[Shreyas_H]

I was stuck in a traffic jam yesterday and there was a blue Spresso next to me for quite a while.

I must say, while I initially really disliked the design looking at the pictures, I thought it looked smart on the road. It's a baby Brezza from the front and seems to be reasonably spacious and tall for most average Indian passengers.

This will be a top consideration for first time car buyers and also for people looking to get a nice small second car to zoom around the city.

Maruti has another money-maker in their kitty for sure.

[fz_rider]

Can we put a poll, asking how many people had a change of heart, after seeing S-presso on road ?
I suppose it will be majorly positive response.

[vinair]

Concur that! Have seen couple of bright Orange ones and it does look pretty cute on the road! It's kind of cartoonish and trust that works in its favour!!

A decent set of broad tyres should enhance the looks a bit further! Nice choice of colors I should say!

[five46]

Originally Posted by fz_rider

Can we put a poll, asking how many people had a change of heart, after seeing S-presso on road ?
I suppose it will be majorly positive response.

I would say the poll should be for a change of heart in the S Presso itself to that sweet 1.2L engine that does duty in Swift/WagonR/Baleno.

Then it will be more positive. We TBhpians love more bhp. Looks be damned

[New_Kid_Jay]

I swear that Maruti can potentially sell a gearless bicycle with the k10 for 2 lakhs if it wanted.

No offense, But my opinion: Maruti's way of saying, we can sell anything.

Disgust aside, I presume this car will have tremendous body roll thanks to its absurd height and those excuses they call tires. Can anyone confirm?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

I swear that Maruti can potentially sell a gearless bicycle with the k10 for 2 lakhs if it wanted.

Have you driven the car to arrive at such a conclusion or is it purely based on looks?

Trust me, I hated the design and pics too, but one extensive TD and I was pleasantly surprised that neither the car feels awkward in person, nor is it without any virtues. I mean who are its competitors? Alto K10, Kwid? Apart from looks which are anyways a personal preference, the S Presso is much superior than Alto when space management and comfort is considered, and mechanically(engine, gearbox) superior to the Kwid twins.

When Kwid was launched, I was sure that it would dethrone Alto and initially it did give Alto a strong fight. When an outdated Alto can eventually sell more than Kwid, the far superior S Presso will easily outperform its competition and may be even dethrone Alto.

Regarding handling, yes its not a corner carving machine, but then does its target customer looking for such attributes in his/her car? For any sane purpose, the car is very much stable. The tall height does bring some body roll, but its never unnerving. It feels much better than say a Nano or Old WagonRs.

Nevertheless I'd like to know what made you hate the car so much.

Regards,
Shashi

[self_driven]

Saw an orange one on the road today! It exudes a youthful vibe, kind of like the bright green Chevrolet Beat of the past. If not for the name, I wouldn't mind buying one in a discreet dark colour as a city runabout.

I'll also add that it looks much better in person than in pictures. Yes, the dimensions are ungainly but otherwise the styling is inoffensive. Even the Alto twins do not sell for their looks, do they? Engine and mechanicals are the strong points and that's carried over to the S-Presso as well. It's a good compromise between an Alto and a WagonR.

[New_Kid_Jay]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Have you driven the car to arrive at such a conclusion or is it purely based on looks?

Trust me, I hated the design and pics too, but one extensive TD and I was pleasantly surprised that neither the car feels awkward in person, nor is it without any virtues. I mean who are its competitors? Alto K10, Kwid? Apart from looks which are anyways a personal preference, the S Presso is much superior than Alto when space management and comfort is considered, and mechanically(engine, gearbox) superior to the Kwid twins.

Of course it'll have better space management than the Alto. Its 'bigger' for a reason. If Kwid sells 10 million units of the same engine and gearbox combo even they would have superior mechanicals. We give too much credit to MS. They've been mostly disappointing in the mechanical department through this decade.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

When Kwid was launched, I was sure that it would dethrone Alto and initially it did give Alto a strong fight. When an outdated Alto can eventually sell more than Kwid, the far superior S Presso will easily outperform its competition and may be even dethrone Alto.

Of course, it does. The mistake kwid made is sent its car for crash testing when it knew that it would get a zero. Their corporate ethics are better than MS by a mile. It might have kept outselling if they didn't do that and concentrated on their profits and ASS. They actually work on the car to make it better. The only excuse people give to not buy a kwid is safety.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Regarding handling, yes its not a corner carving machine, but then does its target customer looking for such attributes in his/her car? For any sane purpose, the car is very much stable. The tall height does bring some body roll, but its never unnerving. It feels much better than say a Nano or Old WagonRs.

There are two targets for this car: the city drivers who are looking for an easy city car and the others. You do realise the others will try to munch highway miles in this thing. The new WagonR already has a problem with highway speeds and this one's no different. Another thing to worry about on the road.

And yes it'll feel better than the old nano and WagonR. Those are decade old-cars. You can't compare it to them.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Nevertheless I'd like to know what made you hate the car so much.

I don't hate quirky cars or kei cars. I love the old Waggy and A-star. I also want to own an Isetta

There are hundreds of ways the same mechanicals could have been packaged better. This is a pathetic attempt for a 'quirky' car design.

If they made it cute instead of trying to mimic the Compass, I'd have more respect for this car. The only redeeming quality is how they designed the centre console. But they had to Maruti it with those A/c controls.

Regards,
Jay.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

Regards,
Jay.

Well, Renault did not send Kwid purely because of their heightened professional ethics. GNCAP buys cars from manufacturers and tests them.

You can curse Maruti for the looks of Spresso, but there is no car in that price range with better mechanical package. Kwid is just an eye candy. Drive one which has run over 30k km and compare it with a Maruti K10B. You will understand.

Maruti is already laughing it's way to the bank, having sold 10000+ copies of this ugly duckling last month.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

Their corporate ethics are better than MS by a mile.

Oh! Really? I didn't know that. Can you please give more examples of their "better corporate ethics" other than the "C(K)aptur" saga?

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

It might have kept outselling if they didn't do that and concentrated on their profits and ASS. They actually work on the car to make it better.

Ok, what actually improved in the new Kwid other than the looks? Engine? Gearbox? Chassis? Driving dynamics?

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

The only excuse people give to not buy a kwid is safety.

And then going for a Maruti / Hyundai? Do you know the safety ratings for the new Santro and WR?

Also, are you saying no one is pointing about the service, spares and mileage while omitting Kwid from their list?

IMO, the main reason people are buying Kwid is its charming looks. And there may be a second reason - people who hate Maruti for reasons (when compared to the rivals) even they don't know.

[2000rpm]

Saw the car on road. Hated it to the core. I think a Auto Head first enthusiast can live with the car because it is practical and all that. No way an Auto Heart first enthusiast can like the car from a looks perspective.

But its a Maruti and nothing beats their sales channel.

Its in the same league as the Wagon-R, Ignis and Ritz category (considered ugly but very practical cars). But all these cars were not wanna-be cars. S-Presso is!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

Their corporate ethics are better than MS by a mile.

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Oh! Really? I didn't know that. Can you please give more examples of their "better corporate ethics" other than the "C(K)aptur" saga?

Or selling the Dusters with the same faulty injectors, despite tons of Duster having an injector issue. They know, but will neither acknowledge nor rectify. They prefer their customer to be stranded at some remote/desolate stretch and than [maybe] change it under warranty.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

There are two targets for this car: the city drivers who are looking for an easy city car and the others. You do realise the others will try to munch highway miles in this thing. The new WagonR already has a problem with highway speeds and this one's no different. Another thing to worry about on the road.

And yes it'll feel better than the old nano and WagonR. Those are decade old-cars. You can't compare it to them.

Hey Jay! Boy did you throw a rock at a hornets' nest by saying so many things negative about Maruti. Many of them true even!

But in reality some things are mathematical certainties out there. There is no match to the K10B. Period. Like you said - Maruti can actually send a bicycle with that engine and people will buy. The reason - the engine is that good indeed! So Suzuki's mechanical mastery is pretty much beyond doubts. Its been 2 decades now and not a single car maker from any origin has managed to make a petrol engine upto even 1.2L that is better on all aspects than Suzuki's. And that's something!

Maruti isn't promoting driving these kei-spec cars on highways at 120kmph. These are city cars. Its us morons - the unread customers - who take cars in the B1 segment on the highways to race with Volvo buses. Its not Maruti's responsibility then is it? Customers should take a calculated decision in buying a car. If they pull out stunts with the SPresso (or any other car!) it sadly falls in the category of "natural selection" I'd say.

As a shopping/office/school run car - the SPresso, Celerio, WagonR K10, Alto - are all pretty good. And unchallenged.

We can't say its Maruti's fault that other car makers are not able to make cars that are good and reliable enough for these purposes. They come up with a KWID that sounds like a lawn mower or a Nano that makes people feel they are the poorest in the world.

(P.S. - I'm not a fan of the car as such. If I were shopping in ARENA, I'd still pick the Celerio.)

[PrideRed]

I haven't driven, nor I intend to, but on road this car looks quite good. Especially in red and white color. Looks out of the box and definitely stands out.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by New_Kid_Jay

...
There are two targets for this car: the city drivers who are looking for an easy city car and the others. You do realise the others will try to munch highway miles in this thing. The new WagonR already has a problem with highway speeds and this one's no different. Another thing to worry about on the road.

...

I noticed that you have skipped Leoshashi's question about whether you have driven the S-PRESSO. So I am assuming that you haven't.

I drove it for 100+ Kms over 2 days, most of which was on highways. Yes, it's not a corner-carving hot-hatch, but it's not a slouch either on the highway. You should wait for the detailed review to get a proper insight into the highway performance ...or may be take a long TD yourself.