1100 KM report SX4 ZXI

[rajneeesh]

I took delivery of my black SX4 Zxi on Mar 31,2008 from AutoPace Network Chandigarh( thru CSD Jallandhar). The delivery process was efficently handled and after the small ceremony( photo and sweet box ) I collected my son from my relatives place and set off for Noida a 6.40 P.M.

Positives

1) Great seating position. You can tilt the steering and the driver's seat is height adjustable giving a commanding view of the road.
2) Ergonomically laid out controls and every thing falls in hand easily without having to stretch too much.
3) Great Climate control with excellent rotary controls tha fell great to operate.
4) Equivpment level is good with Climate contol, integrated stereo, fog lamps, ABS, Airbags and hug 16 inch alloy wheels with 205 mm tyres.
5) the car looks agressive with the flared fenders and big alloys and this attracted me to the vehicle.
6) The engine is smooth and powerful and refined.
7) The steering mounted ICE controls are a great boon whilet negotiating the city that is Delhi.
8) Good suspension which soaks up bad roads. The huge grounf clearance is a boon on poor roads. The road holding is good although the steering is a bit low on feedback and the car has significant bodyrol while being drien spiritedly on twisting roads.
9) Good fuel consumpton. 12 KMPL with mostly city driving in 3rd gear and 100% AC. Can touch 16 KMPL on highways .
10) Great boot.


Negatives:

1)The gearbox has some harshness especially whilst engaging the first
gear from neutral.
2) Rear visibilty is poor especially with the rear seat neck restraints obstructing the view. Rear sensors are surely needed for parking/reversing and preventing damage to the bumpers by hitting the roadkerb, stones etc on the road.
3) There is too much tyre noise at speeds over 60 on the highways. Maruti should provide better rubber than JK Vectas.
4) Seating is not good for more than two people on the rear bench seat. This is due to the huge transmission tunnel and the protruding arm rest.

Issues faced:

Sticky indicator control stalk. Switches off automatically only on complete lock.

To summarise:

On the whole I am satisfied with my decision to go in for the car. It is a true VFM package with good comfort, safety and extremely good looks. I look forward tousing it on intercity trips and exploiting the capabilities of the car.

[VJ_MAVRICK]

Great Report there rajneesh and i think SX4 has another satisfied customer and regarding the gearbox harshness some of my pals who own the SX4 too complained about it, but i suppose its not that cranky.

[mobike008]

Nice report. Gald to see the con's at the minimal which means you seem quite happy with the car. 12kmpl with 100% AC is phenomenal average.

[kkdelhi]

Good, nice review, Rajneesh. Top model SX4 has always been VFM IMO.

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

...
Negatives:
1)The gearbox has some harshness especially whilst engaging the first
gear from neutral.

Faced similar issue in my swift early on. Sorted it out by throwing the stick slightly behind at an angle and pushing it forward for the 1st. No issues thereon whatsoever.

4) Seating is not good for more than two people on the rear bench seat. This is due to the huge transmission tunnel and the protruding arm rest.

Hmm...makes it quite a four-seater, doesn't it?

On the whole I am satisfied with my decision to go in for the car. It is a true VFM package with good comfort, safety and extremely good looks. I look forward tousing it on intercity trips and exploiting the capabilities of the car.

Satisfaction is all that counts in the end. Happy driving!

[rajneeesh]

KK,

The SX4 can very well take 3 peope at the rear seat. However if all three people are grown ups and you plan to go for a long drive the middle passenger will be a bit uncomfortable due to the protruding armrest and the high transmission tunnel. As a matter of fact 7 people travelled in my car, 4 grown ups and 3 small kids but it was a short drive. In my opinion if a car is positioned as a 5 seater , all five passangers should be comfortable.

[kkdelhi]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

...In my opinion if a car is positioned as a 5 seater , all five passangers should be comfortable.

Exactly my point.

Does anything prevent Maruti from making the center armrest level with the rest of the seat? Or, is there a reason for that protrusion?

[neoranjit]

somehow I get the feeling that of late there are more and more Sx4s on road. I get to see atleast one/ two during my 4km drive from home to work. ( and yeah, its not the same car that I see everyday )

rajneesh, Congrats ! welcome to the club.

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by neoranjit

somehow I get the feeling that of late there are more and more Sx4s on road. I get to see atleast one/ two during my 4km drive from home to work. ( and yeah, its not the same car that I see everyday )

rajneesh, Congrats ! welcome to the club.

Thanks Neoranjit,

Well in Delhi I see atleast 10 -12 every day although my daily driving is not more than 35 Km. I see a lot of Newly registered SX4' s in Noida where I live.

[mhafeez_13666]

Can someone please let me know whether we can customize the
rear seat of SX4? I mean can't we just slice the Protuding in the middle
and re-stitch it with Beige fabric?

Sorry, I have been thinking hard !!!

My Dad's car decision making cycle as follows
Maruti 800 -> i10 -> Fabia -> Fiesta -> i10 -> NHC -> SX4.

As confused as it can get. . Right now the decision is to book
the SX4 Zxi on Monday.

[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

KK,

The SX4 can very well take 3 peope at the rear seat. However if all three people are grown ups and you plan to go for a long drive the middle passenger will be a bit uncomfortable due to the protruding armrest and the high transmission tunnel. As a matter of fact 7 people travelled in my car, 4 grown ups and 3 small kids but it was a short drive. In my opinion if a car is positioned as a 5 seater , all five passangers should be comfortable.

Well said Rajneesh, I dropped the idea of going for it as my main aim was to seat 5 grown-up people comfortably. As you mentioned the person sitting in the rear centre seat has to keep his legs really apart and might even hinder the ones sitting on his sides. Same way the arm rest does not allow him to sit with ease. A long ride may need cyclic change of person sitting in the middle to make the journey accepable I suppose.

[rajneeesh]

3000 KM update.

Just completed 3000 Km in little over 2 and a half months. Since I am using two cars the SX4 is not raking up the mileage very fast.

I have just returned from a Noida- Rampur- Nainital- Dehradun- Noida trip . In all I covered 950 Km in a week. The car is performing well and is a joy to drive. It is very steady at 120 + speeds and the engine is pretty refined. There is a lot more go available but I prefer to stick to "reasonable speeds". On my way to Rampur, the whole higheway was clogged with trucks and hence had to take to the road shoulder for over 30KM . This was no problem as the high GC and the big wheels gave me the confidence that I would not scrape the underbody . The suspention is firm but compliant. In the first half of the trip ( 600 odd Km) I got an average of 12.87 KM/ litre with a lot of hill driving ( 2nd /3rd Gear), being caught in jams for lon time at a stretch with the engine and AC running.

My observations on the trip.

The car is a good highway vehicle with good grip and an eager engine. It affords high levels of comfort and driving 300 odd Km in a day is not at all tiring. The thick A pillars are bothersome on the twisty hill roads and restrict visibility. The light coloured interiors are a pain to keep clean with 2 kids riding shotgun.

In the last month I have visited Motorcraft one . The reason was thet the car felt sluggish when starting frrom standstil and would jerk and stall in stop go traffic. The folks there recaliberated the throttlebody and th problem has been cured. The poor visibiity while reversing has meant that I have banged the rear bumper on a couple of occassions picking up a few scratches and losing a rear LHS mudflap. The mudflap was replaced at Motorcraft (Rs 347 ). The beading has a problem on the front RHS window. Opening and closing the window, unsettles the lock on the beading . I have had it replaced once during the first service at Marketing Times ( the lock was broken) but the same has not cured the problem. The A.C has starked making humming sound after the U.K trip. I will be visiting Motorcraft later tin the day to have it attended.

I have also placed order for Stanley leather seats, gear boot and knob, Steering wheel cover and door pads yesterday. The colour combination is Butterscotch and red. I also plan to install Xenos parking sensor when the car goes in gor the upholstery work on wednesday and also pick up new mats.

Over all I am satisfied with the Black Stallion and the fact they the MSIL has upped the prices by 9000 afew weeks after I got the car and the Govt jacking up the excise duty by Rs 15000 K last week makes me feel happy about the timing of the decision. ( I can have the leather upholstery and the other upgrades at the price a person picking up the stock car today would be paying).

Moderators please move this thread to the long term reports

[TOR]

Well written report there! Could to post some pictures(especially after the Stanley interior work) and i guess your's is the first 'black' SX4 here. Yes parking sensors are really needed guess Xenos is a good brand.
Also how was your first service experience?
drive safe!

[samrat25]

well done rajneeesh. it was a good review to read ;the both 1000/3000 kms. i do agree with most of the opinions. just a query; how did you find the brightness/intensity of the headlamps?i'm little disappointed with it. any suggestions for the alternatives?
my RHS A-pillar plastic cover has already yanked off!and my black SX4 is just 11 days old;sigh....how do i fix it?

[amit]

Congrats on the car.

How do you find the EPS?

Originally Posted by TOR

i guess your's is the first 'black' SX4 here.

Second actually. Mine is black too .

how did you find the brightness/intensity of the headlamps?i'm little disappointed with it.

I agree with you. The intensity of the headlamps is really disappointing. The fogs aren't that great either.

[vkochar]

Nice review there.

I always thought of the FE of SX4 to be very poor, but your 12kpl is like Wow !!