Maruti Dzire: six airbags on the cheapest one changes the advice

Why this car sells

The Dzire moved 18,418 units in August 2026 and has been the default Indian sedan for well over a decade. It is 3,995 mm long, sits on a 2,450 mm wheelbase, has 163 mm of ground clearance and a 382-litre boot.

It sells to two groups that rarely overlap: families who want a boot rather than a hatchback tailgate, and fleet operators who want running costs and resale. The 2026 car serves both, and the safety kit is the reason the first group should look again.

The thing that actually changed

Six airbags — front, side and curtain — are fitted to every Dzire, including the LXi. So are the Electronic Stability Program, hill hold assist, three-point belts on all seats, seat-belt reminders for every occupant, and front belts with pre-tensioners and force limiters.

This matters more than any feature on the brochure's front page. The old advice to avoid base variants was mostly a safety argument, and Maruti has removed it. If your budget stops at ₹6.5 lakh, you are no longer buying a less safe car — you are buying a less comfortable one.

Petrol or CNG

The 1,197 cc petrol makes 82.93 PS at 5,700 rpm and 112.4 Nm at 4,500 rpm, claiming 25.15 km/l with the manual and 26.13 km/l with the AMT — one of the rare cases where the automatic is the more efficient of the two.

In CNG the same engine drops to 69.75 PS and 101.8 Nm, but the torque arrives far earlier at 2,900 rpm, and the claimed figure is 35.63 km/kg. On running cost the CNG wins clearly. On performance it does not, and a loaded car on a hill will make that obvious.

The unusual part is that Maruti offers the CNG with the AGS automatic, at ₹8,53,100 for the VXi. Very few manufacturers will sell you an automatic CNG car at all. If you do high city mileage and want two pedals, that variant has almost no direct rival.

What each step costs

LXi to VXi is ₹96,500 and it is the most important step in the range. It buys the 17.78 cm SmartPlay Pro touchscreen, the remote app, over-the-air updates, the rear centre armrest, the front USB and the outside temperature display. That is the jump from a fleet car to a family car.

VXi to ZXi is ₹1,00,600 and brings LED Crystal Vision headlamps, alloy wheels and push-button start with a smart key. Real improvements, but none of them change how you live with the car.

ZXi to ZXi+ is ₹68,600 and adds the 22.86 cm screen, the 360-degree camera, cruise control and the electric sunroof. At ₹8,96,300 for the manual you are close to nine lakh for a sub-four-metre sedan, and that is where a careful buyer should stop and ask whether a larger car is now in range.

What we would tell a friend

Buy the VXi MT at ₹7,27,100. It is the variant where the Dzire stops feeling like a taxi and starts feeling like a car you chose, and the safety equipment was already there a rung below.

If you run heavy city mileage, price the VXi CNG at ₹8,18,100 against your monthly fuel bill rather than against the petrol car's sticker — the gap usually closes faster than people expect. And if you want the sunroof badly enough to pay ₹8,96,300, spend an afternoon looking at what else nine lakh buys before you sign.