Maruti Suzuki India Limited stepped into the Indian automobile market with its Maruti 800 in 1983. Hyundai entered the scene with the Santro, much later in 1998. Till then the Indian consumers had only seen the Ambassador’s and Premier Padmini’s on the road. Hyundai and Maruti have always been rivals in the automobile market.
Maruti launched the Maruti Celerio in 2014. The Celerio came out as a replacement for the A-Star and has been developed on a completely new platform. The Celerio comes with an automatic gearbox.
Hyundai had introduced the i10 hatchback in 2007 and has been a successful model since then. A second generation edition is expected in 2014.
The Celerio comes in six petrol variants and one CNG variant. The LXi Auto and the VXi Auto have automatic manual transmissions where the clutch operation is by an electronic processor. The i10 comes in four petrol and two LPG variants with a manual 5 speed transmission.
The front fascias of the two cars look different. The Celerio gets a wide grille flanked by wrap-around type headlight fittings while the i10 has a hexagonal grille with a horizontal chrome slat. The Celerio has two prominent lines running along the door while the i10 has body matching waistline moldings on the sides.
Higher variants of both the models have electric ORVMs with turn indicators, R13 alloy wheels (R14 for the CelerioZXi) and fog lamps. Also both the cars get a manual AC, power steering, fabric seats and an engine immobilizer. Higher versions have a music system with AM/FM radio and Bluetooth connectivity (only for the Celerio), tilt adjustable steering and driver side airbag.
The Celerio is powered by a 998 cc, 67 bhp engine that gives mileage of 28.1 kmpl with petrol and 36 km/kg with CNG. The 1086 cc, 68 bhp engine of the i10 gives mileage of 19.81 kmpl with petrol and 19.2 km/kg with LPG.
The body kerb weight of Hyundai i10 is almost 20% more than Celerio. The boot space is 235 litres for the Celerio and 225 litres for the i10.
The suspension of the Celerio is the McPherson strut with coil springs at the front and the 3 link rigid axle with coil spring type at the rear. The suspension of the i10 is McPherson strut with coil spring and anti-roll bar type at the rear. The length, the ground clearance and the boot volume of the Celerio are 3600 mm, 165 mm and 235 litres and that of the i10 are 3585 mm, 160 mm and 225 litres respectively.
The Celerio price tag comes with of Rupees 3.76 to 4.79 lakhs, while the prices of i10 range from Rupees 3.66 to 4.70 lakhs.
For information on Bikes in India log on to – http://bikeportal.in/
