Driving the new Maruti-Suzuki Dzire with the AMT gearbox makes one wonder what it would take for automatics to become standard even on taxis
If there is a product that defines its segment in India, it is the Dzire. Maruti was not the first manufacturer to enter the “compact” sedan category created by a lacunae of the excise laws and one that continues to exist today. This means that no matter what the shape and size of a car below four metres in length, it faces a lower incidence of additional cess than larger cars. Tata Motors was the first into this segment with the Indigo CS and indeed, Maruti’s first generation Dzire was a much larger sedan. But the product is now so successful that Maruti has done two things with the third generation.
First, it dropped the “Swift” branding from the car, not only because the brand is extremely strong in itself but also because the Dzire launched before the third-generation Swift. In addition, the brand lost the apostrophe but enough car brand names make the English language want to go and commit suicide. They also did something else. The top-end variants of the car are now offered with Maruti’s “Auto Gear Shift” (AGS) system which features the Automated Manual Transmission and is now standard across several Maruti products from the Celerio to the Ignis. I drove the diesel AGS-equipped Dzire a lot during the first drive of the car in Goa a few months ago, but like on the Ignis AGS which I drove for two months, I have always preferred the integration of the system with the petrol engines.
Obviously the thinking Maruti-Suzuki has with the Dzire equipped with the AGS system is that it will be bought a lot by private buyers. The Dzire is rather unique in the car market in that while it remains extremely popular with private buyers, it is becoming the de rigueur choice for taxi operators. Bangkok has the Toyota Corolla and Frankfurt the Mercedes-Benz E-Class as vehicles that cross the commercial-private divide. In India we have the Dzire.
Yet, while my spouse was quick to dub the Dzire parked outside the house as a “taxi,” Maruti-Suzuki is not too keen to sell the third-generation Dzire as a taxi. Yet. It will likely happen towards the latter half of next year, but the feature-set on the Dzire now is impressive and attractive to private buyers — not just the infotainment system, although I feel it could use better speakers, but the daytime-lED lights and the xenon headlights are worth a look. This does not feel like a cheap low-rent car.
But back to the point of the Dzire and taxis, driving this Dzire got me thinking about why the AGS option should not be fitted to taxis. Seriously, Delhi traffic on some days is really bad and despite growing up saying “stick or else” and cursing the Germans for launching automatic-only cars, I’ve started to appreciate automatics a lot more in the city as I have grown older. The constant start-stop in severe traffic gives your left foot a workout. The AGS system is just easier and by using the AMT, Maruti has managed to keep costs down. So why not offer the AGS for taxi operators as well.
In an average week I end up using an Uber at least twice or thrice, and one major reason for taking a cab is to avoid the stress of driving. One major cause of stress, other than having to share the road with innumerable selfish morons, is the constant gear changing. But keep in mind the stress does not go away, you are paying someone else to take the stress for you. So, why not get an AGS version for the inevitable taxi version as wellIJ Driving a taxi is a relatively thankless job and while the AGS system has a retail cost of around 50,000 rupees more than the manual version, I’m sure even taxi operators could see the value of it. Of course, some engineering and technical work towards fitting a AGS on a gas-powered car will have to be worked out. Plus, there will be positives as well, because many people who use taxis also have a private car and seeing the taxis using automatic or automated transmissions could even convince them to buy.
Not that the average private car buyer will need convincing as almost half of the cars that have an AMT option now or even a full-on torque-converter automatic are seeing manual sales dip. Because nobody wants the stress of constantly driving. And if you go to your gym in the evening like I do, you’d like to keep your legs fresh to get tired on the treadmill.