Maruti enters luxury space with Kizashi

Maruti Suzuki has launched its luxury sedan Kizashi, a year after the company unveiled the car at the Delhi Auto Expo. The car would be available in two variants: the manual variant, which will cost Rs 16.5 lakh, and the automatic version, priced higher at Rs. 17.5 lakh (ex-showroom) in Delhi.

Kizashi is Maruti Suzuki's first foray into the luxury car segment that has so far been dominated by Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen. As per industry estimates, the size of the luxury car segment in the country is over 55,000 units per year. Maruti will import this car from parent Suzuki's facility in Japan.

Maruti currently commands nearly 50 per cent of the total Indian car market which was at 1.87 million units in 2010. Maruti has been trying to get into the bigger car segment for some time now. Its first attempt with Baleno didn't meet with much success but the company was able to make a mark with the mid-sized sedan SX4 in 2007.

Maruti Kizashi is powered by a 2.4 litre petrol engine which will churn out 185 bhp of power. Kizashi will compete with Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord and Chevrolet Cruze with its high-end facilities.

The latest entrant from the Suzuki stable will have dual exhaust feature (a large primary muffler exiting into two final mufflers) to aid engine breathing.

Eight airbags and a driver knee bolster will help protect passengers in the event of a crash. The company says that air bags are only supplemental restraint system, advising drivers to always wear seat belts. Air bags will only inflate in certain accidents.

The car has a seven-speaker audio system. There are four speakers, two tweeters, a center speaker plus AM/ FM tuner and a CD and MP3 player jack.

It will be available in two versions: manual and with automatic transmission. The car will sport lighting in the overhead console, footwells and there will be added front door courtesy lights.

The car is also equipped with rear passenger air vents to ensure comfortable ride for passengers and cooling experience similar to that in the front cabin.

Kizashi has standard dual-zone heating and air conditioning that allows front seat occupants to adjust the temperature separately right to left, ensuring comfortable ride to all passengers.

Air guides beneath the vehicle smooth air flow, triple mufflers reduce exhaust noise, and wheel well liners lessen road noise in the Kizashi. All this ensures a quiet and cool cabin.