The So Called New Zen Katalyst. Review on Five Worst Cars

I went with my friend to a Maruti dealer, as he wanted to buy the new ZEN.

I was shocked to hear that the New ZEN LXI was RS. 3, 86, 840 on road.

I was amazed as to who will dumb enough(well there are many) pay this much amount for a car, which has an 11-year-old technology, 993 cc and 60 bhp.

Maruti has once again made a fool of the Indian automobile users.

After the Launch of SANTRO XING and SANTRO XING captured the B segment by a long margin which is evident from the sales figures.

Suddenly, Maruti realized to change the look of the AUTOTICKSHAW(WAGON R) and Zen(after 11 years) and it failed miserably in that.

The pricing of the new ZEN is very bad in fact it cost's much more than the AUTOTICKSHAW(WAGON R)(on road cost Rs.375, 731), which is technology advanced, then so-called new ZEN.

Viewed from some angles the headlamp and grille look like they?ve been inspired by the Volkswagen Golf.

Industry-standard clear lens headlights incorporating the turn signal indicators are mated to an over-large grille with Horizontal slats. The bumper has been redesigned to incorporate the fog lamps in recesses though the airdam is a bit too fussy.

Inside the car almost everything remains the same. The dashboard continues unchanged with the only revision being to the white-faced speedometer and oil and temperature gauges. The seats are the same old units that lack any support whatsoever.

Though the front headrests have been made smaller while tacky-looking headrests have been sewed into the rear bench.

The Zen suffers is in the roll-on times, needing constant downshifts to keep the engine on the boil.

Rev-happy the engine is, torque she is not which necessitates one too many gearshifts.

The Zen suffers in many respects. Firstly, the ride quality is nowhere near the class benchmark and inspite of running 12-inch wheels shod with high profile 145/80 rubber(compared to the 13-inchers on the rest) the ride leaves much to be desired. Also the tall rubber reduces the ZEN of straight-line stability; in crosswinds 100kmph is enough.

To scare you while corners see the car roll noticeably and generate insufficient grip.

The new Zen Car runs Esteem brakes at the front. The reason for this is that the original 182mm discs at the front.

Struggle to cope with the demands that the quick engine makes.

The so called high profile tyres robs the ZEN of braking stability and an emergency stomp from triple digit speeds.

Makes the Zen go all over the place. Feel from the pedal is absent and you will find struggle to find confidence in stopping the ZEN.

The only positive point of the new Zen leis in the rear of the car as it is the best executed section.

It has the smart triangular tail lamp. The rear hatch has been reworked to incorporate the number plate holder.

The rear bumper is also new and just like the front incorporates the twin fog lamps in recesses with an additional recess where the number plate used to reside.

However all that Maruti Suzuki has done is to give her a nose and tail job, before designing the new Zen the designers should have addressed the questions of the cramped interiors and insufficient boot space.

The new Zen definitely looks different and probably that?s what the designers set out to do in the first place.

Maybe many of you out there who agree with the same wavelength as the designers of the new Zen.

Well, I don't have that wavelength and I believe that the charm of the Zen(that appealed to me in the first place) Has been lost.