Jan 10, 2007 12:36 PM
10786 Views
I have always been on the lookout for cars that come out in the < 4.5 lakhs segment and it interests me to no end to see the competition that is coming up with new players like Mahindra Renault, Chevrolet Spark(the new Matiz) dur with their own additions in early 2007.
The latest addition to the stable is the Maruti Zen Estilo. Supposed to be a successor to the Zen, one of the most successful cars to have come out of the Maruti bag, this one had a few points to prove. Having taken a test ride on the same, I can give a third party view of the newest addition to the Maruti Family.
The first thing that strikes you is the amazing semblance it has to the erstwhile daewoo Matiz. Not bad in looks and points to Maruti for having improved the interiors which has always been a problem with all Maruti cars including the Swift. The Estilo has nice beige interiors and you dont get that cheap plastic feeling like in the Esteem, WagonR and the Swift. The engine is peppy and is responsive to touch. Since its nearest competitor is the Santro, let us have a little side by side comparison.
The santro definitely looks the more expensive of the two and has better interiors even today. One of the greatest points in favor of the Santro is the gearbox. Solid and firm in your hands, it is a dream. Not so with the Estilo. The gearbox still remains a problem and for those who cry about it in the WagonR, sorry guys, the woe continues!
The plus point for the Estilo is the drive quality. The engine is responsive and one good point above the Santro is that it has EPS(Electronic Power Steering). The Santro has Hydraulic steering which means u get more tired with the steering in the Santro than in the Estilo. Moreover, with EPS, the benefit is that it draws power from the battery in the Estilo rather than the engine in the santro. So the pressure on the engine is definitely less in the Estilo. One nice thing id like to mention is the smoothness of the Estilo engine. I could not even make out that it was running! One point to counter that is also that this was a new car I was driving so the true sound of the engine can only be determined after a minimum of 1000 kms.
One nifty feature in the Santro thats missing in all cars of the Maruti family is the ability to just use the clutch as an accelerator in the first gear. Let me explain. When u r in stop and go traffic, you start off in 1st gear, then move to 2nd, if the trafiic stops then u come back to 1st and so on. Whenever u do that in a Maruti, u need to move to gear 1 and apply the accelerator to make the car move forward. But with the santro, all u need to do is to go to 1st gear and leave ur clutch slowly and that allows the car to move forward. SO you dont need to use the accelerator at all in stop and go traffic. This is very useful for people like me in Bangalore who are used to a lot of traffic jams. very very useful and full points to Hyundai for such a cool feature.
Moving on to space, the Estilo is a bit cramped for space and you wont have as much legroom in the back seat. My friend sitting in the back seat told me the ride wasnt as good at the back as in the Santro.
I would have preferred that Maruti didnt use the Zen name for this car. It is definitely female in looks and does not give you that male punch you got with the old Zen. Honestly, I would have preferred the older Zen anyday!
My overall verdict: its a good car but not one to die for! The santro is definitely better when we consider the whole equation and if you want to buy a new car and are not in a hurry, remember: the Chevrolet Spark(the new Matiz) is due in March 2007. So hold on to your money till then and u might land up with a better deal.
