Reference Auto

Diesel cars, which help trim costs substantially, have always found many takers in India, and in the latest move, Maruti Suzuki has rolled out a diesel variant of the SX4 to take on cars such as the Honda City, Volkswagen Vento and Hyundai Verna.

The price of the SX4 sedan will be Rs 7.74 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), which is at the lower end of the A3 segment in which the SX4 falls.

The car has a maximum power of 90 PS @4,000 rpm, and is available in three variants — VDi and ZDi.

The VDi and ZDi models will priced at Rs 7.74 lakh and Rs 8.62 lakh respectively (ex-showroom Delhi). The ZDI variant also comes with leather seats option.

Cars of Maruti’s competitors in this category are priced around Rs 8-9 lakh and such a low price for a diesel variant could accelerate sales of Maruti Suzuki’s SX4, which is not doing too well.

For instance, the petrol variant was unveiled in India in the year 2007 and has seen sales of 1,800 a month on an average.

Maruti Suzuki managing director and CEO S Nakanishi said, “With a revamped urban landscape, suburbs are now an integral part of cities and the number of people travelling long distances is growing. SX4 diesel comes with an economical yet punchier ride.”

In 2010, Honda City was the highest selling car in the Rs 7-9 lakh car segment with sales of 49,000. On the other hand, the SX4 managed to notch a sales of less than half that figure at around 18,000.

Maruti Suzuki also realized that competition in the segment would also hot up with the launch of the new Hyundai Verna and Ford’s Fiesta, which are to be rolled out in the second half of the calendar year. Had Maruti Suzuki not revved up with the diesel model now, it could have seen a further slide in sales of its SX4.

Maruti Suzuki seems to be keen to take on Honda more than any other car maker in the A3 and above segment. Prior to the launch of the diesel SX4 a couple of weeks ago, Maruti Suzuki had rolled out the Kizashi, which is the car maker’s most expensive offering. The Kizashi will take on the likes of Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata.

The SX4 diesel variant also has another striking and unique feature. It has an On-Board Diagnostics system which provides information about malfunction in the emission control system.

With the launch of the diesel variant, the SX4 is now available in petrol, CNG as well as the diesel models.

The Maruti SX4 comes with five-speed manual transmission and four-speed automatic gearbox and has front ventilated disc and drum type at the rear. The fuel tank has capacity of 50 litres and seating is for five persons.

The company said the diesel variant will offer a powerful performance along with superior engine technology.

Maruti has claimed the car offers a fuel efficiency of 21.5 km per lt and is 8% more efficient than comparable cars.

Generally, car makers tend to price a diesel variant on par with its high-end models. But Maruti Suzuki has been astute enough not to do so. Moreover, the fuel efficiency of 21.5 km/lt on diesel, which is far cheaper than petrol, will also give sales of the SX4 a new fillip and make it a potential threat to Honda City.