New Maruti Suzuki Dzire Spotted Testing In India

Maruti Suzuki is gearing up to launch the fourth generation of the Dzire subcompact sedan in India. It is expected to arrive alongside the fourth-generation Swift later this year. Interestingly, test mules of the new Swift had already been spotted in India back in November and it took Maruti Suzuki almost four months to begin road testing the new Dzire. 

What will change?

The upcoming Dzire will borrow lots of its design cues from the upcoming Swift, as all previous Dzire models have done. However, expect the front-end design to be slightly different than the new Swift to differentiate both models. The new Dzire is expected to have a new design for the alloy wheels, new L-shaped LED lighting elements, a rounded grille and more. 

Spy shots show the upcoming Dzire will have a flat rear-end design to keep its dimensions under four metres in length to attract the subsidy for sub-4m cars. These images also show ORVM-mounted camera modules, hinting at the existence of a 360-degree camera, as well as a larger touchscreen system that will run on the latest iteration of Maruti Suzuki’s SmartPlay operating system. 

Other features expected in the new Dzire will be wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a semi-digital instrument cluster, automatic climate control, keyless go and wireless charging. In terms of safety features, it is expected to get six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, ISOFIX, hill-hold assist and more. 

What’s under the hood?

The fourth-generation Dzire is expected to share its powertrain with the upcoming Swift. It will likely come with the new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine producing 80 bhp and 108 Nm, mated to either a 5-speed manual or a CVT. However, the latter is a bit unlikely to make it to the India-spec model. The international-spec Swift also gets an integrated starter generation (ISG) type of mild hybrid system which provides an additional boost of 3 bhp and 60 Nm.

Who will it rival?

The new model will continue to rival the Hyundai Aura, Honda Amaze and Tata Tigor. The Dzire has always been a very popular choice in its segment, which saw sales of 2.83 lakh units. Of these, Dzire saw total sales of more than 1.57 lakh and it was followed by the Aura, which sold 53,695 units. The Amaze and Tigor saw total sales of 41,292 units and 30,528 units, respectively. Notably, these sales figures of the Tigor also include the Tigor.ev so the total sales of the Tigor ICE should be far fewer. 

The first-generation model was launched in India in 2008, with the second-generation model was launched in India in 2012. The third-generation Dzire was launched in India in 2017 and its facelift came to the market in 2020. Maruti Suzuki took four years to bring the second-gen and five years to bring the third-gen model to India. This is the longest time Maruti Suzuki has taken to launch a new generation of its subcompact sedan.

Image source: Rushlane