New Delhi: At the Auto Expo next month, Maruti-Suzuki will launch yet another small car called the Celerio, which is based on the A-Wind Concept that debuted at the 2013 Thailand Motor Show. The car would come as a replacement to the company's slow-moving A-Star and Zen Estilo models.
The striking part about the new model is that it will be the first vehicle in India to be equipped with Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). The AMT technology, derived from the renowned Formula One motorsport championship, allows drivers to change manual gears without using the clutch. This technology is also called EZ drive. It offers comfort of use and delivers a reduction in fuel consumption.
Now let's talk about EZ drive in detail. Like an automatic car, you'll find two pedals, brake and accelerator, in Celerio. In fact, the gear lever of the car looks a lot similar to that of an automatic car, but without the ‘P' for Parking.
The gear-lever unit, placed between the two front seats, shows ‘R' for Reverse, ‘D' for Drive, ‘N' for Neutral. Towards the left there is one slot marked ‘M', for manual. In the manual mode, there are options of ‘+' to upshift gears and ‘-' to downshift gears.
