Maruti Suzuki Dzire reels under the weight of popularity, order backlog stands at 40,000

It looks like the sedans are making a slow but steady comeback in the Indian market. The bookings and sales numbers of the new Dzire compact sedan from Maruti Suzuki is a case in point. 

According to reports, the new Dzire, which was launched in India in May, sold 34,000 units in September and has an order backlog of a whopping 40,000.

The sales also propelled Dzire as the top-selling car of the month in the country beating long-time leader, Maruti Suzuki Alto. So far, the story of the new Hyundai Verna, Skoda Octavia and Octavia RS are also not different.

In the case of Verna, the new version clocked more than 15,000 bookings in less than 40 days of its launch, while Skoda overbooked Octavia and Octavia RS allocated for India in 2017, says a report of ET Auto.

The new Dzire, which is priced in the range of Rs 5.43-9.39 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), comes packed with a host of goodies, making it one of the most desired models. Based on the company's Heartect platform that also underpins premium hatchback Baleno, the new Dzire is wider by 40mm and has enhanced shoulder room in front by 20mm and rear by 30mm.

Under the hood, the new Dzire gets same tried and tested 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol and 1.3-litre, four-cylinder diesel engines of the previous model. While petrol engine churns out 82bhp at 6,000rpm and 113Nm of torque at 4,200rpm, the diesel model is tuned to dish out 74bhp at 4,000rpm and 190Nm at 2,000rpm.Transmission is handled by five-speed manual gearbox, which comes as standard and five-speed AMT.