ZEN ENJOYED A CULT STATUS, MARUTI SHOULDNT HAVE REPLACED WITH ESTILO WHICH CANT EVEN STAND ANY CHANCES AGAINST THIS CAR.

I liked

1. Cute - Jelly Bean Design
2. Driving in city

is a breeze
3. Power steering is excellent
4. Powerful engine and nice brakes
5. Good fuel efficiency
6. Good car to modify with bigger mag. alloy wheels etc.

Didnt Like

1. Too short gear ratios
2. Overall build quality - Typical Maruti build
3. Too small tyres - 12 inch rims similar to Maruti 800, Alto etc.
4. Headlight barely lits the road.
5. Clutch suddenly engages in a sharp manner.
6. Low ground clearance, can rub on speed brakers if driven carelessly
7. Boot space is very low
8. Very flimsy bumper, grill infront of engine

Recently my brother and I gifted a car for my Dad. We were checking out many models in the used car market. We contacted TVS used cars dealer in Chennai and found a 2004 model Zen Lxi. The car had done around 33,000 kms and was in nice condition. We got the car from them after a week of paper work etc and they had done some finishing touches to car too, things like minor dent removal, paint touch up, engine oil, brake oil etc. and basic servicing.

Read on

We took the car on a Sunday morning from chennai and drove it to Kanyakumari (around 750 kms.) This review is written based on this experience. On smooth roads (which was seen very rarely on this route cause a massive widening of highway project is in progress across the entire stretch.) the car cruised happily at 110 kmph (with AC). At this speed we could feel the engine running comfortably without much harshness or fuss. The powersteering gave a very good feel and was nice to drive on both the highway and even when we drove thro some busy towns like villupuram, trichy etc. A/c did a decent job at this summer time in chennai and similar hot places.

As i said most of the route was pretty bad and zen found it difficult to cope up with bad roads. I would attribute it to the small 12 inch tyres and very soft suspension. The car was rattling like anything and we were definitely not happy inside.

Braking system is excellent and I heard that the zen models after 2001 (with MPFI) and with new headlights and tail lights, with the number plate on the rear door came with the brakes which Maruti had borrowed from Esteem. Braking was very good. Best thing I would suggest is to move to 13 inch mag . wheels with slightly wider tyres to better handling and braking.

Headlights were very much below average and we had to upgrade to GE halogen bulbs with a cutouter installed. Then lighting improved by leaps and bounds. Did wheel balancing after the long trip and found that the wheels were grossly misaligned. I would attribute this to the bad roads.

To conclude - I would say that if you are planning to buy a second hand car Zen would be a good choice to get that too the MPFI model which was launched with a bit more powerful engine. (Year 2003 to 2006) . this is the model that Maruti replaced with the Estilo.

Purchase Price (INR):	2,50,000
Dealer Name and City:	TVS Used Cars, Chennai
Model Year:	2004