Does The 2017 Cultus Pose any threat to Existing Players?

As it is common knowledge now-a-days, that the ‘New Cultus’ of Pakistan is globally known as ‘Celerio,’ but what many still don’t know is that this new Cultus is totally different from its predecessor. Not only does it offer more value to the customer through additional features, legroom, stunning interior, a healthy color range; but it offers a guaranteed performance with its K10B engine.

This new Cultus is directly competing with not only the existing product lineup of Pak-Suzuki -Wagon R & Suzuki Swift- but with imported cars as well, including Toyota Vitz, Passo, Mira and other hatchback vehicles.

Introducing a new car is always a very daunting task for any organization. However, taking advantage of its existing brand –Cultus- Pak-Suzuki has taken a very calculated risk to marginalize the chances of any backlash by opting the strategy of rebranding ‘Celerio’ into ‘Cultus.’ It’s a win-win situation really if you think about it, the customers will get a totally new car and the company will successfully add another vehicle to its product lineup.

Following is a chart comparing some features of the new Cultus in both India & Pakistan:

Sr.	Features	Indian Variants			Pakistani Variants
		VXi	LXi	ZXi	VXR	VXL
1.	Power Steering	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2.	Front Airbags	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
3.	Immobilizer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
4.	Automatic Transmission	Option available			No	No
5.	Power Windows	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
6.	ABS	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
7.	Keyless entry	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
8.	Central Door	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
9.	Alloy wheels	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
10.	Multimedia	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
11.	Head Light leveling	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No

 

Though this new car is being appreciated but the skepticism about its price tag still predominates the minds of many. Pak-Suzuki has still not said a word about the automatic variant of (New) Suzuki Cultus but sources are indicating towards the possible launch by the end of this year.

Security:

The standard variant of the new Suzuki Cultus is leaps ahead of its predecessor as Pak-Suzuki has added immobilizer across both variants of this car. However, the absence ABS in Suzuki Cultus VXR is will yield disappointment for its customers. Let’ not forget that the absence of ABS & Airbags will put this variant in a competitive disadvantage as far as the imported cars (in this price bracket) are concerned.

The New Suzuki Cultus VXL encapsulates all; ABS, two airbags & an immobilizer, making it a complete car.

Comfort and Interior:

Thanks to the Power Steering in Cultus VXR & electric steering in Cultus VXL, Steering adjustment and keyless entry; there are plenty of amenities to make driving easy. Both variants have been fitted with power windows, central door locking and very minimal blind spots as far as the driving is concerned.

Price:

In India, this car was offered six different variants on the basis of transmission, fuel and features.

Current ex-showroom prices (Approx) of both countries vehicles are:

Sr.		Variant		Price in Indian Rs.	Price in Pakistani Rs. (Approx)
1.	Maruiti Suzuki	VXi	Petrol & Manual	435,000	700,000
			CNG & Manual	513,000	820,000
2.		LXi	Petrol & Manual	405,000	650,000
			Petrol & Automatic	452,000	725,000
3.		ZXi	Petrol & Manual	465,000	745,000
			Petrol & Automatic	512,000	820,000
1.	Pak Suzuki	Cultus	VXR		1,250,000
2.	Pak Suzuki	Cultus	VXL		1,391,000

At this point you might be wondering how is the price difference of 141,000 rupees justified in both variants of Suzuki Cultus? Is it just the airbags and ABS? As it turns out, No! Following is a list of features which differentiates Suzuki Cultus VXL from VXR:

• 2 Airbags
• Alloy Rims
• ABS
• Electronically Adjustable Side Mirrors
• Fog Lamps
• Front Grill with black highlights
• Vanity Mirrors
• Charging Dock (inside center cup holders)
• Body-Colored Side Mirrors + Door Handles
• Boot Shelf
• 4 Audio Speakers

So is this new Cultus worth all of the fuss? The price point is debatable but the features list is certainly impressive for a locally manufactured 1000cc hatchback.