We had told you a couple of days back that the next Maruti product to be cross badged by Toyota will be the Ciaz sedan in the Indian market. Now, it has been learnt that Toyota badged Ciaz would be christened as 'Belta' as the company has filed a trademark for the same. The rumormill is abuzz with speculation that Toyota Belta - the cross badged version of Maruti Ciaz - will replace the Yaris sedan in the company's portfolio in India. It will be the third Maruti car to receive the Toyota badging after Baleno and Vitara Brezza.
The Belta sedan is expected to get minor cosmetic updates upfront in the form of a new grille and chrome-studded Toyota badging. The headlamps, fog lamps and bumper will be carried over from the Ciaz. The side profile too will be identical, except for the newly designed alloy wheels. The rear end will be, more or less, retained from the Ciaz. The interior cabin of Toyota Belta will get the same upholstery and features as Maruti Ciaz. Some of the prominent features will include leather wrapped steering wheel, automatic climate control, height adjustable driver’s seat and SmartPlay touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto. Though, Toyota might reduce the number of variants of Belta as compared to the Ciaz.
Mechanically, the Belta would be powered by the same 1.5L 4-cylinder K15 petrol engine as the Ciaz. The engine develops a top power of 104bhp while linked to a 5-speed manual transmission as standard and a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox as optional. Toyota-Suzuki partnership has resulted in cross badging of two products so far in the form of Toyota Glanza and Toyota Urban Cruiser from Maruti Baleno and Maruti Vitara Brezza, respectively. We have heard that Toyota will cross badge the Ertiga MPV as well and introduce it as an entry-level MPV below the Innova Crysta in its portfolio in the Indian market. Toyota badged Ertiga is expected to launch by August 2021 in India.