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Smokin' hot Kizashi wearing a matte-finish white paint job. The Kizashi may be ridiculously over-priced, but it's got one proportionate design:
The Tall-Boy section!
Kei cars are the mini automobiles of Japan exclusively, designed to pack the maximum amount of interior space in a small foot-print. The Japanese Government offers plenty of support to this category of vehicles, including several tax benefits. Kei Cars have strictly enforced restrictions on their physical dimensions and engine capacities; that's why they are generally powered by small 600 - 700 cc engines, some with turbo-chargers. These cars will win no beauty contest with their quirky designs (some bordering on the strange), but should find acceptability in our practical-oriented country. Maruti is currently exploring the feasibility of an India launch.
The Palette SW runs a mere 3,495 mm in length. The 658cc 3-cylinder petrol engine is mated to a CVT Automatic transmission. This car is based on the Wagon R platform:
Funky interior is in tune with the awkward, unusual exterior design. Notice that there is no gap between the front seats, due to the gear shift's unique positioning on the center console. The foot operated hand-brake is also moved out & into the footwell:
Legroom is surprisingly good for such a small car. However, these cars are very narrow, making lateral space best for 2 only:
Sliding doors on both sides. Getting in & out of the car is effortless:
Reasonable boot space. Plus, the rear seat does fold down in a 50:50 split:
Looks outright ugly from most angles. Imagine an Indian'ised version without the glossy paint job, spoiler and thin tyres:
The bigger Solio, on the other hand, gets a 1.2L K-series (naturally aspirated) petrol. It is also based on the Wagon R platform:
Available in FWD & AWD:
Sliding doors on both sides for easy ingress / egress:
CVT Automatic transmission. Again, notice the unique van-like gear lever position that frees up space for front seat occupants:
Respectable legroom:
With the rear seat folded away, the flat bay gives you enough room to move house:
The MR Wagon is also a small kei-class car with a 3-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine (though an N/A version is available at a lower price point) and a CVT Automatic:
Boxy on the outside....
And boxy on the inside. I quite like the dashboard design:
Seating capacity is for 4 only. The audio system is a touch-screen unit:
Conventional door design (unlike the sliding doors of the cars pictured above):
The other kei-car appeared to have better legroom. Notice the flat floor:
The Automatic A-Star Cabriolet was a hit with the women (squeals of
"soooooooooooooo cuteeeeeeee" were heard every 120 seconds):
This 2-door A Star gets a soft-top:
Maruti is obviously hooked on to facebook (like 99% of the country...I fall in the other 1% BTW). You could "like" any of these concepts:
Overheard a mother telling her child
"Any more junk food & I'll take you to the Omni Cuppa". What on earth was Maruti thinking when they decided to get this ugly contraption to the Auto Expo. Small mercy that it was parked away in a corner:
Someone at Maruti has good taste in alloy wheels...
...though the same cannot be said about their hideous taste in exhaust tips:
An Alto K10 that looks like the pocket rocket that it really is. Gotta love the subtle body kit:
A garishly done up Swift:
The Raid Gypsy was parked so much on the inside that no one would even notice it:
The SX4 Crossover, available with a 150 BHP engine, 6 speed box & AWD:
Horrible choice of body paint? Check. Tasteless body kit? Check. Gawdy stickers? Of course:
Add LCD and voila, you have a new concept for the Auto Expo! Thankfully, no visitor even bothered with this poor show car:
Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Auto Expo 2012 Section!
Dissappointing fare by the Country's leading car co. A non beleiver like me is praying on knees to prevent them from bringing all those to India.
Great coverage of the Auto Expo! My first auto expo as a member of Team-BHP (I joined in Feb 2010), and I am enjoying it immensely thanks to a very dedicated and well organised Team here at Team-BHP. Keep up the good work!
And finally got to see the Kei cars up close. And felt very sad for the lone gypsy :(
Oh christ! What the hell is that?! What era is Maruti targetting these vehicles for - the dark ages?
Apart from the A-star (imagine what days have come!) and maybe the SX4 crossover, nothing is worthy of being put on the road.
Ridiculous offerings from Maruti. What are the chances these will see light of the day?
The Matt White Kizashi and the Grand Vitara were done up by Arush,Autopsyche.
Nice to see 14inch Wheels fitted on the A-Star.
Though the Eeco and Omni look hideous.
I don't want to imagine how these kei-cars, especially Palette, will behave on our highways. Fortunately, these small engines may not push these cars to high speeds. Does Japan have straight highways?
How come the wipers of Solio are not resting horizontally?
Disappointing! I hope half the cars shown here never see the light of the day. I wouldn't be caught dead in any of the vehicles shown here,except the Gypsy,Alto K10 and the SX4 crossover.
Lousy,bland and uninspiring. Depressing,I dare say:Frustrati.
That A-Star looks OK, but interior colour combination looks ugly. May be full-black interior look good.
Almost all Maruti vehicles look ugly to the core!
Maruti / Suzuki is successful in finding new lows in aesthetics and design. Really bad looking vehicles overall
Except for the Kizashi, nothing else amused me in their stables. Boxy designs all over? Seriously? The specs for the SX4 crossover looks nice, why dont they get it for the sedan in here?
The A-star looks kinda cute, would attract many female drivers.
All of the kei cars have a small plastic projection in the center of the rear seats. Even if the looks are somehow miraculously digested by the Indian mango people (crossing my fingers and hoping they are not), this projection might enforce the fact that this is a four seater in the back, which might not go down well.
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