New Zen Estilo Launched

shuvc · 7th December 2006, 10:49

Went to receive my car from it's 3rd service and lo, there were 2 estilo's being prepared for the launch today. A blue and a red. I'll jot down whatever little I was able to observe.

It was after sunset .. Sat in it briefly. Driving position felt good. However, although I am 6'2" I had difficulty viewing the bonnet. All the driver can see is the base of the windscreen. Will need some getting used to.

The dash looks wide and big and gives a big car feel. Plastics felt good. Dash dials and lights are nice and bright - a bit City Vtec type I think. Ingress and egress is very easy. Headroom is good.

IMO the Matiz is still a better looker. The profile of the Zen reminds one of a scaled down Innova. The tyres look very small. This also has a front quarter glass, just like the new Baleno .. doesn't look too odd though. OVRM is quite big.

OT - The guys said that the Baleno should be launched early next year.

chilled_fire · 7th December 2006, 10:57

Hey guys !! Is it just me or can anybody notice that the new zen looks like a scaled down version of Toyota innova ?

vigsom · 7th December 2006, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat

The strategy is for the Wagon R to take o nthe taxi market from the Omni and let the Zen partially ill the Wagon R niche...using very little extra resources

The Omni is "invincible".Maruti tried to woo Omni customers into upgrading to the Versa.I believe this failed.

Taxi owners do not care much for safety.

I believe it is the vehicle price that tilts scales in/against favour in that segment.Price the Versa at under 3l and people will run for it.

Josh · 7th December 2006, 11:23

^^ yup u are not alone... Also a bit of Swift

CrAzY dRiVeR · 7th December 2006, 11:53

Innova is a newer design than the MR wagon...

So, put it this way... Innova looks like a bigger version of the estilo...

satishfaction · 7th December 2006, 11:56

Yes.. It does look like a mini Innova.. especially the skirted red version.. And the best part is it does not have the UGLY feeling that innova used to give initially (the extreme stretched look of Innova in the side profile!). IMO, As like NHC & Innova the shape will be digested real soon and it is a good mix of luxury, safety (airbags + ABS) & space under 4Lakh price range. I am sure the target segment of '20+ & -30' would embrace this car and will be a big hit.. Though I personally feel that the car should be more powerful but I guess this car address the target segment in the BEST WAY! Look out for the sales numbers and this car will give Santro a run for its money!!

GeekSrik · 7th December 2006, 14:34

hey all

today i had a chance to go to bimal motors to check on the estilo. we were five friends and went to the showroom after our lunch. much to our expectation there were two estilos parked inside, a blue one and a striking red one. what i saw in the live telecast of the launch versus this was quite different. i ll try and summarize a few points here:

1. The front part (bonnet area) is more or less as similar as wagon r. The curvy headlamps almost extend upto the front doors almost! and they are cute to look at.

2. Open the bonnet and you find all the mechanics very neatly arrange and it shows off the 16V engine of the car. Contrary to 800 the bonnet open switch is a pull towards you mechanism more than a toggle kinds

3. I didnt quite find the boot opener switch anywhere in the car atleast near the drivers seat.

4. First i decided to sit behind instead of the front. The space behind is amazing for a tiny car like that. Its much much better than Santro. But Estilo is strictly a four seater. Perhaps a kid will fit as well in the back but no more.

5. The upholstery is not exactly exciting but its neither boring.
6. The rear seats do not have 40-60 fold option which might not be so good.

7. Now to the front of the car. The front space seems ample and good enough compared to the wagon R. the dash board itself is deep and extends much to the front when compared to the wagon R. It has good cubby holes everywhere to put your things.

8. The side railings on which you place your hand is much more than a handle and it often disturbed me when moving my hand around. The power window switches follow an arranged geometry and look bland and uninteresting. the door handles are of filthy quality plastic (perhaps like a plasticized version of the ford fiesta handles) and can break anytime easily.

9. the door has that reassuring thud that you would find in the likes of swift or palio so that sounded a bit comforting.

10. Now over to the drivers side. the car has an EPS which looks of good color and grade (3 spoke). Of the three pedals at the bottom, I found that the level of the accel pedal is much lower than that of the brake or the clutch which is really disturbing. It can and is susceptible to cause lots of pain each time while switching from accel to brake. The gear shift is long like the versa but nicely padded with lots of art leather, which does not hide its otherwise sticky nature.

11. the gear shift itself is very very uninteresting. the feedback is sick and not like the swift or santro if you know what i mean. its high time maruti sticks to shorter shift sticks. and the gear shift is slightly to the left which means if you have a girlfriend, you can feel her along while putting the gear

. another thing is that when i was on the drivers seat, i found the gear shift to be slightly behind my normal hand position (this i felt in aveo too, but not in palio or 800 or even fiesta) - could be an irritant for some.

12. the boot is defnitely big, bigger than santro i can say or atleast of same size if not less. but the boot has no depth like the one in swift its all in one plane.

13. the rear light assembly looks good contrary to what it looks like on webpages. its all clear lens standard. The wheel size looks smaller for that car although some upsizing must be possible. anyday the swift looks macho in this area!!

So in all, if you are the types who want macho image, with good tyres, good gear shifts and driving pleasure, forget estilo and head for swift, but if you are the family types of four people looking for a raised high mounted vehicle with good view and smaller to handle with loads of back space, perhaps estilo is the one you should die for!

I m really sorry that at this moment i dont have pics, but if i do manage to get some close up pics i ll post them over.

prakasse · 7th December 2006, 17:04

Hi,

I had a look at Zen Estilo just a few hrs back at Bimal, Blore.

Here are my comments.

1. Front view: Looks great and sexy. Front dooms look great

2. Rear view: looks like a combo of Wargon R + ALto. Maruti could have done better. It looks ugly and the tails lamps are small

3. Side view : Ok, but can be improved by having railings on the top

4. Rear seat: Very bad, its very straight and leg room not that great. Thigh support is minimal. definitely not for long drive. The amount of cushioning is also very less. Wonder this is what we call VFM

5. Front : Ample leg room. Stearing same as that of WagonR. its good. EPS should do wonders. Dial is in non standard colors. Dash bord is good. But looks like it has taken much of the space in front. the cup holders are not that great. It takes the form of an ash tray. Good front view though the A pillar might be a bane while U turn. Also one cannot see where the bonnet ends. So difficult to judge the turn in hill drives

6. Gear: Knob is same as that of Swift. But the play is too much and bit rough with long throws. The gear shift seems ok and a bit better compare to Wagon R.

7. Engine: No test drive. But the engine position looks like it occupies atleast30% of the inside cabin. So during crashes Drivers leg and front passengers leg need to be protected

. But to my surprise maruti has neatly arranged the parts inside bonnet. I browsed thru Suzuki Mr. Wagon R specifications and looks like its a 996cc delivering 64 bhp. Why didn't maruti retain the same engine. That could have given higher FE.
Here we have 1061 cc delivering the same 64 bhp???

8. Wheels: Looks Very small.

9. Audio console: Good that maruti placed on the on the top. So one need not bend down to adjust audio during driving. Also i am happy that Maruti had decided to give spaces for rear speakers(Door) and front speakers by default. Not sure if the connect wires are there.

10. Price: OTR Blore: LX : 3.73lk, LXi: 4.01lk VXi: 4.27lk Vxi(ABS): 4.6lk
Even if you book now you will get the car deliverd in January only.

We could see that the price is 20k less than wagon R. One shouldn't mind paying that 20k extra and get more space. Also you get LPG variant too in wagon R bringing down your fuel bills and pollution. So my vote will be for Wagon R. But if you are going for stylish looks then Estilo is good. But i feel it's more of a ladies car.

By January Chevy UVA should be out and it has 74 bhp. Lets see how it competes with low pricing strategy of maruti.

Thanks,
Senthil.

esteem_lover · 7th December 2006, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by chilled_fire

Hey guys !! Is it just me or can anybody notice that the new zen looks like a scaled down version of Toyota innova ?

yeah...and doesn't the WagonR look like a scaled down version of the Tempo Traveller ? They can be called as Mini SUVs

CrAzY dRiVeR · 7th December 2006, 18:14

In japan, MR wagon has a 660cc turbo, i think...

Please correct me if wrong...

mail4ajo · 7th December 2006, 18:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by chilled_fire

Hey guys !! Is it just me or can anybody notice that the new zen looks like a scaled down version of Toyota innova ?

My not-so intelligent friend said that the Estilo looks as if the Innova just delivered it like a baby.

No offence meant to Innova or prospective Estilo owners.

prakasse · 7th December 2006, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

In japan, MR wagon has a 660cc turbo, i think...

Please correct me if wrong...

In japan, MR wagon has a 660cc turbo, i think...

Please correct me if wrong...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Suzuki MR Wagon information, specifications, history, and images.
the link says 996 cc with 74 bhp

hawkeye · 7th December 2006, 19:39

Just had a look at the car at a local showroom. The VXi in red was on display there.

The car looked really good from outside especially in red, but I wasn't too happy after getting inside the car. The dashboard & door trims looked too much plasticky despite the two tone color treatment and beige allover. The doors did not shut with an assuring thud. Sitting in the car, I felt somewhat cramped. The seats lacked proper thigh support and not much of legroom at the rear but, the headroom was generous and the boot too seemed spacious. It looked really TINY compared to a SWIFT next to it.

The standard catalog also displays a red estillo with skirts, spoiler and bumper add-ons which looked hot. But the choice of alloys by Maruti displayed on the brochures and banners in the showroom was plain YUCK.

GeekSrik · 7th December 2006, 20:54

hawkeye

i ve been driving an 800 so perhaps the door's thud did impress me. of course the doors of swift and palio are better without second thought. the dashboard is in most cars plasticky unless you are the types whod buy a skoda or something ...

cramped is defined on what your height is. mine is 5'9" so for me i did not feel so bad. dunno about yours! estilo can never match the swift. the tyre profile, macho looks et al are enough for swift to take the cake.

Equus · 7th December 2006, 21:25

I dont like the looks of it a whole lot, although as an overall package its very attractive.

Wonder whats Maruti's strategy here. This sure looks like its going to chase the Santro numbers and/or Xeta. But the (newer & uglier) WangonR will be taking a big hit too. Hell, it might even be dead but for the Duo.

Suzuki have a wider WagonR - anyone knows if thats on the cards?

7th December 2006, 10:49	#121
shuvc Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 2,913 Thanked: 352 Times View My Garage	Went to receive my car from it's 3rd service and lo, there were 2 estilo's being prepared for the launch today. A blue and a red. I'll jot down whatever little I was able to observe. It was after sunset .. Sat in it briefly. Driving position felt good. However, although I am 6'2" I had difficulty viewing the bonnet. All the driver can see is the base of the windscreen. Will need some getting used to. The dash looks wide and big and gives a big car feel. Plastics felt good. Dash dials and lights are nice and bright - a bit City Vtec type I think. Ingress and egress is very easy. Headroom is good. IMO the Matiz is still a better looker. The profile of the Zen reminds one of a scaled down Innova. The tyres look very small. This also has a front quarter glass, just like the new Baleno .. doesn't look too odd though. OVRM is quite big. OT - The guys said that the Baleno should be launched early next year.
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 10:57	#122
chilled_fire BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Thane Posts: 63 Thanked: 0 Times	Hey guys !! Is it just me or can anybody notice that the new zen looks like a scaled down version of Toyota innova ?
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 11:23	#124
Josh BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 27 Thanked: 2 Times	^^ yup u are not alone... Also a bit of Swift
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 11:53	#125
CrAzY dRiVeR Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore / TVM Posts: 17,181 Thanked: 73,511 Times View My Garage	Innova is a newer design than the MR wagon... So, put it this way... Innova looks like a bigger version of the estilo...
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 11:56	#126
satishfaction Newbie Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 24 Thanked: 0 Times	New Estillo.. Yes.. It does look like a mini Innova.. especially the skirted red version.. And the best part is it does not have the UGLY feeling that innova used to give initially (the extreme stretched look of Innova in the side profile!). IMO, As like NHC & Innova the shape will be digested real soon and it is a good mix of luxury, safety (airbags + ABS) & space under 4Lakh price range. I am sure the target segment of '20+ & -30' would embrace this car and will be a big hit.. Though I personally feel that the car should be more powerful but I guess this car address the target segment in the BEST WAY! Look out for the sales numbers and this car will give Santro a run for its money!!
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 14:34	#127
GeekSrik Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,281 Thanked: 22 Times View My Garage	Estilo opinions hey all today i had a chance to go to bimal motors to check on the estilo. we were five friends and went to the showroom after our lunch. much to our expectation there were two estilos parked inside, a blue one and a striking red one. what i saw in the live telecast of the launch versus this was quite different. i ll try and summarize a few points here: 1. The front part (bonnet area) is more or less as similar as wagon r. The curvy headlamps almost extend upto the front doors almost! and they are cute to look at. 2. Open the bonnet and you find all the mechanics very neatly arrange and it shows off the 16V engine of the car. Contrary to 800 the bonnet open switch is a pull towards you mechanism more than a toggle kinds 3. I didnt quite find the boot opener switch anywhere in the car atleast near the drivers seat. 4. First i decided to sit behind instead of the front. The space behind is amazing for a tiny car like that. Its much much better than Santro. But Estilo is strictly a four seater. Perhaps a kid will fit as well in the back but no more. 5. The upholstery is not exactly exciting but its neither boring. 6. The rear seats do not have 40-60 fold option which might not be so good. 7. Now to the front of the car. The front space seems ample and good enough compared to the wagon R. the dash board itself is deep and extends much to the front when compared to the wagon R. It has good cubby holes everywhere to put your things. 8. The side railings on which you place your hand is much more than a handle and it often disturbed me when moving my hand around. The power window switches follow an arranged geometry and look bland and uninteresting. the door handles are of filthy quality plastic (perhaps like a plasticized version of the ford fiesta handles) and can break anytime easily. 9. the door has that reassuring thud that you would find in the likes of swift or palio so that sounded a bit comforting. 10. Now over to the drivers side. the car has an EPS which looks of good color and grade (3 spoke). Of the three pedals at the bottom, I found that the level of the accel pedal is much lower than that of the brake or the clutch which is really disturbing. It can and is susceptible to cause lots of pain each time while switching from accel to brake. The gear shift is long like the versa but nicely padded with lots of art leather, which does not hide its otherwise sticky nature. 11. the gear shift itself is very very uninteresting. the feedback is sick and not like the swift or santro if you know what i mean. its high time maruti sticks to shorter shift sticks. and the gear shift is slightly to the left which means if you have a girlfriend, you can feel her along while putting the gear . another thing is that when i was on the drivers seat, i found the gear shift to be slightly behind my normal hand position (this i felt in aveo too, but not in palio or 800 or even fiesta) - could be an irritant for some. 12. the boot is defnitely big, bigger than santro i can say or atleast of same size if not less. but the boot has no depth like the one in swift its all in one plane. 13. the rear light assembly looks good contrary to what it looks like on webpages. its all clear lens standard. The wheel size looks smaller for that car although some upsizing must be possible. anyday the swift looks macho in this area!! So in all, if you are the types who want macho image, with good tyres, good gear shifts and driving pleasure, forget estilo and head for swift, but if you are the family types of four people looking for a raised high mounted vehicle with good view and smaller to handle with loads of back space, perhaps estilo is the one you should die for! I m really sorry that at this moment i dont have pics, but if i do manage to get some close up pics i ll post them over.
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 17:04	#128
prakasse BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Blore Posts: 112 Thanked: 48 Times	First Impression Hi, I had a look at Zen Estilo just a few hrs back at Bimal, Blore. Here are my comments. 1. Front view: Looks great and sexy. Front dooms look great 2. Rear view: looks like a combo of Wargon R + ALto. Maruti could have done better. It looks ugly and the tails lamps are small 3. Side view : Ok, but can be improved by having railings on the top 4. Rear seat: Very bad, its very straight and leg room not that great. Thigh support is minimal. definitely not for long drive. The amount of cushioning is also very less. Wonder this is what we call VFM 5. Front : Ample leg room. Stearing same as that of WagonR. its good. EPS should do wonders. Dial is in non standard colors. Dash bord is good. But looks like it has taken much of the space in front. the cup holders are not that great. It takes the form of an ash tray. Good front view though the A pillar might be a bane while U turn. Also one cannot see where the bonnet ends. So difficult to judge the turn in hill drives 6. Gear: Knob is same as that of Swift. But the play is too much and bit rough with long throws. The gear shift seems ok and a bit better compare to Wagon R. 7. Engine: No test drive. But the engine position looks like it occupies atleast30% of the inside cabin. So during crashes Drivers leg and front passengers leg need to be protected . But to my surprise maruti has neatly arranged the parts inside bonnet. I browsed thru Suzuki Mr. Wagon R specifications and looks like its a 996cc delivering 64 bhp. Why didn't maruti retain the same engine. That could have given higher FE. Here we have 1061 cc delivering the same 64 bhp??? 8. Wheels: Looks Very small. 9. Audio console: Good that maruti placed on the on the top. So one need not bend down to adjust audio during driving. Also i am happy that Maruti had decided to give spaces for rear speakers(Door) and front speakers by default. Not sure if the connect wires are there. 10. Price: OTR Blore: LX : 3.73lk, LXi: 4.01lk VXi: 4.27lk Vxi(ABS): 4.6lk Even if you book now you will get the car deliverd in January only. We could see that the price is 20k less than wagon R. One shouldn't mind paying that 20k extra and get more space. Also you get LPG variant too in wagon R bringing down your fuel bills and pollution. So my vote will be for Wagon R. But if you are going for stylish looks then Estilo is good. But i feel it's more of a ladies car. By January Chevy UVA should be out and it has 74 bhp. Lets see how it competes with low pricing strategy of maruti. Thanks, Senthil.
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 18:14	#130
CrAzY dRiVeR Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore / TVM Posts: 17,181 Thanked: 73,511 Times View My Garage	In japan, MR wagon has a 660cc turbo, i think... Please correct me if wrong...
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 19:39	#133
hawkeye BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 190 Thanked: 12 Times View My Garage	Just had a look at the car at a local showroom. The VXi in red was on display there. The car looked really good from outside especially in red, but I wasn't too happy after getting inside the car. The dashboard & door trims looked too much plasticky despite the two tone color treatment and beige allover. The doors did not shut with an assuring thud. Sitting in the car, I felt somewhat cramped. The seats lacked proper thigh support and not much of legroom at the rear but, the headroom was generous and the boot too seemed spacious. It looked really TINY compared to a SWIFT next to it. The standard catalog also displays a red estillo with skirts, spoiler and bumper add-ons which looked hot. But the choice of alloys by Maruti displayed on the brochures and banners in the showroom was plain YUCK.
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 20:54	#134
GeekSrik Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,281 Thanked: 22 Times View My Garage	hawkeye i ve been driving an 800 so perhaps the door's thud did impress me. of course the doors of swift and palio are better without second thought. the dashboard is in most cars plasticky unless you are the types whod buy a skoda or something ... cramped is defined on what your height is. mine is 5'9" so for me i did not feel so bad. dunno about yours! estilo can never match the swift. the tyre profile, macho looks et al are enough for swift to take the cake.
	() Thanks

7th December 2006, 21:25	#135
Equus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,123 Thanked: 423 Times	I dont like the looks of it a whole lot, although as an overall package its very attractive. Wonder whats Maruti's strategy here. This sure looks like its going to chase the Santro numbers and/or Xeta. But the (newer & uglier) WangonR will be taking a big hit too. Hell, it might even be dead but for the Duo. Suzuki have a wider WagonR - anyone knows if thats on the cards?
	() Thanks