Maruti's brilliant affordable automatic hatchback

Maruti's brilliant affordable automatic hatchback

Automatic transmissions were always a thing of the luxurious high-end car segment. But India's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki literally uprooted this myth from its roots with their offering of Celerio. The hatchback from the brilliant minds at Maruti Suzuki is a treat to the senses. Starting from the exterior, the people at the designing department have really given this Maruti a very refreshed look. The headlight cluster with a very attractive chrome splashed front grille given the car a wonderful character unique to itself. It looks sporty and utterly brilliant. The side profile is also good. With the Curve-in Curve-out (CICO) styling, this hatch really looks good from this sides too. The rear styling is, however, a wee bit disappointing. Though it is not that bad, but the sportiness carried out through the front and sides disappears at the back. Apart from this, the fog lamps and the alloy wheels also add to the sportiness of the car.   Stepping in, one is greeted with a neatly laid out dual tone dashboard. The three-spoke tilt steering wheels provide the right amount of feel to ride in city conditions(for which Maruti is famous for) and the multi-info display is well laid out and provides important information at a glance. The steering mounted controls is also a boon. The boot space of 235 litres is reasonable enough though a little bit more space could be appreciated. The seating is wonderful. The cabin has a great head, shoulder and leg room and the seats provide well under thigh support very essential for long journeys. Celerio flaunts of a reasonable amount of utility spaces. Maruti's aircon does what it is famous for - chills amazingly. But the only let down in the cabin is the multimedia system. At the price point, Maruti could have given an infotainment system itself. The 1-litre petrol engine is extremely refined and provides good acceleration and power delivery is good too though it does feel a bit stressed at higher revs. Now the automated manual transmission. And what do you know?! It is wonderful. The shifts come in at the right moment and no nodding of the head. It just takes the fun of driving up by many notches. The suspension is good enough to soak up India's famous bad roads. The braking is also brilliant. As for the safety and security, this variant more or less gives the basic necessities like Abs and airbags. So, a win-win situation? Well most probably, yes. 'Most probably' because of this variant demands around 6 lakhs on road. With everything put together, this car is just great as a Maruti can get. It gives everything necessary and yet it gives the "necessary". But the AMT is what commands respect. With this car, Maruti has brought the technology closer to the common man. And well, to tell the truth, I will and am extremely happy, satisfied and contented with this offering. And yes, to those at R & D, You are just wonderfully brilliant.