Maruti Suzuki Ciaz production begins

India's leading car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki is bullish about the new Maruti Ciaz - its latest mid-sized sedan for the country. Maruti had unveiled the concept version of the Ciaz earlier this year at the 2014 Auto Expo and as these first undisguised pictures suggest the production version of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz looks like a promising sedan.

The company has been struggling to have a successful run with its sedan models above the Maruti DZire, while arch rival Hyundai has hit the sweet spot with Indian car buyers with its sedans like the Hyundai Verna and Hyundai Elantra. But, this time around Maruti Suzuki is taking no chances as the Ciaz appears to have most things working in its favour as of now.

Recently, a bunch of production ready Maruti Suzuki Ciaz were caught resting their heels in the company's Manesar manufacturing facility in Haryana. The company is working on a war footing to meet the scheduled launch of the Ciaz by second half of September 2014.

Design wise the new Maruti Suzuki Ciaz strikes a good balance between the last generation SX4 and the Kizashi luxury sedan. The four slat chrome grille features a large Suzuki logo, while the headlight design is very distinct in the segment and is expected to feature projector lamps as standard fitment. The multi-layered bootlid design and shape of the taillight makes the Ciaz resemble the new Honda City's rear end quite a bit.

The interiors are inspired by the more premium Maruti Kizashi and would feature a two-tone dashboard with integrated entertainment system, steering wheel mounted audio controls, electric OVRMs and AC vents even for rear seat passengers among others.

Optional features could include 5-inch display for the infotainment system, reverse parking camera, ABS, 16-inch alloy wheels, climate control air-conditioning, additional airbags and push button start to name a few.

Pricing of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz would be on par to the Honda City and Hyundai Verna and is expected to start from Rs 7.5 lakh onwards