Finally have chosen SX4 against ANHC, FORD & LINEA. Review on Maruti Suzuki SX4

I should say I have never spent so much time on internet before making my decision on my new car. I was a owning a new Esteem for last 4 years and almost got bored with Maruti because I was a owner of Maruti vehicle since 1994. I was always looking to buy some other vehicle till the last moment.

I had almost read 1000 reviews before making a decision. Initially I had only 2 cars in my list 1) Ford Fiesta 1.6 & 2) New Honda City. Later mouth shut helped me to learn little about Fiat Linea and have added that in the list too. I should say at one point I have almost booked Fiat Linea 1.4 Petrol and fortunately for me that given day the sales man at TATA told there is price revision with Linea and asked me to confirm the booking with new price the next day. I should say Sales Man have really helped me to be out of Linea because of that one instance. Earlier the salesman was always not sure about the Mileage of Linea and I was also worried about the pickup considering an 1.4 engine for that size of a car and the same was not appreciated in many reviews. Hence I finally decided to move away from Linea. Now I dont regret my decision as Iam hearing horrible stories from the owners of Linea.

Now let us move to my selection process against rest 2 competitiors. Firstly Honda City was not looking good for me from the front view(Some way many have liked the new design). Secondly I did not get justified for the Price difference compared against Fiesta. Also I had always looking for good ground clearance as I had faced many difficult times with Old Honda City(My Brother in Law's) and had many hits on bad roads and speed breakers. I have almost narrowed down my search and decided to go with Fiesta and that is where I purchased auto car magazine where there had been a comparision between 4 great cars in the segment 1) Honda City 2) Linea 3) Fiesta & 4) SX4. The rating given by the car magazine was exactly the same in the order of my listing. However I started looking more into SX4 even though it was rated last in the list as Iam an experienced owner of Maruti Vehicles.

I started comparing point to point and finally I gave my own ratings and decided to go with SX4 as it was adding more points on many factors like 1) Features 2) Pricing(Against Honda City) 3) Maruti Service 4) Reliability & Performance 5) Ground Clearance 7) High Seat Position(SUV like) even though it lost few points on 1) A Pillar Blind Spot 2) Mileage(Actually Iam now getting more mileage than my expectations around 13-14 average). There were few other points as well but did not have any impact on my decisions like 1) Little noise inside cabin when on high speed 2) Looks(It is not desirable but not bad at all) 3) Engine Refinement . Finally I had made my decision and finally booked my SX4 Zxi model(Silver) end April 2009. Salesman promised to deliver the vehicle in 15 to 20 days but delayed the process and had finally had my vehicle delivered end May 2009.

By the time Iam writing this review my vehicle has completed 3500 KMS and sure now you know I dont travel too much in a month to decide on a Diesel vehilce. The below are the experience with my new SX4

From Negative Points to positive

1) Mileage

My first filling gave me exactly 12 KMS / Ltr and when I asked with the dealer he asked me to verify after completing my first service. Later after 2000 KMS I found my mileage improving slightly and could touch around 13 KMS / Ltr when I could complete 2500 KMS. Now Iam still finding little improvement and Iam confident this vehicle can deliver definitely 13-14 KM / LTR as an average. I expect to touch 15 KM / LTR if Iam on a highway, which I have not done so far.

2) A Pillar

That was my mosting worrying factor before buying this car as I had read many reviews from Mouth Shut about this problem. I was cautious from day one on taking any right turn in the night time. It is definitely a problem but if you keep driving you will tend to learn how to handle the blind spot during a right turn. Still I feel this is my only problem I have found in this car.

Other points of concern

1) Noise in Cabin

Yes there is little noise in the cabin but not a worrying factor as that gives a feel of driving SUV.

2) Engine Refinement

Yes Honda City engine was clamied to have a silky smooth performance but for me this was not again a bothering factor as SX4 engines performance was very much on the acceptance level for me.

3) Looks

I dont understand as how Honda City has better looks compared to SX4. For me I feel atleast Fiesta looks better than both cars and SX4 looks are better than Honda City.

Now about all positive points

1) Features

Iam thoroughly impressed with all features of this car including Audio mounted on my Steering, Alloy Wheels, Air Bags, ABS, Climate Control, CD Player etc. But all this was already known to everyone and no extra comment needed.

2) Pricing

Definitely I have a minimum save of 1.25 Lakhs compared against Honda City and almost at par with Linea and little higher agaisnt Fiesta. I felt this vehicle is little above in all compared against Fiesta on features and so I feel SX4 is real value for money.

3) Maruti Service

I dont have to say anything about this and I know it is always easy to find an authorised service center in almost all cities of India

4) Reliability & Performance

In my 15 years of driving experince Maruti engines have never given me any trouble and Iam sure SX4 will not fall out of that category. Actually I love the pick up of this vehicle. Performance is really good and it pleasure driving this machine on highways.

5) Ground Clearance

This is the best thing I liked in this car. Iam never scared of any speed brakers and must need thing for Indian roads.

6) High Seating position

It is true that you feel like driving an SUV. You feel big in this position and front view is amazing to drive through big traffic. Although rear head rests are obstacle for viewing, your huge side mirrors come for your rescue. I have fitted a rear sensor & camera which makes my life easy for parking. Iam still not able to judge if my seating positions are ergonomically designed.

My Verdict.

Iam a happy owner for sure. One will not have to worry after buying this car although for few this is not desirable for its looks. For me the car looks great.