Sx4 - a honda civic for lesser price. Review on Maruti Suzuki SX4

It’s already over 3 weeks I have been driving a Suzuki Sx4 Zxi.

You may be wondering why have I mentioned Honda civic as a heading in this post. Please read further to know why. I am going to compare Sx4 with honda civic in terms of features and Sx4 vs Honda city(vtech) in terms of other factors like engine, performance etc. Firstly, I would like to convey my thought process why I have chosen an sx4.

I was a proud owner of Maruti Zen for more than four years and started looking for a change. Initially, I had a test drive with Honda city Vtec, Chevi Aveo, Ford Fiesta and almost decided to book Honda City Vtec costing 9.3 lacs on road with alloy wheels  without any safety features.

It has more refined engine and comes with 100 bhp power. I have never considered the low powered 77 bhp Honda city as my choice because I felt that it is as good as my old Maruti Zen which delivers around 60+ bhp. I have decided to sell off my Zen in the first week of May 2007 to a Maruti dealer before making a booking for VTEC. The dealer told me that Maruti is going to release a new sedan. That's it, I held back my decision to wait and see what the heck is that!  After driving sx4 on the day of its launch I felt that it’s the car of my choice. When I drove sx4 I exactly found the same smoothness and power of a Honda civic.

Though the new M-series engine of sx4 is little noisy than more refined Honda engines, it still has its smoothness and power will dominate everything. When you press its accelerator, you feel like as if it is asking you to press further even at higher speeds above 80+. Till now I did not cross 80 since the first run in is not over.

Looks: It looks awesome from front and sides.  The back is more elevated which look little out of sync with front. But I am going to install under body spoilers at the back very soon to give sturdier look from the back. Over all, looks sporty and manly. Especially 16 inch alloy wheels give an amazing sporty look.

Ride: I feel like driving an SUV, the steering control is very strong and at the same time gives smoother turning and you feel confident while driving at high speeds. The road visibility is excellent and as good as an SUV. Cornering and u-turning is not very difficult.

I could not find any blind spot or inconvenience with quarter glass unlike some people reported while taking u-turns and its pretty confortable.The engine is very quite at low speeds but its little noisy at high speeds above 80 kmph, but its acceptable. For me it’s like race car sound rather than  "noise". I heard that people in other countries intentionally modify their engines to give more sound which creates more attention on roads:) The big tyres made me comfortable in the recent monsoon rain and ride through potholes didn't cause much discomfort inside the cabin. The high ground clearance is a key factor. Most of the cars in India touches the big speed brakers and rupture the bottom of the vehicle. It makes us to feel like somebody scratching our body with an Iron comb. We either should blame the car manufacturers. Despite they know the Indian road conditions, they still make cars in the same way they do in the rest of the world. Or we should blame ourselves for indiscipline driving. Otherwise govt  wouldn't have constructed speed brakers. Am I right?

My Sx4 making me feel proud whenever I pass by a speedbraker. All over, ride quality is superb.

Pickup:Pick up is good and it meets what you expect from a 1.6 liter engine. It runs like cheetah

once you engage in 3rd gear. I did not find the similar pickup in low speeds in Honda city vtec

which equally powerful with 100 bhp. I felt little irritating in second gear pickup when I test drove it. Sx4 wins the race at low speeds in city driving.

But, sx4 pickup in high speeds take is a little longer and smoother. The increase in the speed

is more linear and not a sudden jump to high speeds. I think the engine is tuned like that to give more mileage. But believe me  it really rocks from 3rd gear onwards. You can feel the abundent power in the engine from 3rd gear onwards.

Comfort: Front seats provide good comfort.  The height adjustment option is superb.

The back seating is also good. The middle seat discomfort is not a major one. When I changed the seat covers with Original Stanley leather by spending 23k, the protruding mid seat problem was slightly reduced. Now three people can sit comfortably. The car looks like premium sedan inside the cabin after installing leather seating. Anyways, I don't want to make my car look like a taxi with too many people inside.

The build quality is very good. You can sense that the steel that was used to build the body is much stronger. When I knuckled Honda city body I felt like touching a toy. So far,  I did not face any rattling sound unlike some guys reported in their test drives.

The dashboard is very long and wide and gives luxary look. Inside it is more spacious, wider and has enough leg space for 6 foot taller also. But in the rear, head will touch the roof for people taller than 6 ft.  Many people reporting that  Honda city interiar quality is  far better than sx4. But for my eyes both look decent and good. Suzuki people should have improved the plastic quality little bit where Honda city gains more marks.  All four doors are provided with provision to keep water bottles and beverages. I tried to put a one litre mineral water bottle but it doesn't go inside very smoothly as I got to bend it little and press it inside which may scratch the plastic pads of the door. But smaller bottles will go inside very easily. Overall ambiance inside cabin

is decent and gives luxury look once you change the seat covers upholstery with quality leather or art leather.

AC just chills out fast and climate control is fantastic.  Whoever traveled in my car so far, their first feedback comes on AC and they say "WOW"! The integrated audio unit  is quite good for normal people but may not sound better for audiophiles.

Features:I said its a Honda Civic for lesser price (  without considering other factors of a premium luxury car) because you get almost all options like climate control, alloy wheels, airbags, ABS plus additional futures like audio controls on steering, brightness adjustment for odometer panel, printed antenna and larger boot space than any other car in this segment.

Fuel efficiency:  it gave me 9 kmpl in a horrible bumper to bumper traffic of Hyderabad and sometimes 10 to 11. It will definitely give 11+ in city driving if there are no traffic jams. One can't expect more than this from such a big car anways.

Safety: Only Toyota Corolla top end model and Honda Civic comes with dual airbags and ABS which are in 12+ lacs premium segment. Suzuki had come closer to the hearts of many by providing all these features in segment less than 10 lacs, which is the major reason for Sx4 to become a super hit!.

Overall I am happy with my choice and Sx4 really a product of value for money. If Honda civic is available for less than 10 lacs, then I would have gone for it.