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Hi guys,

I wanted to know what are your thoughts on the Maruti Versa:

1. Why did it fail?
2. What are its negatives?
3. What are its positives?
4. Where did Maruti go wrong and how should they have marketed the car in order for it to be a successful product?

I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this, especially those who have had some ownership experience with it.

Keep the posts flowing in!

+ve = can't think of anything

-ve = van like image, bus like driving, it was never meant for a car :)

Lack of space compared to the other MUV's.[toyota qualis etc].
Perhaps diesel option would have sparked more interest in the cab segment.Too boxy,dont know if anybody would like that design.Initially was launched with too steep a price tag.

I doubt maruti could have done anything to turn this product into a blockbuster.

lack of space is primary, for what it was marketed to be with big n small b and all its pretty cramped inside especially the second and third row

second its very bumpy ride

Versa is the car which replaced Suzuki Carry aka the Maruti Omni in the foreign market. It's a commercial vehicle marketed as a people carrier. Fuel efficiency wasn't that great either.

The Versa is a RWD with an Esteem engine! And comes in varied (5 , 7 9) seating options. Good space for those in the first two row but cramped at the rear. The downside is the horrible ride quality and below-average highway stability.

To a layman its a bigger more expensive Omni.

If I was in Maruti product planning, I would have approved the launch of Versa too.

Afterall Omni is such a big hit and has been selling since 1984. For sure there is a bunch of people who like the concept and would like to move up to something bigger and better. But the Versa fell flat on its face. Maybe the high initial pricing killed it and nobody took note of the eventual price cut. sad sad

Down market image with Upmarket pricing......Bad ride quality, wrong target segment, lack of diesel option....can't think of any positives. Wonder why they had such a Grand Brand Ambassador though ???

I think the major mistakes were the high pricing, target audience and low FE. I like to drive this especially for the short gear stick and tall stance. Has good load capacity as well. My relative has a music company and carries all his stuff on it. He also uses it as a family car. He has converted to LPG.

Should have be positioned as a commercial type van rather than a people carrier and not have blown money on the Big B's to endorse that.

The Primary reason it failed was that it cannot compete with the omni on the pricing front nor on the cheap spares front.

But since maruti is already selling Wagon R lpg now, its high time they also provided a similar kit with a bigger tank in versa. It would surely help to boost some sales.

To those who felt it had a down-market image, would you attribute this to it's boxy van-like looks which probably didn't look like a personal vehicle?

Well WagonR also has boxy van like looks but is doing fabulously well!
I wonder why people shunned the Versa even after the price correction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mpower (Post 421331)
Well WagonR also has boxy van like looks but is doing fabulously well!
I wonder why people shunned the Versa even after the price correction.

Versa, I would say is simply un-appealing, how much ever the price is!

Number one, the design itself is not appealing. It has an uneven finish to it like it is looking to fall over. But i did like driving it when i had the chance. it had a good AC, decent power & a vantage position on the seat. The space in the front 2 rows are very decent. I guess the shape & design of it plus the high pricing spoilt the party for maruti.


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