Celerio makes auto-driving affordable
In
a crowded car market these days the basic features like engine capacity, seating
capacity and service offerings are more or less same for most cars in a category. The only
thing that makes one buy a particular model of car against many others is
largely the subjective perception of looks and the brand pull. So how does a car maker breaks out of the
heard and stands out? By doing something totally different that becomes its USP
(unique selling proposition).
This
is exactly what Maruti Suzuki, the car market leader, has done. The small car
king Maruti has launched the industry’s first ‘auto gear shift technology’ in
the small/ compact segment that accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the Indian
car market. Named Celerio, the new car is an all petrol vehicle that also boasts of a new 3-cylinder all aluminium K-next engine. Celerio
with auto gear shift is available in two variants LX and VXi at Rs 4.42 lakh
and 4.72 lakh, ex-showroom Bangalore. The car is also available in manual
transmission (3 variants) with a starting price of Rs 4.02 lakh.
To
understand the auto gear shift technology and to experience driving it, I recently took a Celerio for a day-long drive on the congested
city roads, on a highway and through the winding roads to a hillock. But
before we talk about other features let us first concentrate on the most
exciting new technology that will certainly stir-up the car market in a big way
for the ease of driving, high fuel efficiency and affordable prices.
In the auto gear shift technology,
Maruti also calls it automated manual transmission; there is no clutch pedal to
press. This system is equipped with the Intelligent
Shift Control Actuator, an electric-hydraulic actuator that automatically
performs clutch and shift operations. Auto gear shift combines the actuator and
controller and directly mounts them in the transmission in order to unify the
working components. This permits synchronised control over the clutch, shifting, and engine for smoother gear changes.
As well as bringing together the advantages of
both manual and automatic transmissions, shifting time is shortened compared to
conventional gear shifting.
‘D’ mode for ease
Now, look at the picture of the gear-shift console above and read on to understand how
it works for you. To start the car the gear-shift lever must be in ‘N’
(neutral) position and the brake pedal depressed. Once the engine starts
humming bring the lever to ‘D’ (drive) and press the accelerator, just smile
and keep driving, no gear shift, no clutch. To slow down just press the brake
and then press the accelerator again to drive on, just like in a fully
auto-transmission cars. If attentive you can feel the gearshift
happening. The ‘D’ mode is very useful while driving on congested roads, and
according to the car dealers women like it the most as they are a bit
unenthusiastic to shift gear.
Of course, in this mode one got to be a bit
patient as the transmission system is synchronised with speed to change gear
automatically. The most appropriate gear is automatically selected by the auto gear shift
system, based on the operation of the accelerator pedal and vehicle speed. With
the increase in speed, the car moves up to a higher gear, the highest being the
5th gear. The LED display system also shows the gear in which the car is moving. To
get the best mileage in this mode one should always lightly press the
accelerator and let the car do the rest.
‘M’ mode for fun
But if you are in a hurry, or want to accelerate quickly on a highway or
like the fun of gear driving, select ‘M’ (manual) mode after starting the
engine. (One can also change between D and M modes while driving.) In ‘M’ mode
the gear selection is manual in a sequential order, from 1 st to 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th
and 5 th, or in the reverse order. The beauty of this clutch-less technology is
that the gear shifts with a light push of fingers, push the lever backward (+) for moving up the
gear or push forward (-) for down shift. While slowing down, the gear shifts down
automatically and when speeding up the gear shifts with a push if the speed is
near the correct range. The freedom to change gear in ‘M’ mode is a major plus
point while quickly overtaking speeding vehicles on a highway or you need
sudden power to negotiate a sharp and steep curve in the hills.
Small but powerful
Celerio is the first car in Maruti’s stable to run on K-next engine, a small one
litre (998cc, to be precise), 3-cylinder petrol engine that uses aluminium in
its construction. Despite being small and three cylinders, the engine is
remarkably quiet. In fact, I found the engine roar is so subdued that the need
for gear shift was unnoticed at times, but for the speed. Maruti has done a
good job in lowering the NVH levels. The K-Next engine produces 68PS of max
power and 90Nm of max torque. Good enough for a small and light car (kerb
weight 830 kg) to be zippy even with AC on. The flat torque allows steady pick
up from slow speed even on the 5 th gear.
The car has a certified fuel efficiency of 23.1 kmpl. On a combination of
city, highway and hill roads driving I got an average of around 18 kmpl, which
in itself is an excellent figure for a petrol car. The noteworthy point here is
that Celerio with auto gear shift yields far superior mileage than a fully
automatic small car that gives just around 12 kmpl and also cost about a Rs
lakh more.
The writer is a business journalist and a freelance writer writing test drive reports on cars / SUVs for the last 11 years. Can be contacted on dilipmaitra@gmail.com. Pictures by the writer. (Any unauthorised copy and reproduction of images are prohibited. Please write for permission.)
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