Suzuki’s offering in the liter-class, the V-Strom 1000 ABS, was launched for Rs 14.95 lakh

maruti suzuki celerio

It is a strange thing this, Maruti-Suzuki the most grounded of Indian car makers flying high – in spirit – with its wild naming spree of its most recent new car models.  Take its Sting Ray moniker, this was way too extreme especially for its blunt nosed styling approach to the Wagon R when all along the very mention of that evocative name makes one consider the decidedly 1960s muscular chic exemplified by the Chevrolet Corvette, especially the twin window fastback versions. 

Given this context then the all new addition to Maruti-Suzuki’s large small car portfolio is certainly not a fruity take or a salacious edible on a lunch or dinner spread but actually a model name that comes to India from the firm’s global portfolio, one that has done duty in Japan but rather more prominently in south east Asian markets. The all-new Celerio is actually a move by the market leader to do the impossible using its vast product bin and utilizing vital bits and pieces to come up with a car that is incrementally in tune with the times and the competition. Oh and by the way lets get the name out of the way – celestial river is what Celerio means literally in the Latin or Greek but the moot point is whether this car has the wherewithal to do the business and ramp up the passion for more punters to upgrade within the Maruti-Suzuki portfolio while also sucking in many others from the competition.

The Celerio is a large hatchback deemed to operate in the space where normally the Ritz operates at the top end and the Wagon R at the other extreme. What this clearly illustrates is that it is an even narrower band that has now been further thin-sliced by its maker to make room to push in yet another small car offering. Fathom this and you begin to understand why this carpet-bombing approach at the base of the huge 2.0 million plus car Indian market has paid rich dividends for its maker. Also precisely the reason why others haven’t got to grips with confronting it with the challenge needed, either individually or collectively!