Team-BHP - Maruti Omni....

Hi,
This is my first post on this forum. I am looking to buy a 4 wheeler and my wife liked the Omni and me too. I have read and seen and know the problem of the safety feature on this vehicle, but somehow the vehicle seems to facinate me, because anyway I will not be going on a race-track!!

Ok, now for my problem. There was in the older omni's a feature near the leg for an air-vent into the vehicle. This would act like a natural AC especially in the absense of a fit AC. I had a look at the new Omni and it does not have the same :mad:. How did Omni miss out on this!!!

What are the other solutions for this to get outside air in, especially to the drivers. I have seen and read about sun roofs. Can a sun roof be fitted to the Omni. I am not looking for the typical sunroof that can be slided back and front, but rather something that buses have got above them, something that pops open up and then lets air come in. Is a fitment like that possible for the Omni and what woudl be the approximate cost.

I stay in Bangalore, if possible kindly suggest me shops where I could go and inquire about this further.

Thanks and awiaitng your responses.

Hi Vincentt
welcome to Team bhp. I am not too sure abt where the air vents disappeared in the new model, but coming to the sun roof, i would suggest you not to go for the one which u have mentioned in ur post, reason.....if not done properly..water could enter into the omni and it could also rust the roof of the omni, and considering the fact that u stay in b'lore, i really do not feel the requirement of sun roof on a omni, but what you can do to reduce the heat inside the omni is to stick some extra thermocool in and near the engine room, which reduces the hot air inside the drivers chamber..

vincentt,
i think you are going to use the van with your family, since you mentioned abt your wife's liking abt the van too.

so i'd suggest you to donot go for omnivan at all.
this is the worst car a family man can have. its seriously risky sitting in this s.h.i.t. piece of metal.

recently i lost 5 of my distant relatives in a mishap between their van and a jeep/sumo/else, dont know exactly wat hit them in night on single lane U.P. highway.

my sincere suggestion to you is to either go for alto atleast, which is safer than M800, which again is a risky enough vehicle to sit in, or, go for Versa, which can give you that spaciousness of a van with lot many other things.
if driven sanely, versa is a very competent vehicle, and one can get fabulous discounts on it! just haggle a bit hard with the dealer.

i m repeating my suggestion, donot go for omni van.

Hi vincent - do not take offense but if you think that safety is only important on the race-track and not on city roads then there isnt much to say.

Its you and your family's lives concerned and with that in mind and for someone who has any knowledge of cars should know that the Omni is crap in most respects and especially in the safety aspect as a family car.

It might be okay only as a cargo vehicle for some errands but not as a family vehicle...You can go for the Versa or other small cars in case there are budget constraints but hopefully you will stay away from Omni and maybe then Maruti will not put out such sheet metal boxes on wheels in the market.

I've owned an Omni myself, Here are the pro's and cons of the vehicle.

First the Bad things.
1. It is an unsafe vehicle, if not driven carefully.
2. The Omni is not a Highways vehicle at all and especially during the nights.
3. It has no A/C.
4. The ride quality is quite bumpy.

Now the good things.
1. For Bumper-to-Bumper Traffic, the Omni is probably the best vehicle.
2. The road view is very clear, probably the best and it outscores all other vehicles in this department.
3. Omni is safe as long as your drive on roads having dividers.
4. I don't need to say anything about the luggage capacity, it is the best in its class.
5. It comes with various Fuel options, LPG, CNG, etc.

If you are buying a vehicle only for city commute, the Omni is a good VFM vehicle. But if you like to go off-roading and Drag Racing, the Omni is not for you.

Weigh the pros and cons and take an informed decision. For Bangalore Traffic, if you do not intend to travel on the outer-ring-road and if you drive carefully on the Koramangala-Domlur Ring Road, the Omni can serve you well.

Omni is not to be used as a family car. That's for sure!

But to say that is a S.H.I.T piece of metal is something overboard. I know of many countries (where safety standards are way higher) in which this gud ol' bread box is sold even today.

What I mean to say is OMNI is still practical for in-city use as a load mover or as a casual van. It can be used for many purposes and will be the most versatile vehicle ever sold in this part of the world for such a price tag.

Never ever think of using this one on the highways. (It should be banned on highways).

Quote:

Originally Posted by vincentt

To each one his own! Well its a pretty unsafe vehicle, but its your life. anyways you can get a front crash guard fitted, which will offer some protection in case of low speed crashes and also make sure you always wear the seatbelt

Quote:

Ok, now for my problem. There was in the older omni's a feature near the leg for an air-vent into the vehicle. This would act like a natural AC especially in the absense of a fit AC. I had a look at the new Omni and it does not have the same :mad:. How did Omni miss out on this!!!
What are the other solutions for this to get outside air in, especially to the drivers. I have seen and read about sun roofs. Can a sun roof be fitted to the Omni. I am not looking for the typical sunroof that can be slided back and front, but rather something that buses have got above them, something that pops open up and then lets air come in. Is a fitment like that possible for the Omni and what woudl be the approximate cost.

I stay in Bangalore, if possible kindly suggest me shops where I could go and inquire about this further.

Thanks and awiaitng your responses.

That fresh air thing was there. Long time back some family member owned one. So without AC, yes its a boon, esp in the rains.
The other option is a sunroof. Sunroof can be easily fitted in the Omni,. In Bangalore you can visit the countless accessory shops. visit the Car accessory forum to find out about reputable dealers who will do such fittings. The cost depends on what type of sunroof you are getting. the bus type sunroof is the cheapest option actually as there are no motors etc., involved, just a simple latch. You can go for that but make sure its lockable from inside due to safety concernes.

It looks like that you are primarily looking for a ride in the city. Well I have owned omni both the previous models, the round headlight and then the square headlights. You need skill to drive it safely, as you know it does not have any frontal protection. But believe me, Omni put all the other cars in its catagory to shame with its go anywhere capability, if it gets a good driver. I personally have done many highway runs in it and never felt nervous by its behaviour. Of course versa is a far better Omni, and I would also suggest you to go for Versa if you can. You can really enjoy driving the Omni if you drive sensibly. Never expect it to do stunts and you you will be happy. And yess, go for the 5 seater version, the last row of seats jump too much in the 8 seater one. Though the new version Omni has done away with the air vent, it has also done away with front drums, which is good news as now you have disks at front.

:) Happy Omniing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumitkalindi

yess, go for the 5 seater version, the last row of seats jump too much in the 8 seater one. Though the new version Omni has done away with the air vent, it has also done away with front drums, which is good news as now you have disks at front.

This change to front disk is indeed great. The older Omni had all four drums and the brakes were one of the constant maintenance items. The 8 seater is one of the major reasons that people get Omni. The Versa sure looks nice but also costs at least a Rs.1L higher. I think the whole suspension setup in the Omni is terrible.

Although I haven't driven it now for more than a year, as long as you don't exceed 90kmph, the Omni does feel stable. You start to feel the buffeting after that. The safe speed on the Omni is probably 70 kmph.

With not many wearing seatbelts in India, I don't think any car is safe past 60kmph. Has there really been a crash test for the Omni so that it can be compared with others? The Toyota Previas used to be mid-engine too and if I recall correctly they didn't have a spectacular crash test scores either.