*Purchase Decision:
*Planned to take a Company Leased Vehicle, so basically the purchase was to save on the Income Tax :), me and my wife started the search for different options, the cars on my mind were (Swift, Palio, i10), at that time Dzire was not launched, and I saw pictures of it and felt that it is an awkward looking car. I was looking for a Petrol variant as my running is <500Kms per month.
I was more inclined towards the Palio 1.6 due to it's looks, features and a 100 BHP Fiat Engine in that price range, but my wife the didnt like the interiors so it was out :)). i10 I didnt like the car as I felt it an upgraded version of santro. Then we considered the Swift and we both agreed upon it.
Within the mean time on 26th March 2008, Dzire got launched and on 28th March, my wife insisted to see the vehicle in reality, I was already apprehensive for it as far as the looks were considered, went to nearby showroom, had a first glance of the vehicle and I was bowled over by the sheer looks of the car, the rear was looking very good, and the front it is regular swift the only change is the new grill with chrome inserts. There was no petrol variant for the test drive, I had already driven swift in the past, so thought that it is the same engine and the performance is almost same. Instantly thought of booking it, but due to some personal reasons there was a delay in the booking.
*Booking the Vehicle:
*Booked the Vehicle (VXI Variant, Souvereign Blue) through Vitesse on 29th April, the Leasing Company, which provides the company leased vehicles for our company, they told the waiting period of 3 months, the manager of Leasing Company told me that they will raise a PQ (Priority Quota) request to maruti, as they get a special quota from maruti, and will be able to deliver the car in a month, i was still skeptical of the promise they made for 1 month
After a week, I received a call from the manager of the Leasing company, that the dealer has infomed them that the my car has been despatched from the Maruti factory and will reach in a two weeks time, I was surprised, then I thanked that guy and now the wait starts :))).
Dealer gave us a call on 24th May, that the car has arrived, and I can take the delivery as and when I wanted, at that time I was out of the city for my company's work, so I told him that I will be taking the delivery on the 4th June, as I will be back in mumbai on 3rd June.
*Delivery of the Vehicle:
*Reached the dealership around 11:00 am 4th June, completed the formalities, checked the vehicle, and the whole process of the delivery went very well, the staff was very cooperative and professional. Received a 5 Litre coupon for the petrol and some goodies and chocolates for my 2 year old kid.
*First impressions of the Vehicle after driving it for 152 Kms::
*1. Engine & Pickup: Was very good, and the response from the Engine was superb, no noise and it was quite smooth, the performance I felt was almost the same as the Swift petrol. And there was a minimal or negligible drop in performance after the AC is switched on.
Brakes: Very precise and accurate, I heard there was some issue with the brakes in Dzire, I didnt experienced it, may be as and when I clock more Kms, I may come to know, but at present the brakes are fantastic.
Gear Shift: Was very smooth and the gears slotted in very well, the only problem I encountered was that the 5th & the Reverse gears were a bit hard, will it get solved after running more Kms, or do I need to bring it into the dealers notice, please advise??
Stability & Ride Quality: At the speed of 80 Kmph(is the max is stretched it, as it is in running in period) the vehicle was very much planted and felt very stable, and on the patchy roads of Mumbai, the suspension handled the potholes with aplomb, so satisfied on that front.
AC: Cooled the Cabin very quickly, the Fan Speed was on 2, and after sometime, I lowered the fan speed to 1.
Rear seat Comfort: The angle of inclination for the back seat is different on the Dzire as compared to swift, so it gives a bit more thigh support and the rear seat felt quite comfortable, though the legroom is same as the swift, wished they would have increased the wheelbase to create more legroom at the rear.
*Styling of the Vehicle (Exterior & Interior):
*1. Exterior: The best part of the Vehicle is the Rear styling, it is awesome and looks very good, I love the peeled off look of the tails lamps and raised part of the boot, earlier when I saw the pictures, I thought it is ugly :)) (personal opinion). The chrome grill in the front looks great and gives the vehicle a feeling of a high segment vehicle. All in all the Exterior styling is great and looks pleasing to my eyes, wished they would have changed the front part also just to give it a distintinctive look from the swift. Fog Lamps are a Nice touch, Kelyess entry is a very good feature.
- Interior: It is the same as swift, the difference is that it has a Integrated Stereo system with 2 Speakers in front and 2 in the rear tray which houses the high mounted stop lamp. The instrument Cluster is white lit & Chrome surroundings look pleasing to the eyes. Bottle holder pocket in the rear doors, cup holders etc. are the useful touches which they have provided. The Steering Wheel is Small and Sporty and gives a good feeback and is precise as far the steering feedback is concerned. The Dashboard looks nice, it is same as the swift, wish they could have used the dashboard space well and also the glove could have been a bit spacious, it seems to be small.
The Center Armrest is a very useful feature which they have provided, when there are only two occupants then it is very useful, and if there are three occupants in the rear then you can fold it up and the best part it dosent protrude for the third person in the middle, like it does in the SX4.
*Mileage:
*I had not calculated yet, but will do after I clock say around 300 Kms, by the Tank full to tank full method.
*Summing it Up:
*All in all a great value for money vehicle within this price range and the feature which it provides. some good service backup from tried and test maruti, I own a maruti 800 already, so on the service point of view I can say that.
*Accessories which I installed:
*1. Art Leather Seat Covers.
Floor Mat set.
Leather Steering Cover.
Garware Sun Film (Front, Back and Windows)
*Some of the Cons are mentioned below, which felt can be improved: (Personal opinion)
*1. Quality of plasitcs on the Dashboard, Interior door trims & the Front Grill, you can press it by hand and it feels flexible.
Gear Shift 5th & Reverse is not smooth, may be it gets smoother as I clock more Kms.
Rear Visibility is limited due to the high boot (Planning to get the reverse parking sensors installed).
This is my First review, and please do point out if I am wrong somewhere and waiting for the responses and suggestions from the experts :))
