The Maruti-Suzuki and Toyota alliance has been going on for quite a while in India. The alliance has given us cars like the Toyota Urban Cruiser( rebadged Suzuki Brezza) and the Toyota Glanza (rebadged Baleno). However, Toyota is now planning to sell the Ciaz under the name Belta soon. In fact, it looks like the production for the Belta has already started going by the spy pictures. The spy pictures show the Belta in left-hand drive format being imported to countries like Africa where Toyota already sells other rebadged models. Let’s see what one can expect from the Toyota Belta:
Toyota Belta: what to expect?
The Ciaz is one handsome-looking sedan primarily renowned for its no-nonsense character and a spacious cabin. If Toyota actually goes ahead and launches a sedan based on the Ciaz, we can expect it to sport some exterior changes over the Ciaz. Toyota did it with the Glanza and the Urban Cruiser. It could make the Belta differentiate from the Ciaz by incorporating an updated bumper with a redesigned grille and a set of newly-designed alloys.
The interiors could also see a change in the upholstery or materials like we saw in the Urban Cruiser. Set to be manufactured in the same factory like the one where Maruti Ciaz is made in India, the upcoming Toyota sedan will come powered by the same 1.5-liter mild-hybrid petrol engine that belts out a maximum power output of 103 bhp and 138 Nm of peak torque. As far as transmission options go, Toyota will offer the same choice between a five-speed manual gearbox and a four-speed automatic transmission. Currently, Ciaz is priced from Rs 8.42 lakh to Rs 11.33 lakh (ex-showroom) and is available in four trims- Sigma, Delta, Zeta, and Alpha.
Expect the Toyota counterpart to be offered at a slight premium with a slightly different trim level where the base variant won’t be present. Toyota also recently discontinued the Yaris in India which is a clear indication that the Belta will fill the gap left by the Yaris.
Source: Team Bhp