Maruti Eeco - A Value for Money Car. Review on Maruti Eeco

At the outset, I would like to begin my review by thanking mouthshut.com. Be it anything that I have wanted to purchase, from swatch watches to Maruti cars, I have always found the reviews on the site very helpful and unbiased. You guys are doing a great job of maintaining the site. Keep it up.

Having done with the acknowledgements, I will begin with the review of my Maruti Eeco and will hope to cover as much ground as possible.

It has only been about 10 days since I bought the car from S.K Wheels in Navi Mumbai. I have so far covered~500 kms and save for a few things I have found the car to be perfect value for money. The major pros being –

1. Space – Without doubt, space is the USP of this MUV. For 3.6 Lacs on road price(5seater AC Version), you cannot expect to find a better car especially if you have a big family

   
   




2. Turning Radius – The turning radius of the car is unbelievably good. When taking a U-turn, you will change from one lane to the other without skipping a lane. This is saying something considering that the Eeco is pretty lengthy in size

   
   




3. Steering – The Eeco does not come with power steering. However, I mention the steering in pros of the vehicle because inspite of it being ordinary steering, you get the feeling of power steering when maneuvering the car. I understand that the simple reason for this is because the engine is not on the wheel and instead is located beneath the front seats like in the Omni

   
   




4. Engine – The Eeco comes with a 1200cc engine located under the front seats. Initially I had some apprehension as I was given to understand that the driver’s seat and front passengers seat become hot when the vehicle is run over long distances. Please be assured that this is not the case with Eeco

   
   




5. Average – The car is currently giving me an average of 13-14 in the city which is pretty decent for a 1200cc engine

   
   




6. AC – Air conditioning is pretty strong in the sense that at the lowest level, the front row has decent level of cooling

   
   

The Cons

1. Delivery Time – It took the dealer 35 days to deliver the car to me with complete on road registration as there is a huge waiting list for this car in Mumbai. Be prepared to be patient!

   
   




2. Suspension - With respect to the car, this is the one thing I was unhappy about. Please do not expect a very comfortable ride over bad roads. The height of the car, the thin tyres and the fact that both the driver and the second row passengers are sitting on the wheels ensure that bumps both major and minor are felt in the cabin

   
   




3. Headrests – Though the seats for the driver and front row passengers are pretty comfortable, Maruti has surprisingly left out headrests for the middle row which makes travelling for this row of passengers quite uncomfortable. Having realized this, I have had headrests fitted for the second row passengers which provides some relief

   
   




4. Ample accessories requirement – Please make note that all variants of Eeco, be it 7 seater or 5 seater are very basic models in the sense that the company only provides the AC & CNG kit(in respective models). All other accessories including music system needs to be installed separately. Personally, I have had the following accessories installed in my vehicle –

   
   

a. Front & Rear Guards for safety – Rs.3200

b. Music system(Kenwood system with 2 front & 2 rear speakers) – Rs.11000

c. Sunfilms with RTO approved level of blackness & 55% cooling enhancement – Rs.3600

d. Auto Cop for safety – Rs.3400

e. Headrests for the middle row – Rs.2800

Other accessories that can be installed –

a. Side steps – Rs.2800

b. Carrier on roof – Rs.2500(Strongly advise against installation. Can lead to instability)

c. Spoiler(with break light) – Rs.3000

d. Fog lamps – Rs.800 per piece

Bottom line –

The Eeco is a value for money car and at the price it is offered, it is suited best for joint families. Be prepared to shell out an additional 20k bucks for accessories & enhancements. A vehicle best suited for driving in the city, it’s a decent car at the average it offers and with the right set of accessories, it can be a pleasure to ride. In all fairness, I must say however that should you have that additional 1 lakh rupees and a nuclear family, there certainly are better cars around.

Trust you to find this review helful. Should you have any queries, please feel free to write to me. For now, I am out of here for a ride J