We do know that Toyota’s version of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is called Belta. A month ago, Belta was spotted for exports. Now, again the sedan has been spotted. This time the Belta was on a flatbed truck. Only the rear of the Belta has been captured.
There are two pictures of the Belta. In one picture it is finished in white colour whereas in the second picture the sedan is finished in grey colour. There is “Toyota Belta” badging on the left side of the tailgate.
The Belta is a straight-up rebadged Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. Toyota has not made any changes to the interior or the exterior. It has the same grille, headlamps, bumpers, tail lamps and even the same alloy wheels. Even the colours of the Belta are the same as the Ciaz.
Mechanically, Belta comes with the same 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine. This is the same engine that we have seen on the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Ertiga, XL6, Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and even the Toyota Urban Cruiser.
The engine produces 104 bhp of max power and 138 Nm of peak torque. It is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
One thing to note is that the Belta is a left-hand drive vehicle. Toyota has registered the “Belta” nameplate in India so we are expecting them to launch Belta in the future which will be right hand drive. Also, they have discontinued their own mid-size sedan, Yaris. So, Belta might be replacing the Yaris in the Indian market.
Yaris was never really successful in the Indian market. In fact, it was never able to sell more than 1,000 units in a month. People preferred the design of other mid-size sedans and also SUVs were in more demand. Having said that, Toyota will continue to support Yaris with service and spare parts.
Toyota’s rebadged Maruti Ertiga
Toyota has also rebadged Maruti Suzuki’s Ertiga. They are calling it Rumion and are selling them in South Africa. However, it is manufactured in India only. It is not yet known whether Toyota will bring the Rumion in India or not. There are some cosmetic changes to the Rumion.
It gets a different front grille with three chrome slats. The rest of the exterior stays the same. So, there are the same alloy wheels, tail lamps and the same headlamps. But, Toyota has made some changes to the interior.
Rumion comes with an all-black cabin which gives it a sportier appeal. Ertiga on the other hand gets a beige interior which does make the cabin feel roomier. Rumion still gets wooden inserts on the doors, dashboard and steering wheel. The feature list and equipment level stays the same for both the MPVs.
The engine is also the same as the Ertiga. It is the same 1.5-litre petrol engine that is being used on the Toyota Belta also. It is offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.