled out in India in 2007 and by bringing in a diesel variant only in 2010, Maruti probably lost out to its competitors so far as sales go with the total sales of the SX4 being just over a lakh units since its rollout.

So, can Maruti Suzuki do a U-turn by ramping up the SX4’s sales with these cosmetic changes and by keeping prices the same?