Automobile Blog

Maruti Suzuki replacing Esteem with Dezire

Maruti Suzuki is coming up with the new Dezire, the replacement for its long-serving Esteem. With the curtains down on the Esteem after a 14-year long drive, the new offering, Dezire, will have a host of contemporary new features which were otherwise missing in the Esteem and not available in any of the current lot of mid-sized cars. Dezire, Maruti Suzuki’s new sedan on the Swift platform, will be manufactured only in India for the global market and will be available in both fuel options.

It will sport 1.3 liter petrol and the 1.3 liter DDiS multi jet diesel engine, currently available in the Swift hatchback. There’s no reason to worry about the company’s direction, according to Nakanishi. “Maruti Suzuki is doing very well,” he says. “Sales, financials, customer satisfaction, everything is very impressive.”

Still, the signal behind the management shakeup is clear: As competition in the fast-growing Indian market heats up, Suzuki wants to show it can do better on its own than when it was tied to New Delhi-appointed officials.

The forthcoming production model is an A-segment five-door hatchback reflecting a focus on world-class environmental compatibility and comfort. It will have a newly developed Euro 5-compliant 1.0-litre aluminum petrol engine with CO2 emissions lower than those of European competitors.

And like the already-launched Suzuki world strategic models, it will prove that sporty and exciting performance can be enjoyed simultaneously with outstanding fuel economy.