Some brands require a short introduction in order to build up hype and keep the reader glued to the article. And then there is Maruti Suzuki, the mention is enough to keep every Indian interested in the topic. But don’t you worry, this time we are going to take a look at a love story, better than Twilight. It’s the story of Maruti Suzuki and the 4-speed Automatic Torque Converter.
When did the story start?
Some of you might not know but the first car from the carmaker to get an automatic transmission was the Maruti 800. Yes, you read that right! The harbinger of the demise of a majority of cars at that time, 800 took on the market like no other. And Maruti even gave it an automatic gearbox. It was a 3-speed automatic torque converter and from here began the love story. And this 3-speed was carried forward by Zen and Alto for a short while.
The actual 4-speed Torque Converter, what we know of today, came with the Grand Vitara. The smooth transmission paired with a powerful engine is what the CBU import offered. But being a CBU import, the Grand Vitara attracted a hefty tax which led to the low sales. After this, the same AT has been offered in almost all the automatic cars and there seems to be a long road ahead too.
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Maruti Suzuki and 4-speed Torque Converter | The Saga Still Continues!
Coming to 2020, all the automatic cars except Baleno come with a 4-speed Torque Converter. Baleno comes with a CVT, and believe me, it’s smooth. Coming back to the old-school AT now. First of all, lot of people say that Maruti should come up with something else. This transmission is outdated now.
But, when I drove the 2020 S-Cross Petrol a few months back, all I can say is, there is no need to fix something that is not broken at all. The transmission works fine and smooth, the shifting is slick and the overdrive mode provides adequate power transmission too. So, let’s list down the good points of the 4-speed Automatic.
- There is no rubber-band effect at all. This effect is felt in CVTs. You feel a small lag before the actual power kicks in. With the AT, there is no such thing.
- It is a no-maintenance or let’s say, low-maintenance as there are very few parts that can wear. Not familiar with how a Torque Converter works? Click here.
- Easy to operate. Now I know that most of you will say, isn’t it same for all the transmissions? But, with an AT, there is a gradual power transmission making it easy for those who are either new to driving or are looking to take it slow.
But why just a 4-speed? Most of the carmakers have moved to 5-speed or even 7-speeds. Well, we’ll leave that to you. What do you think? Should Maruti Suzuki upgrade the automatic options or should the love saga continue? Let us know in the comments section below.
Maruti must uograde the 4AT TO 6 or more AT . Idrove the Scross automatic yesterday and it needs refinement in the form of 6AT OR more…Noise is more for a petrol engine….
They cant keep saying to keep the cost low..4AT is good….
The transmission is truly amazing but they should offer the same transmission with a 5 speed gearbox. That’s the only requirement for most people. Many people are not buying the current automatic transmission as it is a 4 speed gearbox and secondly none of the Maruti cars have the torque converter paired with diesel engine. The only available option for Automatic transmission in diesel Maruti cars is AMT which is very laggy and rough. The AMT is still ok with the petrol engines but with diesel engines it is just horrible. They at least need to give an option to buy torque converter paired with a diesel engine.
Love maruti cars… But after driving Tiguan DCT of 8 gears, i know how these two vary… It’s a much desired upgrade at least to 5 if not 6 or more
Maruti must upgrade the automatic to 6 or 7 speed torque converter. I want to buy Brezza automatic but waiting for the update.
The Grand Vitarra or the Hyryder has 6 AT or eCVT
Hi There
Its a torque converter