[ankurvirmani19]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that the rear legroom is more in this version?

I don't think there is much change space wise in the vehicle. Only interiors have been changes and certain exterior accessories have been added to the car.

However, seem to be a promising vehicle.

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

Under 4lakhs rupees OTR, A star is a good drivers car if it has tyres like Michelin or Yoko's etc. I dont think you get the figo or beat within 4lakhs after all discounts, plus the F.E is brillant. Not a single person i've heard who gets below 16km/litre, some guys do get 21km/litre too.

Totally agree with you, I own A-Star and its a fun to drive vehicle. In City conditions I normally get average around 17-18 kmpl.
On highways, it gives more than 20 and at time 21. Its truly a driver's vehicle.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by misquitas

If I am not mistaken, Maruti burnt its fingers with the old WagonR, when it introduced those wonderful 50:50 split seats, which could be reclined back (one of the first in a hatchback at the time).

Were the rear-seatbacks reclinable or the rear-seat base could be pushed back (like front seats) or was it both ? The reason I ask this was that in 2005 when I bought the Baleno I was actually looking at a WagonR and apart from liking the car and the way it looked, one major attraction was what the sales-guy demo-ed to us about the seat configuration. He set the front passenger seat and the seat behind it in such a way that it resembled a bed-like flat reclining position. So, if you were 3 guys travelling, one of them could actually lie flat on these 2 seats as in a bed. Was really woved about that feature then. I don't think this feature is available on the WagonR today. @CrazyDriver, does your Waggy have this feature ?

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

When I pushed for exchanging the 'tyre+rim' with another A-star in the yard, I was told that Vxi and Zxi has different spec tyres. Is this true?

Nope. Its the same tyres (155/80 R13) for all variants.

Originally Posted by invidious

Is there any particular reason why they don't ship the Zxi with the autobox?

I would think "Cost". Add 40-50K for the AT-box to the Zxi and you have the price going above 5lakhs - not many would find the car VFM at that price. Also the i10-AT Sportz would then comparitively seem a better buy for the consumer even though it won't have the ABS and airbags that would come on the ZXi-AT.

@dheepak10 - thanks for the credit. Those stats were compiled by me.

BTW, driver-seat height adjustment is now available on all variants (Zxi, Vxi, Vxi-AT) except the Lxi, which takes care of one of the main issues with the car - low driving position. Wish they had it in LXi also.

Another thing is that ABS+EBD is available in both ZXi and VXi-AT, which AFAIK makes it the cheapest car available to have ABS and EBD.

[ganeshram]

Back in 2008, when I was looking for a small car for my wife, I had 3 major items on my must have list:

1. Airbags
2. ABS
3. Driveability

I was never a fan of Wagon-R and Estilo, prely because of their boxy looks(No offences meant). They didnt sport ABS/Airbags either. I had 2 options, I 10 and A star. Finally ended up buying an A Star ZXi for 4.5 lakhs(1 lakh cheaper than the I 10).

I still am happy with my decision. Some observations:

1. Boot space is inadequate. But since this is the second car, mainly for missus to commute to office, it has never been a major issue.
2. It is fun to drive. I have driven my friends's Wagon-Rs and found that the A Star is definitely more FTD.
3. Excellent fuel efficiency.
4. AC is powerful and adequate.
5. Tyres are not the best.
6. ZXi did not come with alloy wheels, which was a let down.
7. One of the best interiors from Maruti. The plastics dont look too cheap. The stock audio system blends well with the entire scheme.

A Star, the global replacement for the Alto was never positioned that way in India. It was just another small car from the Maruti stable. Even the salesmen were not too enthusiastic about pushing the A Star.

Hopefully the new model does well. But these features alone will do no good to the car. Maruti needs to position this car properly, else it will continue with its poor sales performance.

I would recommend this car to anyone looking for a small, easy to drive and fuel efficient hatch.

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by ganeshram

Back in 2008, when I was looking for a small car for my wife, I had 3 major items on my must have list:

1. Airbags
2. ABS
3. Driveability

I was never a fan of Wagon-R and Estilo, prely because of their boxy looks(No offences meant). They didnt sport ABS/Airbags either. I had 2 options, I 10 and A star. Finally ended up buying an A Star ZXi for 4.5 lakhs(1 lakh cheaper than the I 10).

The zen estilo always had ABS plus driver airbag as an option on VXi since its launch in december 2005. The WagonR VXi had ABS plus dual airbag option since april 2005.

[ganeshram]

Originally Posted by sidindica

The zen estilo always had ABS plus driver airbag as an option on VXi since its launch in december 2005. The WagonR VXi had ABS plus dual airbag option since april 2005.

My bad

But in any case these 2 were did not make it to my list because of the looks, as I had mentioned in my previous post.

[pgsagar]

Spotted this aberration in Yahoo news coverage of new A-Star. Check out the pic. It's an AT and it got a clutch pedal and the brake pedal also is not wide, as is usual in AT cars. Now, how the heck is this possible? Wonder if it is photoshopped pic. MUL couldn't have supplied this pic. So, Yahoo guys resort to such tricks? At least the guy doing this should have had some knowledge about cars as to avoid such paradoxial situations.

[kippu]

pgsagar , nice catch ... but i saw the same in the official brochure supplied to the dealers through mail, a bit confusing

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by kippu

pgsagar , nice catch ... but i saw the same in the official brochure supplied to the dealers through mail, a bit confusing

Now that's really news to me. Company supplied brochure showing this? What can I say? Also, the pedal position in the above pic is weird even by MT standards. The clutch pedal is too far left, kinda like coming out of centre console.

[dheepak10]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Now that's really news to me. Company supplied brochure showing this? What can I say? Also, the pedal position in the above pic is weird even by MT standards. The clutch pedal is too far left, kinda like coming out of centre console.

Well, from the information that I could gather from various sources on the internet, the "clutch-looking" pedal is most likely the parking brake.
Many of the classic automatic cars used to have this feature - The parking brake is foot mounted ,and has a pedal the same size and uses the same rubber cover as the clutch and brake.

Hope this helps!

[tazmaan]

I only have one pedal which is the brake pedal and a conventional hand brake. There is something wrong with the pic.

I am glad I got my A star last month as I am fed up with beige interiors on Innova and Accord the black feels different. (Not that I hate beige)

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Spotted this aberration in Yahoo news coverage of new A-Star. Check out the pic. It's an AT and it got a clutch pedal and the brake pedal also is not wide, as is usual in AT cars. Now, how the heck is this possible? Wonder if it is photoshopped pic. MUL couldn't have supplied this pic. So, Yahoo guys resort to such tricks? At least the guy doing this should have had some knowledge about cars as to avoid such paradoxial situations.

The clutch pedal is photoshopped. The angle its put in the pic is not how the pedal is in the car. The multimedia guy must've tried to correct the image given to him


Anyway, glad to see the lapbelt being replaced by a 3 point belt for the rear center passenger. Hope its not a photochop improvisation.

[glenrox]

Frankly speaking this upgrade doesnt make much of a sense at all. Im not saying this as i'm using Astar from over 2 years now but due to the below:

Small features which would have made a big difference:
1. Day & night feature on IRVM (as someone pointed out earlier)
2. Larger ORVM
3. Rear wash & wiper
4. Driver seat height adjuster (which was included only later)

The only useful feature I see here is the 50/50 rear split seats and the alloys finally on Zxi varient. I'm not a fan of biege interiors and believe will be a pain to maintain.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the quality of interiors as I have not experienced any rattles at all till date (owe this to major chunk being exported) nor have I come across any unhappy astar users yet. I've witnessed friend's swift with power window switches falling off and the door panels literally sounding like empty vessels.

For all those who crib about the rear leg space and boot space, heck I've never found the need for this till date and the day I find it I'm sure to look for an upgrade to another segment. For the moment it serves me well for my requirements which is more of city runs for 2 and occasional weekend trips.

Maruti could do well to sell this more as a lifestyle product in metros as it has lot of things going for it. FTD and fuel economy being its USP. No alloys for ZXI till date amazed me. The ones listed by me still not included makes me feel MSIL has no real plans with Astar for its Indian market and this upgrade is done just for the heck of it.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by glenrox

The ones listed by me still not included makes me feel MSIL has no real plans with Astar for its Indian market and this upgrade is done just for the heck of it.

I think Maruti will not care about the domestic sales of the A-star until the export market is strong. When the next generation of the Alto is launched globally, exports of the current A-star will die. At that point, we can expect Maruti to cut prices and use the A-star to replace the Alto.

[Crazy4.Cars]

i do not think the A star will ever replace the alto in india unfortunately. Its a good car without any doubt for 2 people and small children, 4 medium size adults are more comfortable in a Alto than A star, and the boot of alto is better.

Driving position of alto is better, and power to weight ratio of alto k10 is fantastic.

MSIL will get a new product to replace the alto, A star can not replace it.

[eyesice]

I personally think the A-Star is a perfect driver's car for a beginner. Although the K10 has a better power to weight ratio, the A-Star seems much more planted on the road and you can confidently drive it. It's sad that the official TBHP review for this car deems it as a bad purchase ( although it has a disclaimer on top ). It would be great if more A-Star owners come up with better reviews.