[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Esteem is a drivers car. So no doubts you liked driving Esteem more than the Baleno?

That is a personal choice 1100D, i drove the baleno for a while, yes the engine was responsive, but i loved the gear ratios in the esteem more than the baleno & i was just not comfortable in the seat too. I was very comfortable in the OHC, BTW. It is a personal thing, some people like the baleno & some like the esteem (No offence meant to either owners).

[narayan]

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

I second you there man! It still looks pretty cool, just that if MUL could add some advanced safety features like ABS & EBD in it along with the ones you'd prefer. They will make it rock even more!

how could u miss the power windows E_ L !!! i remember pulling up up the passenger side glass with my hands with the switch kept on on the drivers side every time !! those power windows really needed a lot of power to move up

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by narayan

those power windows really needed a lot of power to move up

exactly why they are called power windows. Yes, it is a pain in the esteems. My passenger seat PW literally has to be pulled up till a certain point.

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by narayan

how could u miss the power windows E_ L !!! i remember pulling up up the passenger side glass with my hands with the switch kept on on the drivers side every time !! those power windows really needed a lot of power to move up

This is a very common issue with most Maruti cars. The vendor is suppling bad quality components. I doubt if its RD power windows that is the OE supply.

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Esteem is a drivers car. So no doubts you liked driving Esteem more than the Baleno?

I wouldn't say that, they are two very very good cars (not because I own them), but in my opinion, Esteem is a great driver's car in that segment.

Baleno is definitely a better car to drive, as I mentioned before, it would be very harsh on them to be compared with each other.

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Very true, but after seeing the quality of the interiors in many of the much hyped & latest cars, i feel the esteem interiors even if they are not modern at least they have substance & quality. wonder why maruti did not do the same to swift & the SX4.

Yes, compared to cars like Logan, Indigo and other cars in its segment, I really prefer the Esteem interiors. I'd like to see few more refinements in the dash and door panels. It's just my opinion!

[esteem_lover]

The quality of the dash material is far far superior to the plastics that maruti has put in the latest cars. It is soft compared to the knock knock sound you get from the latest marutis.

[ravibhat]

Yes I agree about Esteem's quality and driver's car word. Many of my folks who drove esteem told me its far better than many modern cars. Only disappointing point according to them is build and PW. Esteem has many +ve points. Very nice entry level sedan which is one of the best MUL cars ever.

Regards,

Ravi.

[AMATMO]

i think i mixed my post with that of mail4ajo,i will post it again

[AMATMO]

mail4ajo,
but the discontinued the qualis while it was selling good numbers didnt they?and replaced it with innova.if they wanted they could comfortably sell qualis.and qualis was a pure vfm
and my statement was definately not loose,go ahead ,name any cars manufacturer in the country who is selling same design from 1994
even the outdated corolla we have now is not very old.the corolla has i evolved alot from the time maruti offered us maruti 1000 in 1994-1995.
even hyundai and ford are replacing vfms like ikon and accent
then why be partial to the esteem which is even older?

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

The quality of the dash material is far far superior to the plastics that maruti has put in the latest cars.

@e_l, you are definitely refering to old Esteem. IMO, interior plastic quality has deteriorated in later Esteems. I recently replaced my a/c grill, and man, the new one feels so cheap.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Or maybe they require a kick from Ford and Hyundai who also have not done anything to Ikon and Accent, except for stripping the numbers of versions to just one. Dont think they plan to do anything to their entry level sedans for some time.

I think its like them waiting for someone to make the first move. Personally, i feel that it would be Maruti who would do so, but owing to their capacity constraints, they would hold on for a while. Till that happens, these will continue to sell/exist.

Ford and Hyundai have limited the versions in this segment to just one so as not to eat into the sales of their C segmenters.

[smartmundu]

here we are talking about the positives of Esteem....but one has to think about age of a vehicle...now its almost 17years Maruti is manufacturing this model

now this model must phase out so that we can see some new model in the same segment

[supremeBaleno]

I would like the manufacturer to pull the plug on a car, if it is not as efficient as its peers or been left behind by them when it comes to performance or FE or safety or eco-friendliness. Given the fact that the Esteem's peers are nowhere near it on any of these params, inspite of the Esteem being much older than them, I see no real logic in phasing it out.

I used to love the Esteem's looks for years. But over the years, got bored and also did not like the cosmetic exterior changes made by MUL. So, better looks is the only thing I find lacking, if at all. But if today I had between 4-5 lakhs for a sedan, it would still be the Esteem without a doubt.

Originally Posted by DCEite

A car is not just about "TANK like build quality" or "reassuring thuds". Performance, fuel efficiency, After sales network, easy availability and cheap cost of spare parts, are equally important parameters. And thats where Maruti eats the competition.

Well said. Sums up the magic of Esteem, that lives on even after a decade of being here.

Originally Posted by rocksterraghu

I have a Baleno Lxi 2005 that has no ABS, Airbags and has only hydraulic power steering and cost me 6.7+ on road.

My Lxi is also 2005 vintage and cost me only 5.8L onroad. I know that taxes in K,taka are higher than TN, but still 90K more is too much.

If the Lxi was 6.7L, how much was the Vxi and base model NHC at that time ?

[sathya_nars]

Few posts talked about Swift sedan. Even if it comes, what segment will it target? Premium sedan (SX4 already there) or entry level (Esteem)?

No manufacturer has two models in same segment unless the features/target customers are altogether different (say, WagonR & Estilo; Getz & Santro).

Swift sedan won't compete with SX4, SX4 is already killer for other manufacturers, why will MUL introduce something to compete with just launched baby which is already VFM?

If we consider Swift sedan competes with Esteem, then Esteem market share will go away. The only possibility could be Swift Sedan replacing Esteem.

But MUL needs to price it accordingly well below SX4 satisfying Entry level sedan segment customers.

But Swift is already priced closer to entry level sedan segment, how can Swift sedan stay at price tag similar to Ikon/Accent - unless features are reduced drastically this is very difficult.

hmmmm, interesting.