Very good vehicle for its cost. Review on Maruti Eeco

I have this vehicle from Mar 2010, just a few months after its release. Its no doubt a very good value for money and I am quite satisfied with it. However, there are some deficiencies which I don't know why the manufacturer did not want to put it in. Atleast, they could have kept it as an option. I am putting below the problems only, rest all very good for the purchase price

1) They should have kept a left front door lock also as it becomes extremely difficult for one to go over the right front now and then if you have by chance closed all doors and then want to open only the left side or in case if a car is parked on the right side so close that it is difficult to open the lock. Moreover, if someone wants to put another lock also on the left front door, it might lead him/her to change all locks including the ignition key so as to have one key for all. Also to avoid all these one might also have to go for remote central locking.

2) Maruti was one of the first car makers in India to bring I-CATS or anti-theft device inbuilt within the ignition system in the small car segment & such an anti-theft device is considered to be one of the best anti-theft devices but surprisingly this car doesn't have and again if someone one wants to install a gear lock, it is not possible due to the gear box/engine placement in the car. I am telling this as I could not get it installed by Maruti. Only thing I suppose one can put is a remote central locking which might raise the alarm if someone tries to open the door. However, as we all know such locks also stops working or work improperly after a few years

3) A very strange thing which I found in this car only, though it might be there in some other cars which I am not aware but this definitely has and that is you have to often change the tyre pressure as if you sit 4 then there is a particular pressure and if more than 4 then there is a particular pressure. Most probably one has to keep somewhere in between to suffice all requirements and also what is unknown is that how much that will affect the tyres

4) When driven through highways, sometimes the wind cuts the body in such a way that a strange sound gets generated. The body should have been modified when changing over from Versa as was done with the roof height which is actually very good since not having a rear A/C lets less area to cool. However, with the given A/C, as soon as you get stuck in traffic jams, the A/C becomes quite ineffective. Easily a bigger condenser could have been placed. Maybe price was the issue

5) Rear sliding doors often get jammed if you come after a month from vacation etc

6) If the car is not driven enough or after a long time, the brakes don't seem to work very well when pressed completely to the end at once. Maybe it is due to the brake booster being placed inside of the car instead of directly joining with the master cylinder. As such the brakes are not bad

7) The windows of the rear doors open till the last but at one go it opens half and after that one has to reverse one round and go back to go till the last. If you force at one go to take it to the last, you might damage the machine. I don't know why such a system was built as for an ignorant person it would be disastrous

8) After a long time, I could procure the rear mud flaps and the small wheel caps which were there in the front and not in the back. I don't what was the reason behind it

9) A side holding handle was a must for all the doors as this car is quite high and for old people to get in is a herculean job

Now are some problems which though are not that significant but as said earlier, they could have brought one variant which would have all those which I am telling are not available as of date(25 July 2011).

10) As the engine does not rest on the front suspension, the ride can be quite bumpy and you may find your car out of wheel alignment

11) Power steering, especially when you have to cut corners on dead speed

12) Left front seat with a lever like the right seat, to slide it in front or back as often in long highway drives, the left front passenger can become very uncomfortable

12) The supporting bar in the middle of the bottom of the rear seat could have been designed in such a way that some things or small luggage like a briefcase/heavy shoes etc could slide through it.