[ysjoy]

Can't vote, didn't vote!

Would have voted yes!

In spite of the resounding NO of fellow members, few points:
1. Maruti Suzuki is largest seller of passenger cars in India
2. Maruti Suzuki complies with existing regulations, for safety and related aspects
3. Maruti Suzuki offers value for money to its customers - inextricably linked to #1
4. Unmatched customer service standards/ touchpoints, as compared, to other manufacturers
5. Indian automotive scene (& customers) are maturing fast and Maruti Suzuki needs to raise its bar/ game
6. Maruti Suzuki is probably the most bashed brand company in our hallowed forum

PS:
Got a new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga VXI couple of months back- details in a future post
Have driven MS Alto previously for 15+ years

Cheers!
ysjoy

[Neversaygbye]

Voted no as there is not a single product in their current line up that excites me. Had the 1.6 S-Cross been still around my answer may have been different.

I was a die-hard fan of the original Swift when it launched (I vividly remember the bright red car in hoardings with the "you're the fuel" tagline) and would have probably gone for it had I not been happy with my Matiz at that point of time. (We keep our cars for long and I did not find sufficient reason to change)

Since then Maruti has steadily decreased the build quality and though their engines are still great plus the service network is still unmatched, competition has caught up and even surpassed them on most other aspects. One of my friends own the original Swift and we were comparing the panels in those with a new Swift of one of his neighbours and the difference was stark. The newer Swift's panels were wafer thin. Panels don't necessarily indicate how strong the body shell is but fewer dents do translate to a lesser need for repairs.

Having seen the kind of repair costs Marutis have for even small accidents (like a scooterist hitting my niece's stationary Baleno at a very low speed), the thought of being in a Maruti also scares me, considering that I have had at least two accidents where the build of my car played a major part in my getting away with minimum damage. (Dog jumped in front while I was going at 100 on NH-19 in the first case and in the second incident a biker coming from the wrong side of the road divider at about 50 kmph hit the driver side door while I was taking a U-turn).

Even then, the 1.6 4 star rated S-Cross would have been in my consideration set because it was so un-Maruti like in performance and build. It also did not have any direct competition.

I hope Maruti ups their game both on the product lineup front and build quality - even die hard fans in my friends circle are finding it difficult to stick to the brand when they want to upgrade. And I know for sure that my niece will not be buying a Maruti again after the incident with her Baleno.

[Artyom]

Voted Yes, I Personally believe for city runs and for daily use where commuting is primarily on a 4 wheeler I would any day prefer a Maruti for the simple fact that they are reliable and Fuel efficient and have proven reliability.
As far as safety is concerned there is a high probability that within the city I won't drive at triple-digit speeds which reduces the chances of a mishappening. Hence safety ratings don't matter much to me. (Take it as a Calculated risk).
Just like every vehicle Maruti vehicles tick a lot of boxes for certain situations where they are at the top and excel.

[Pedalmasher_20]

Most of the replies in thread vote a big 'NO' to buy a car from Maruti Suzuki's stable. But there are some senario wherein only a MS is able fulfill most of your needs. In my case, I'll vote a 'YES' as no other car in that price bracket is able to fulfill most of my requirements.
Let me tell you a guys a story that my father used to tell me everytime I asked him the question - "Why did you buy a MARUTI CAR..!!!"



Context:-
My dad owns a K-10B Series WagonR VXi which was bought in 2012. Before that, he had a Jeep Commander, back in his 20s. Due to owning a Jeep, even though it was for a short period, he got used to the high seating position of it. Now, back in 2012, when he was considering to buy a new car, he didn't like any of the cars under 5-7L bracket due to their low seating position. WagonR was the only car that he felt comfortable in, as it had a high seating position than the rest and had a high roof height, hence the WagonR was booked.

The Story:-
The car has now successfully completed 9 long years serving our family car, sometimes as a luggage hauler (the car, with its back bench folded flat, was filled with multiple 20kgs jars of water with a gross weight just shy of 500kgs including the driver as my father owned a Water Agency), sometimes as a long tourer (we did multiple 1000km road trips to our native place in this car with 5 seated and the luggage stuffed till the brim without any roof carrier) and most of the time, serving as a city commuter with occasional highway rides. When it comes to maintenance costs of this car, it has been an absolutely light on my dad's wallet till the time it turned 8. After that, it started showing signs of aging and the service costs were shot high up in the air as multiple parts started to fail or needed extensive repairs. In 2022, it'll turn 10 and hence, we are looking for an upgrade over this car. If it wasn't for the feeling that recent modern cars, that have seen a sudden grown in use of high tech gadgets/gimmicks offered in them, made our car to show it's old age than it really is, we'd have loved to keep this car for as long as possible. Because of such affordable, reliable and low service cost cars that Maruti made, back in those days, is the why my father bought a Maruti. This also reflected in the sales charts of Indian Automobile Sector.

Overall, the ownership experience this car was close to 4 stars out of 5 (that one star was deduced due to the recent service costs and mileage that this car has started to show. My last service bill was close to Rs.12000 for oil change and wear&tear part replacements + 15000 rupees to replace the AC compressor that went kaput after serving close to 10 long years which, IMHO is great as well as a bit sad. Also, since past two years, this car has been averaging about 10kmpl in the city and 13kmpl on the highway even after driving her sedately and maintaining the speed of 80kmph on the highways).

Well, we will be changing this car for a new one in 2022 and guess what, that car is also going to be from the Maruti's stable as it has literally no competition in the price bracket of 10-20L if we are considering only a petrol powered workhorse. Let's see how my T-Bhpians are able to guess this one. Hint: It has 220cc AC compressor by Calsonic Kansei Corp.

[Mr.U]

We already have the 1.3 DDIS S-cross in our garage and currently they don’t have anything that we can upgrade to in the next 3-4 years.
Ignis is the only one from the current offering that would have been considered if we were in the market for a compact city car. Apart from these two I don’t find anything else that is worth considering for our use.

[Mr.Ogre]

The results of this vote isn't a true reflection of what the general car buying public thinks. Maruti's market share hasn't taken much beating in spite of lack of diesel offering. Sure, the competition has better packaged products, but Maruti still rules the roost and not without a reason.

They will continue selling until people stop buying and force them to change. But, if I were to buy a car in India today, Toyota would be my first choice, then Maruti and with the absence of Ford, there is nothing else that I would place my money on.

[alphadog]

I voted a No for this poll.

Although I would not buy a Maruti, with there being better offerings in the markets at the present time, my father has been a loyal customer to the brand.

We had the original Maruti 800 initially, and at one point we had two of these in our home, one for me to commute to medial college and the other one for my father's commute. Then he went through the original Zen, the Swift, SX4 and now just over a year ago, the new Ertiga. He feels that it offers enough for his needs - easy ingress-egress, comfortable, reliability, easy spares availability and good service network. I guess thats the reason MSIL still captures 40% of the market.

Cheerio!

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by SnakemanJohny

Only Maruti I ever bought was the Gypsy (MG410W & MG413W). And I would consider buying only the new Jimny/Gypsy if and when it finally arrives.

For service and spares, I still feel Maruti-Suzuki is the best option. Low cost of spares, too. Wish they made some cars or SUVs of standard size, like the Grand Vitara.

Toyota and Nissan, previously big-car makers from Japan, have switched to also making minis and micros, but Suzuki has stuck to its label of makers of tiny cars only. And too many of them !

The Only Maruti, we have ever had was a Gypsy Too (MG410W).
I have a Thar Crde now, and Only Jimny Can replace it for me.

[Apex1815]

I voted No.

I will never buy a Maruti. The Reasons which I can quickly recollect are as follows:

1) Lack of Safety : Maruti's have become much lighter / delicate / unsafer with time.

2) Lack of Features : Maruti Cars have not evolved with Time. In the year 2021, most of their cars lack behind their competion in terms of features. Eg Vitara Brezaa vs the competiton.

3) Lack of Aesthetics : Though Aesthetics are very subjective but most of the Maruti cars look way outdated and unappealing Eg Upcoming Celerio, Alto 800, Maruti Brezaa. So far I have liked the looks of only one Maruti car i.e BALENO.

[Turbojc]

A resounding yes!

If I were to replace my Ritz, I'd pick the Wagon R with my eyes closed. No other manufacturer offers a car that's as powerful, practical, feature-loaded, and reliable as the Wagon R in the ₹7 lakh price point. I wouldn't use it for long-distance drives, but for the city, I can't think of a better car.

Cheers!

[quattroa4]

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...prove/87287908
They are back ! Now let's see weather with vengeance or not .
Their output is back to normal on basis of improved chip supplies.

[tweaker]

Yes.

Maruti still has a couple of products in their portfoilo like the Ignis/Swift which make for a good second car. Even at the lower end and purely from a city runabout perspective, the S-Presso is a fantastic overall car if you can ignore the looks. The combination of lower price and fun to drive characteristics on a few of their cars will ensure that Maruti will stay relevant for the forseeable future.

And what if they launch the latest gen Jimny in the market? The next poll would be between the Jimny and the Thar

[clementw]

No.

My first car was a Wagon R and I still feel that as a city run about for tall drivers no other car can match up to it in terms of space and comfort. Sadly I let go of that car due to a horrible service incident at an ASC and swore off Maruti for ever.

I next considered Maruti after a good experience with Tata for a VFM car, I was about to confirm the booking for the Swift ZDi when the Vista beat it hands down on safety (i wanted two airbags min and ABS) with a price that was 1 lakh lower, at that time both cars were using the FIAT sourced diesels.

My third attempt was to go for the Vitara Brezza but yet again the Tata Nexon trumped it on interiors, feature list, safety and price. If anything the only thing in favour was the higher mileage promised by Maruti.

So Maruti works for those who are willing to compromise a little and are extremely conscious on mileage. For those who have grown up it is a pass.

[feluda86]

Voted No!

Marutis are no longer low running cost cars. That (often incorrect) perception was and still is a big draw for a lot of buyers. The usual service costs as much as some of the other brands. I would say they are now near the median value in terms of running costs in our country.

Are they reliable? Yes, they fare very well on that parameter. However, there are other brands which are equally good.

Are they safe? Safety is not very objective - it depends on the conditions. No car will survive high speed crashes and if GNCAP results are to be believed then probably NO. However, the weight, fit/finish and build quality of Marutis do not inspire confidence (again structural safety is very different from weight etc - I am talking of perception).

Kitna deti hai? With the current fuel prices, this is important. Maruti now has only petrol powered cars in the market. They might be near the upper quartile when it comes to this parameter but nothing out of the ordinary. The 1.3MJD boasted of some extra ordinary numbers - that is no longer there.

Is there a Maruti for me? If I upgrade from my current set up, I will probably look for something in the 15-20 lac INR range. There is no Maruti (apart from the top end S-Cross) for me. So most likely I will buy something else.

[sumitsinha0280]

Voted Yes, and will love to get one if they bring in some competent offerings in the 20 and 30 Lacs range. We have owned more than 10 Maruti in past, but when it was time to upgrade over the Ritz, we got home a new Creta SX, only because none of the existing Maruti offerings felt like an upgrade today. Did consider the XL6 and S Cross briefly, the XL6 would have been overkill for a small family like ours, and the S Cross feels too dated today.

I still love the Suzuki Petrol engines, the one on my Ciaz feels so much livelier than the Creta 1.5 Petrol, but in everything else, Creta is far superior.

A pic of my existing garage, with the latest Korean entrant:



PS: We may get a CNG city car soon, and it will be a Maruti!