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Old 25th August 2013, 11:31   #46
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

The discontinuation of the Estilo is a logical and rational move, even if it came quite late in the day. I would have said the same about the A-Star. But after witnessing how sadly the Alto k10 fared on the Latin NCAP test, my respect for the A-Star shot up, though I still hate its terribly cramped rear seat. In its European avatar (Suzuki Alto/Nissan Pixo) with four airbags, the current A-Star got a Euro-NCAP rating of 3-stars. Competitors similar in size and weight such as the Peugeot 107/Citroën C1/Toyota Aygo triplets also got a 3-star rating.

The good thing about the A-Star is that MSIL have not unscientifically modified the car's engine compartment to accommodate the larger K10B engine as the car was designed with this engine in mind.

A sporty two-door A-Star with wider tyres and its engine tweaked to offer more low-end torque would be a good, affordable, safe and fun-to-drive pocket rocket, IMHO.

Last edited by RSR : 25th August 2013 at 11:35.
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Old 26th August 2013, 11:40   #47
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

I have created a rendering of the 2014 Alto based on the YL7 spy pics.
From the scoop pictures I feel that it is a cross between the AltoEV (A-star) revealed in China and the Alto800. It would be a tallboy hatch; maybe not as tall as Wagon-R.


Front View (front Motorbeam.com)


Rear View (Would look in the lines of Japanese Alto, with a small rear windscreen)
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Old 26th August 2013, 11:53   #48
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Re: Maruti axes Estilo

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Originally Posted by vnabhi View Post
I agree with you on the first blunder part. But I find pink to be the only colour that appealed to female members in my family. As regards me, I detest the Estillo's looks, though I heard some owner friends saying that it drives better than the WagonR.
While I agree with you, the logic here says Zen was more sporty and hence, boyish. With the arrival of Zen Estilo and in Pink, the male egos were hurt and they resisted buying the car. I cannot think of any other car maker in India that launched their cars in Pink color. I have nothing against pink, it was the shade that was a problem.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 07:49   #49
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

Maruti Suzuki to hit the brakes on A-Star as sales slip !

Maruti to discontinue Estilo & A-Star EDIT: RIP, both-maruti.jpg

Maruti is to replace the ageing platform with new designs and fuel-efficient engines.

Quote:
Maruti's manufacturing contract for the A-Star hatchback with Japanese carmaker Nissan Motors expires in October. The company has been re-badging its A-Star hatchback as Pixo for Nissan at the Manesar factory for the past five years. Sources said they will supply components for the last few units being rolled out from the factory this month.
Source:ET

Last edited by volkman10 : 22nd October 2013 at 08:11.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 08:01   #50
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

What about the issue of spares. I bought my A-Star AT last year expecting that it would at least stay in production for a few more years. And now it is getting phased out.

I know Maruti will support its bestsellers (Alto / wagonR) with spares for a longer time, but since the A-Star is a slow seller, will availability of spares be an issue? Because after seeing my uncle struggle with spares for his Baleno, I am worried about Maruti's track record in this area.

Last edited by avi550m : 22nd October 2013 at 08:06.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 08:05   #51
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

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Originally Posted by avi550m View Post
What about the issue of spares.
Not an isssue , spares will be supplied for a period of 10 years (min) after a model is discontinued.

More on this refer this thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...nued-cars.html



Cheers!

Last edited by volkman10 : 22nd October 2013 at 08:09.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 10:53   #52
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

I am not sure about Estilo being axer, leave alone the A*. There are currently hefty discounts of approx. 75K on Estilo currently in Bangalore. The monthly sales figures still has Estilo IIRC. Maruti is forbidden from axing models I guess.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 11:27   #53
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

Quote:
Originally Posted by avi550m View Post
What about the issue of spares. I bought my A-Star AT last year expecting that it would at least stay in production for a few more years. And now it is getting phased out.

I know Maruti will support its bestsellers (Alto / wagonR) with spares for a longer time, but since the A-Star is a slow seller, will availability of spares be an issue? Because after seeing my uncle struggle with spares for his Baleno, I am worried about Maruti's track record in this area.
Baleno was a unique case where it didn't share any parts with other Maruti cars.

Since A-Star shares the same engine/gearbox (and most other mechanical parts too AFAIK) with Wagon R and Estilo, most of the parts would be common across these cars and would be available easily.

When it comes to AT, they might re-launch Wagon R AT if they are phasing out A Star. Its unlikely that they'll let Ritz AT be their cheapest AT car. Knowing Maruti, I don't expect them to launch an all new AT gearbox; they'll just plonk the current one from A-Star . That should take care of all the AT related parts. Only issue you might face would be with a lead time for lights/body panels. That too, I don't expect it to be an issue at least for a few years from now.

I still own a '95 Zen and has not faced any issues with parts till date, except the R12 gas for AC which I resolved by changing the parts to use the current R134a. Carb Zen was discontinued in 2000, original jelly bean body in 2003 and the model itself in 2006. So I don't think you need to worry about parts in the near future.

EDIT: Only impact I see is the low resale value for A Star but then, the AT is unlikely to fetch a good price even if the model was in production.

Last edited by zenren : 22nd October 2013 at 11:33.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 12:12   #54
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

When we were on the look out for a hatch, the Estilo was a late contender but provided all that we looked for, a big boot, looks (subjective and compared against WagonR), comfort/convenience (power everything) and top class AC.

I personally feel, it could have been marketed better. A slightly less tall boy design would have done wonders.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 12:18   #55
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

Quote:
Originally Posted by zenren View Post
Since A-Star shares the same engine/gearbox (and most other mechanical parts too AFAIK) with Wagon R and Estilo, most of the parts would be common across these cars and would be available easily.

When it comes to AT, they might re-launch Wagon R AT if they are phasing out A Star.

Only issue you might face would be with a lead time for lights/body panels. That too, I don't expect it to be an issue at least for a few years from now.
Actually good to know. The K10 engine should be easily serviced. Body panels will be an issue. Good then that I went for White, which seems popular. A blue/black panel would be tougher to source. My hope is that since they have exported a lot of A-Star's abroad, they will continue to manufacture spares for them in India.

I would be very annoyed if Maruti launched the AT WagonR now, since I really wanted to buy a wagonR, but bought an A-Star for the primary reason of it being a (relatively) affordable Automatic Car.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zenren View Post
EDIT: Only impact I see is the low resale value for A Star but then, the AT is unlikely to fetch a good price even if the model was in production.
Didn't plan to sell the car anytime soon when I bought it. So not really concerned with resale right now. That's why I am annoyed that it is getting phased out so soon.

If you ask me, having been in wagonR, estilo, older Swift, the A-Star is a relatively solid product for a Maruti. Very underrated car. And unlike the tall boys, it rides and handles well, even at high speeds.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 15:04   #56
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

Quote:
Originally Posted by avi550m View Post
Actually good to know. The K10 engine should be easily serviced. Body panels will be an issue. Good then that I went for White, which seems popular. A blue/black panel would be tougher to source. My hope is that since they have exported a lot of A-Star's abroad, they will continue to manufacture spares for them in India.

.
The body panels are dispatched from factory unpainted. It is then painted with required colour at the service center body shop. So you shouldn't be worried with the colour.
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Old 22nd October 2013, 17:48   #57
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

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Originally Posted by avi550m View Post
My hope is that since they have exported a lot of A-Star's abroad, they will continue to manufacture spares for them in India.
Spares production mandate for phased out models in Europe would be much shorter than what we have in India. So the number of cars exported might not really make any big difference, since they have to comply with the warranty period of even the last car rolling out of the factory.

Btw, not all body panels for domestic version matches with the export version. eg: Rear glass for export version is butterfly type I think and RHS tail lamps include fogs instead of reverse to name a few.

Quote:
I would be very annoyed if Maruti launched the AT WagonR now, since I really wanted to buy a wagonR, but bought an A-Star for the primary reason of it being a (relatively) affordable Automatic Car.
Wagon R had AT in the past and is likely to be the only model of the trio that would not get the axe. With the cheapest Hyundai automatic likely to be Grand i10 soon, Maruti could get into a strong position without much direct competition if they can introduce Wagon R AT.

Quote:
If you ask me, having been in wagonR, estilo, older Swift, the A-Star is a relatively solid product for a Maruti. Very underrated car. And unlike the tall boys, it rides and handles well, even at high speeds.
I found the rear seats of A Star to be too cramped when compared to Wagon R. Unlike Europe where the rear seats are meant for the children, majority of the Indian public expects anything with 4 wheels to ferry atleast 4 full sized adults comfortably. Naturally, the customer expectation about the rear legroom would be at least what Maruti have been giving them so far.

15 years back, me and my brother were students (and much shorter than now) and my dad used to drive with the driving seat pulled up all the way to the front based on his height. So the rear legroom we enjoyed then was the one with front seats pulled all the way to the front. Now, with me and my brother in front seats, there isn't much of rear legroom left. The very same car which had a very generous rear legroom 15 years back is now thought of more as a 2-seater within the family when the younger generation drives!

With the average height of passengers increasing over the years, the front seats are getting pushed back more and more than in the past leading to the effective rear legroom going down much further even if vehicle statistics indicate it as same. So its much more difficult now to compromise on a car with smaller legroom than we could in the past. With Wagon R as an alternative at the same price, its a trade-off between buying a well-handling 2-seater or an okay-handling 4-seater.
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Old 3rd December 2013, 12:14   #58
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

Looking at the monthly sales chart, Maruti has sold 700 Estilos in November.

Mods,
Please remove "EDIT: Estilo axed" from the thread title as the news doesn't seem to be correct!
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Old 3rd December 2013, 14:01   #59
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

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Mods,
Please remove "EDIT: Estilo axed" from the thread title as the news doesn't seem to be correct!
I guess we need to wait and watch. I think the Estilo is to be discontinued soon, so perhaps the title can be corrected to "Estilo to be axed". MSIL may be dispatching the units still left at the factory, or utilising the last bits and parts left over in their input side inventory to put together the last Estilos. The rounded number of 700 also raises suspicions that they are clearing stock.

Automobile manufacturers usually do plant maintenance and production line adjustments in the lean month of December. I bet the Estilo won't be manufactured in January 2014, though any leftover units would still be dispatched to dealers and may show up on the monthly chart.

The title needs to convey to unsuspecting readers (any unaware non-member) that any huge discount from dealers is because they are clearing stocks of an end-of-life model. If they are still interested in buying one, they can bargain even harder to get a great deal.

Last edited by RSR : 3rd December 2013 at 14:03.
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Old 3rd December 2013, 16:21   #60
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Re: Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star EDIT: Estilo axed

Quote:
Originally Posted by zenren View Post
Mods,
Please remove "EDIT: Estilo axed" from the thread title as the news doesn't seem to be correct!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RSR View Post
I guess we need to wait and watch. I think the Estilo is to be discontinued soon, so perhaps the title can be corrected to "Estilo to be axed". MSIL may be dispatching the units still left at the factory, or utilising the last bits and parts left over in their input side inventory to put together the last Estilos.
The title used to be "Maruti to discontinue Estilo, A-star" All I suggested was to remove the additional suffix (EDIT: Estilo axed) that was added to the title based on news reports in August.

MSIL has sold 2300 more Estilos in the 3 months after that and that's too big a number to be just stock clearance.

BTW, We've been expecting 800 to be stopped for many years now but MSIL is still producing it. So I wouldn't believe a news of Maruti stopping the production of a model till they actually stop production and pull the model off their model list.

Quote:
The title needs to convey to unsuspecting readers (any unaware non-member) that any huge discount from dealers is because they are clearing stocks of an end-of-life model. If they are still interested in buying one, they can bargain even harder to get a great deal.
Won't it be even worse if TBHP is conveying an incorrect message/news? Non-members are unlikely to verify the sales number of Estilo in the monthly thread if they see a thread titled "Estilo Axed" dated Aug 2013.

IMO, title should only convey the facts and not mislead anyone going over the forum threads.

I was under the impression that the Estilo production had stopped based on what I saw in this thread long back and told some of my friends that Maruti no longer produces Estilo which was apparently incorrect. Now I need to correct what I told!
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