2018 Ertiga to get first 1.5L 6 MT diesel engine, Maruti Ciaz to follow

A week back, Maruti Suzuki India launched 2018 Maruti Ciaz with an all new petrol engine while the diesel version continued to be powered by the original 1.3-litre powertrain

Maruti Suzuki India recently launched the 2018 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, powered by a new generation of 1.5 litre 4 cylinder petrol engine with hybrid technology. The new launch's diesel powertrain remains the same although a brand new 1.5 litre diesel engine has been in the pipeline for some time now and is expected to have a pre-Diwali launch, onboard the 2018 Ertiga MPV.

The new engine is mated to a 6 speed manual transmission and gets more power and torque as compared to the Fiat sourced 1.3 litre diesel engine rated at 90 PS and 200 Nm.

While the price of the new diesel 1.5 L engine Ciaz is expected to be the same as of the current edition, Maruti is expected to benefit hugely from the new engine launch. The outgoing 1.3 litre Multijet diesel engine is produced under the license of Fiat and the Indian Car manufacturer pays Fiat a hefty loyalty fee to use the engine. The new 1.5 litre diesel engine is said to be developed in-house by Suzuki, and is likely to be ready to meet the Bharat Stage 6 emission norms when they come into effect by April 2020.

The likes of Swift, Swift Dzire, Baleno and S-Cross will eventually move to the new diesel engine before the Bharat Stage 6 emission norms come into effect.

Talking about the new 2018 Maruti Ciaz, the mid-sized sedan gets a new grille design, new LED tail lamps, swept back headlamp cluster with projector lamps and daytime running lights(DRLs), new front bumper and new alloy wheels.