Know how Maruti Celerio's automatic transmission works

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.Before starting the engine, ensure that the gear level is in ‘N' mode and the brake pedal is pressed. Once the engine starts, put the lever in ‘D' mode and release the brake. The car starts moving but at a slow speed, which proves useful given the bustling city traffic. Now give some race and soon after the EZ Drive system takes over. Celerio offers you the option to shuffle between automatic and manual even while driving.For normal speeds, the ‘D' mode is optimum, but more enthusiastic drivers can use ‘M' (manual) option which allows you to change gears by pushing it forward or backwards, depending on if you want to upshift or downshift. To stop the car, press the brakes, which reduces the speed of the car and the gears shift down automatically, until the car comes to halt.Italian automotive parts manufacturer Magneti Marelli, says the AMT consists of an electronic control unit and a robotic arm that supervise the use of the clutch and gear shifting, letting the driver to change gear without using the clutch, either sequentially or fully automatically. It basically means a manual transmission but with a brain: it opens and closes the clutch, use the gears as and when required and control the choice of transmission.The entire system is available in form of a kit which a car manufacturer needs to install. Maruti Celerio's kit offers a 10 year or 160,000 kms warranty. Maruti claims that both the automatic and manual modes would deliver similar mileage of about 23.1 kilometers to a liter of fuel, and the maintenance cost would also be similar between manual and auto gear shift cars.The Maruti Suzuki Celerio is powered by a 1.0 liter, three pot, K10 petrol engine that also powers the Alto K10, the WagonR, the AStar and the Estilo. The engine delivers a power of 67 bhp at 6,000 rpm and a torque of 9.1 kgm at 3,500 rpm. With Celerio, the company hopes to lower its shrinking sales. Maruti sales barely grew 1.7 per cent year-on-year to 755,093 vehicles between April and December 2013. Maruti holds a significant 41 per cent share of India's passenger vehicle market, mainly because of its inexpensive small car models.