2015 Maruti Suzuki Celerio Diesel Test Drive Score Sheet

Maruti Suzuki’s Celerio has been successful as a practical, value-for-money offering. The AMT model has received great response as well. But Maruti decided this wasn’t enough – it wanted to give the Celerio badge another boost. And here it is, the Celerio diesel! While the car, with its twin cylinder oil burner, may not be a boost in the literal sense, it sure has boosted sales of the Celerio model range as a whole.

The Celerio diesel’s 800cc engine develops 46bhp of ‘maximum’ power at 3,500rpm and 125Nm of peak torque at 2,000rpm. As you can see from the figures, and the lap time of 3:19.4, the Celerio diesel is not a particularly fast car. With the smallest series production diesel engine in the world, the Maruti Celerio diesel (unsurprisingly) has very little get-up-and-go. It has to be said that the motor is really quite unrefined, although the mid range is the strong point of this engine – it’s where it offers the most driveability. But that’s about it. There is close to no power at the lower end of the rev range, and when you push harder the NVH levels tend to rise a fair bit – it’s best to just up-shift early and enjoy the decent mid range.

The engine note consists of diesel engine clatter, with the turbo whistle playing up prominently now and then. When you start to pay attention to the sounds the car makes, it can be both funny and annoying at the same time.

All things considered, the Celerio diesel makes for an extremely affordable commuter, with an ARAI rated fuel efficiency figure of 27.62km/l. This car is designed for those who want to enjoy comfortable and frugal motoring. And on those grounds the Celerio delivers perfectly with its spacious cabin that can seat four adults in comfort.

The cabin is not a bad place to be in. Plastic quality is good for its segment, and the car comes decently equipped in this ZDi spec that packs in ABS, front airbags, rear defogger and wash wipe, power windows all around, electrically adjustable ORVMs, dual-DIN stereo with Bluetooth connectivity and steering mounted controls.

Ride comfort is good for its segment, with the Celerio’s suspension absorbing road undulations in a reasonable manner. On the whole, the Celerio diesel is a reliable product that will keep commuters happy – and, most importantly, will hardly trouble their wallet at all.