[saket77]

According to the latest in news, India's top car maker by sales & market share, the behemoth- Maruti Suzuki could revive its good old brand name Zen in the form of a new sub-compact SUV, which may sit just below the Vitara Brezza in the product line-up.

The rumoured car is said to be the ConceptFutureS, which was showcased by Maruti Suzuki in the Expo 2018 (TBHP link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post4352258)

Coming to brand revivals, MS has successfully revived brand Baleno in recent past and now it's eyeing one more such revival on similar lines. The trust and fan following that the Zen brand name commands, may just help MS in achieving it.

Though, there is no official communication regarding the same by the manufacturer as of now.

Link to Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/aut...again/1195697/

Regards,
Saket.

[Img Source: TBHP Coverage of Maruti Suzuki in the Auto Expo 2018]

[dieselburner]

It will be a great move by MS if they revive Zen. Zen has enjoyed a great brand name in early 2000. With the success of reviving it's old horses SX4 & Baleno, MS must be confident enough to revive this also.

[Tanveer02]

While it will be a great thing to revive a brand that has enjoyed so much success in the past from the business perspective, I personally wouldn't want to see the image of the Zen changed from a cute, low slung and fun to drive hatchback to a compact SUV or anything of that sort. There are many on and off the forum who would agree, specially those who are cult followers of the brand. The Baleno and SX4 were a different situation since they don't have the cult following that the Zen has.

If they want to bring the Zen, bring the same old jelly bean Zen with the cute looks and driving manners but with better safety tech onboard. But I guess the 1Litre category is already dominated by the Celerio and K10.

Just my thoughts
Cheers

[aaggoswami]

Already, Maruti tried to play around with "Zen" nameplate once, but not with much success. In my view, Swift is the ideal replacement of Zen. Fun to Drive, not the best boot or rear seat but a car with a soul. While I dont refute the fact that Swift is not as much fun as it was earlier, it still comes closest to what Zen was while attending to contemporary trends.

For once, let "Zen" remain as it is. And if it needs revival, bring something that's more fun with a larger turbo engine. To me, Swift Sports can carry Zen nameplate. Another option would be next generation Celerio as Zen and give it a turbo petrol while retaining entertaining dynamics, a car with a soul.

With Baleno's success, they might be tempted to revive Zen, but its not practical. Baleno didn't have a long, successful run as Zen had. Maruti might be confident, but I wish that Zen nameplate doesn't have another mundane run it had in Zen Estilo format.

[SmartCat]

I hope they don't mean this "Zen" -



Zen was cool & powerful then because the alternative (singular) hatchback was a bit pedestrian. I know, because we owned both Maruti 800 and Maruti Zen (purple, with power steering!) in late 1990s. But now we have lots of options to choose from. So "reviving a brand" is meaningless to Indian customers.

But looks like "reviving a brand" is a big deal for marketing folks at car companies.

[giri1.8]

Frankly not sure where the new zen is going to be placed in the market. Ignis I drove recently had all the character of a Zen, except for the odd looks of-course(which I actually like).

Other option could be to upgrade the current Alto K10 in all aspects and slap the Zen badge on it.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by smartcat

But looks like "reviving a brand" is a big deal for marketing folks at car companies.

Yes it seems to be the in-thing now after reviving the Baleno to a super successful Baleno Hatchback.

After ZEN will come Kizashi speculated for the Toyota Corolla from Maruti Suzuki.

[chiranjitp]

As a fan (& owner) of the old Maruti ZEN, I am happy on seeing the prospect of the brand 'ZEN' making a comeback. The brand 'ZEN' along with the brand 'ESTEEM' have a big fan following in the Indian car market, both among enthusiasts & non-enthusiasts. These 2 cars were status symbols back in the 90s & early 00s.

Having said that, I am not quite sure of the name 'ZEN' being used for an SUV. For most of us ZEN stands for a low slung, nippy, fun to drive, good looking car. The Estilo which tried to capitalize on the brand 'ZEN' was a failure, mainly because it didn't have the characteristics of a ZEN. Maybe Maruti could launch a hatchback between the Celerio & the Ignis powered by the 1.2L k series engine. The Celerio & Ignis aren't really fun to drive cars, hence I think there is a space for a low slung, good looking, fun to drive car between these 2 cars. Even higher up the Maruti range, the new Swift isn't the sporty car its predecessor was.

Here is a photo of my 01 ZEN, still one of the better looking hatchbacks:

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by smartcat

I hope they don't mean this "Zen" -

Attachment 1768856

Yeah that Zen(Especially in Pink color) did its best to ruin all the brand value of the original Zen(i remember color Yellow)

Welcome move by Maruti. Zen sounds like a perfect name for the Micro SUV concept they showcased.

[Leoshashi]

Welcome move, but Zen should be a low slung, tight handling car with a revv happy engine and a subtle design which ages well. Not a sub 4M SUV. Period. Anything else will be a cardinal sin, just like the Estilo was!

[glikithvinayaka]

Could this be to rival the said revival of Santro?
The first one Zen was nicknamed the Jelly bean because of its wide body and low roof height, but i think the next one the one we all dislike the estilo the tallboy zen might be the one to be revived if it will be fighting the Santro(initially the tallboy).

[Flyer]

The thought makes sense. The name Zen is synonymous to ''small, cute and fun to drive car'' to every Indian. Now Maruti wants to smack a similar impression in the minds of Indian customers about their new, small SUV, which in real life would look similar (competition) to Renault's Kwid. A good car from Maruti with the ZEN badge and half the job is done. So i think Maruti have made a right choice here.

This car is anyway going to outsell all its competition to become the segment leader, irrespective of its name!

[selfdrive]

It looks like they are running out of names for cars; what with so many launches with boot cutting/ country specific launches etc.

Mahindra is milking the UV name dry with prefixing letters. Honda is going bonkers on the RV suffix. Tata is running out of fancy names so will likely revive Sierra/ Gypsy/ Safari. Maruti reworking their Baleno and now Zen. It is at least better than coming up with weird names like Creta.

The marketing people must be those who go to have breakfast at overhyped/ overrated places due to nostalgia and forget the actual quality of food. We have a couple of such places in Pune; I am sure this would be the case in other cities too

What name comes up next? Esteem/ Astra/ Siena?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Welcome move, but Zen should be a low slung, tight handling car with a revv happy engine and a subtle design which ages well. Not a sub 4M SUV. Period. Anything else will be a cardinal sin, just like the Estilo was!

Ideally Suzuki should have got in the Zen instead of Celerio. Make Celerio a bit more low slung/sporty and probably push it to Nexa as they don't have a 1.0 offering in the Nexa. Would have made a killing!

[libranof1987]

I don't see the harm in reviving the name. Save for the Estilo, Zen has had pretty good success.

Maruti doesn't have to worry about any baggage of the name or the legacy. If the product is good, the name shouldn't matter. Baleno and Vitara (Brezza) are prime examples. Despite the earlier and current having no relation whatsoever.