[Carophilic]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

The Zest MJD has offers the same engine, much higher levels of tech and features, great FE (same engine afterall), good looks, and balanced ride/handling. Yes, the kerb weight is more but then does it matter to the end buyer. BTW, Zest offers AMT in its Diesel avatar which the DZire "still" does not.

The only thing missing ("in terms of a complete package") is the Maruti Suzuki tag. (...and having a Tata Motors tag is the nail on the coffin).

Not denying that the DZire is a good car (must be, if it sells so well), but honestly, if both cars were offered by the same manufacturer would you realize the accuracy of the statement = "Zest is not a complete package".

My dear friend, Do drive the Zest and Dzire around before you say ride and handling is better in Zest. Also, the same engine argument is unsustainable as Maruti has somehow mastered this engine even better than FIAT did, let alone TATA. Real world and rated FE figures are both better in Dzire, largely due to lower kerb weight and engine tuning.

I discounted AMT because the volumes that can actually be supplied to Market are still very low. But you've got a point there. In any case, even Dzire is rumoured to get AMT soon.

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

Do drive the Zest and Dzire around before you say ride and handling is better in Zest. Also, the same engine argument is unsustainable as Maruti has somehow mastered this engine even better than FIAT did, let alone TATA. Real world and rated FE figures are both better in Dzire, largely due to lower kerb weight and engine tuning.

Never claimed the Zest has better Ride/Handling. Said it has a balanced ride/handling (confirmed by the Team BHP review). ARAI ratings for the MJD version are 23 kmpl (zest) v/s 23.4 kmpl (Dzire) - not even a 2% variation.

As I said, i do not intend to belittle the Dzire. But as a complete package - Zest is not too bad either.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

not too unattractive looks

I agree with you on all other points but not this

Let's forget the "looks are subjective" cliche for a moment and let me ask you this - of the current offerings, is there a car that is more 'unattractive' than the Dzire?

[ambujlal]

Originally Posted by ravradha

Surprise! We see hatch gaining share amongst cars! Is this a starting of reversal in trend? More people moving from two wheelers to cars - preferring hatch? Or it's the lack of parking space? Or Its the economy ?

This is interesting and I can relate to it. From set to buy an SUV to now looking for a good hatchback or a compact sedan, I realized that our cities are not meant for big SUVs for the sheer lack of parking space and narrow roads. My brother bought a lodgy last month, upgrading from a 14 year old hatchback. Now the lodgy is mostly parked because it takes much more time to find a parking space for it and they are now looking for a small hatchback with Nano automatic leading the race. Small cars or compact sedans make much more sense. Elite i20 numbers speak the story for the presence of premium hatchback market.

[arun_josie]

Dzire numbers are getting better and better, this shows the trust that Maruti has created among the customers. Last week my friend was not satisfied with the service done by MASS. He raises a flag during the customer feedback call and within few hours, the Customer Relation Manager, Service Adviser and Technical expert were in our office to address his concern. This is where Maruti scores big time I feel and it shows in their sales numbers as well. Also, customers in this mid segment and lower segments are more conscious about the after sales service, Fuel Efficiency, Resale value etc. in which Maruti scores good as well.
In my opinion, looks definitely takes the back seat in this 4M sedan category.

Sad to see the number of Zest and Bolt.

Fiesta now stands behind Linea.

Originally Posted by CarNerd

Instead of publishing the car sales figure on a monthly basis, it would be appropriate to have it every 6 months or every quarter at the minimum. That will show a broader picture of the sales trend.

One of the chart includes the sale numbers during the last 6 month as well.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

Never claimed the Zest has better Ride/Handling. Said it has a balanced ride/handling (confirmed by the Team BHP review). ARAI ratings for the MJD version are 23 kmpl (zest) v/s 23.4 kmpl (Dzire) - not even a 2% variation.

As I said, i do not intend to belittle the Dzire. But as a complete package - Zest is not too bad either.

A small correction there!!

Dzire ARAI FE is 26.59 km/l for DDIS.
Dzire 1.2 K Series 20.85 km/l.

[@KP]

Are Polo sales boosted by their very lucrative Finance offers? I saw an ad mentioning that the rates start from as low as 3.99%

[GTO]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

Standard warranty offered by Maruti on Alto K10 is 2 years or 40K kms. Standard warranty offered by Tata on Nano is 4 years or 60K kms. Does this extra 2 year warrantly help you instil double confidence in Tata Motors?

No. I still believe that an Alto will work out more reliable / durable in the longer term (comment made after seeing Altos & Nanos with high mileage).

I see your point though. I'm a BIG believer in warranties and feel that it shows the manufacturer's confidence in the product. But warranties aren't cheap. They cost big $$$ to the manufacturer. Tata was forced to offer 4 year warranties on the cheapest car in the world because of market conditions (and not necessarily its bullet-proof reliability).

Toyota offers a 3 year warranty on the Innova. Mahindra offers up to the 5th year on the XUV500. I can guarantee you that if you pit 100 Innovas vs 100 XUV500s, the reliability score will be 98:2 in favour of Toyota.

Originally Posted by ravradha

Surprise! We see hatch gaining share amongst cars! Is this a starting of reversal in trend? More people moving from two wheelers to cars - preferring hatch? Or it's the lack of parking space? Or Its the economy ?

Largely driven by the B-segment hatchbacks (cars like the i20, Swift etc.).

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Fiesta now stands behind Linea.

The difference is, ford trying not to sell and it still sells, while for fiat, it is otherwise.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

Do drive the Zest and Dzire around before you say ride and handling is better in Zest.

I upgraded my Swift VDi to Zest Revotron 6 months back. And it's literally an upgrade in all terms. The ride quality is definitely a notch better than the Swift. (I guess it will be the same for DZire as well)

The interiors and plastics are well put together in the Zest along with better infotainment systems.

Coming to the buying and service experiences :
The Prerana Motors lalbagh road showroom is leaps ahead of Sagar Motors and Kalyani(Bannerghatta road), Pratham Motors (Sarjapur road), Mandovi Motors (JP nagar)

The staff are polite, knowledgeable and offered very good levels of hospitality of the likes of Maruti /Hyundai.

The service has been excellent. The booking, service and followup have been very good.
The Service Manager at Concorde Motors has met and spoken to me personally on the service done. Don't remember even once this was done during my 7 year ownership of my Swift! Not that it was required, but just highlighting the change in approach by Tata Motors.

To sum it up, personally, in Bangalore, I have seen Tata Motors performing at par with Maruti/Hyundai in buying and service experience.
And the icing on the cake, I drive a better packaged car (in its segment) in the form of Zest. I'm really not very worried on the small loss of FE in the crawling traffic on Bangalore roads. On highways, Revotron returns 18-20kmpl! What more do I want?

[FuelInjector]

33 Ventos for May seems abysmal. VW needs to do something different here.

Like @arun_josie said, Maruti's service is pretty good. I just did my Honda service and was a little shocked at the difference between states. Bangalore was pretty good, Coimbatore was very average.

the recent rate cuts hopefully might help the figures through the rest of the year?

[kkkkkaran]

Originally Posted by FuelInjector

33 Ventos for May seems abysmal. VW needs to do something different here.

They have stopped production of the current vento, so those 33 cars are just stock clearance. This has been done to make way for the new facelift next month

[Car Architect]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

You know while dissing the Dzire, people very conveniently forget its ride, handling and FE capabilities. Members, pls do not consider general paying public as fools who blindly buy a Maruti. The Dzire package consists of the MJD, low kerb weight, high FE, decent levels of tech, not too unattractive looks and superb ride and handling.

Nobody argued the fact that the Dzire doesn't have capable ride and handling with good fuel efficiency. They rightly pointed out its fair share of weakness such as the lack of space (which a very serious draw back) inferior quality, equipment list etc; and thereby questioned the monopoly which it enjoys being a Maruti, over the other very capable compact sedans.

Originally Posted by Carophilic

Praise the Xcent / Zest as much as you like. They just are not the complete package.

This is the best quote of the day!! You have just written off two capable products without even providing any concrete analysis and here you are, blaming others for not having credibility while disproving dzire!!!! Oh what an Irony.

Originally Posted by Carophilic

My dear friend, Do drive the Zest and Dzire around before you say ride and handling is better in Zest. Also, the same engine argument is unsustainable as Maruti has somehow mastered this engine even better than FIAT did, let alone TATA. Real world and rated FE figures are both better in Dzire, largely due to lower kerb weight and engine tuning.

Sir, I have driven all the cars in the segment and the Zest's ride quality is definitely much better than the Dzire at any given speed and surface. Agreed, Dzire handles better but the Zest is very competent in this area.

In the real world, zest's MJD tuning offers better tractability than the Dzire's unit and is also very efficient and Punchy.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by Car Architect

Nobody argued the fact that the Dzire doesn't have capable ride and handling with good fuel efficiency. They rightly pointed out its fair share of weakness such as the lack of space (which a very serious draw back) inferior quality, equipment list etc; and thereby questioned the monopoly which it enjoys being a Maruti, over the other very capable compact sedans.

This is how it started I guess:

The only thing that goes in favour of DZire is that its a "Maruti" and the competetion has atleast one engine variant that does not fair well (the Diesels on Xcent and Amaze and the Petrol on the TATA) when compared with the DZire. Whereas both the engine variants of DZire offer decent performance and fuel efficiency. But i again re-iterate, overall an Xcent or an Amaze is a better product than DZire. But these are not Marutis. Hope you ge the point.

Lack of space, inferior quality, equipment list in Dzire? Compared against what? The Dzire carries most of the equipments offered by other manufacturers in this segment and offers better engines delivering higher mileage as well. If anything it is the Amaze that loses out mostly when compared against the other cars in the segment.

The space in the cars in the segment are more or less the same as well. None would offer exemplary space as they are restricted by the 4M length restrictions.

Maruti After sales service is a major trump card for them and one which is rightly earned.

[@KP]

Originally Posted by kkkkkaran

They have stopped production of the current vento, so those 33 cars are just stock clearance. This has been done to make way for the new facelift next month

Yes. Wait for the facelift launch and coupled with their attractive finance schemes, expect the Vento to do a steady 1000-1500 units sales