Nov 01, 2007 05:37 PM
12964 Views
I owned a Maruti Esteem for 2 years(2002, 2003). It was a second hand car(1995 model) without power steering. It gave me a mileage of 12KMPL in city suburbs and 16KMPL on highways. I lived in the suburbs then and rarely had to drive bumper to bumper in the city.
I rarely used AC as it wasnt so good. The vent switches wouldnt work well.
The suspension was not very great. I always had a noise from the steering and the service center was never able to fix it for me. I even suggested them how to fix it(by adjusting the rack and pinion play). But they didnt do it and only extracted money by changing a few other static parts.
But it was a car that handled splendidly on the road. One will never feel any vibration even at 120 KMPH. Control and road grip were enormous. I once had to overtake a lorry on a highway with my brother-in-law and my mother when I noticed another oncoming lorry when I was half way thru overtaking. I corrected course in a split second. The car was with me totally in control. I must have been travelling at 90KMPH I think. If not for its control and grip, I wouldnt have been writing this review today and would have killed all of us occupants.
The gear stick was as smooth as a hot knife in butter. I have never seen a smoother gear shift in any of my later cars. I used to change gears(except 5th and reverse) with my index finger. It would become slightly hard when driven in a slightly water logged road during rains.
The engine was a jewel in this car. It had a carburetor and was naturally aspirated(everybody would know from the model). I once felt jerking almost every second and lack power in a regular pattern. I then suspected that one of the cylinders was not firing. So I stopped the vehicle and removed all the spark plugs one by one. As guessed, one of the plugs had shorted(carbon dust was connecting the electrode to the body and hence would not fire.) I then cleaned it away and was suprised that it had got stuck really well and wasnt very easy to clean. I put the spark plug back in and the problem was solved. Another time the same problem occured. I knew the plugs were good and was suspecting fuel quality. So I slightly enlarged the gap in the plug of that cylinder so that it was large for any particulate matter to stick to. I also monitored if the mileage got affected by enlarging the gap. But it remained the same without compromise. The problem never recurred again. I later learnt that it was because of flying particles because of long due decarbonizing. But by then I had sold the vehicle.
I was a very adventurous kind then and have even driven this car in a foot of water during heavy rains. I learnt the lesson when the water came in thru the holes for the brake pedal etc.(and a similar one left open for a left hand drive unnecessarily by the manufacturer).
The front seats were too low(I am 5'9") and there would be glare from oncoming vehicles like lorries that I had to suffer all thru every evening. I even developed knee aches when I was just 27. The leg space in the rear seats werent so good as may be presumed. My next car, an Indica was much better in these respects.
I learnt all my lessons about used cars with this one, that there are some problems in used cars which you will always have to live with. No one can solve them for you. I still like the Esteem very much. But some pains points always remain in my memory.
