[driver52001]

I have only driven Maruti for a large part of my driving years, except an i10 briefly. I had an Alto 800, then Alto K10 and now drive an Ignis - 200 cc increment every time �� My office is not far from home and these have served me well. I have got used to the Maruti convenience, good fuel efficiency and mostly niggle free ownership. But yes, once I'm done with the Ignis, I'll not buy a Maruti car. It's time to move on, especially when the market has evolved so much. I'll be looking for a safer car.

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by Lalitha Venkat

The way i see it, if you are looking for a safer option, as compared to using a 2W or an auto to ferry kids, going to office etc., MUL cars are more safer and you can go for Alto and the likes like s-presso. If your bench mark is a ''better than 2W safety/ comfort''. That is the target market for MUL.

Yes that is what my motive is. My wife takes my kid in a auto to school. She also once considered Activa but I rejected. She doesn't anyways know how to ride / drive a scooter / car. I totally understand safety aspect but then I am guessing most people on this forum too who are having "safe" cars now started with the liked of Maruti 800 or so and even using them now.

I will definitely go for safer car in future but after we have graduated a little on our driving skills and feel comfortable driving bigger vehicles. For now priority is less in price, new and small and Spresso for us fits the bill.

[Sheel]

I got one in 2018, a Swift ZXi+.

Reason for purchase was / is - local commutes within my small town. But the way the sheet metal caves if you press it and there are so many dings / scratches without banging against any object (in my knowledge) is not funny.

Luckily, it has seen 3 highway runs in past 4 years, one was with choice and other times there was no choice and they were short runs. The chassis / steering is all good, but the flightly / light feel / build is just so apparent that I am scared.

The fuss free ownership, plus, the use case is making me stay with this & the brilliant 1.2 K (I give it the Italian tune-up) but if the use case changes, I will go for something else. Infact, I was contemplating for an EcoSport but will wait now.

[dileepcm]

Yes, but the only car I would buy from today's portfolio is Ignis. I currently have a Wagon R 1.1 beater car that I use whenever I visit India and in a year or so, planning to replace with Ingis. Why Ignis? Primarily the tallboy design
and the easiness to get it serviced even when am away. I found that Ingis and s cross are offering much better fit and finish probably because these modells also get exported to EU.

[mail2vm]

I voted No primarily due to the tinsheet built of Maruti vehicles - I'm never confident driving a Maruti, though their engineering is better than the early days. It's definitely trouble-free ownership, easy in the pocket with the good resale value, any day.

[rAijin_]

Voted: No.

I personally would not buy a Maruti in near future.
However, I had a discussion with another friend of mine few days back. He was also looking for a new car and his criteria was simple ( and he has booked an S-Cross ).

1. Should be a Maruti ( no compromise )
2. Should be below 10L

I tried to convince him about why no Maruti. The normal talks of cost cutting, safety, too old interior, not much features etc etc. I also gave him options of Tata Nexon, Honda and even Hyundai / Kia.
But his perspective was quite different. He told me that he wants a Maruti S-Cross because:

• He want Peace of Mind.
• He is not an enthusiast like me. Do these things doesn't matter to him.
• What he want is a reliable, cheaper to maintain family mover.
• He has owned a Wagon R for 9 years and never got it serviced from Maruti Service centre ( except for initial free ones). He doesn't care about warranty. He plans to do the same for S-Cross.
• Any mechanic in any remote place can repair a Maruti for a cheaper price. Its parts are available in the remotest areas and any noob can service it.

What I understood after talking to him is that more than 60% of our population belongs to this category. They want a reliable and cheaper to maintain family mover below 10L.
And for them, there is only one choice - MSIL.

So, I may not buy a Maruti in near future. But many Indians surely would.

[vikramk]

Voted 'Yes'. A Maruti will definitely be in the consideration set for a small city car.

I think the scales would tilt in favor of Maruti if the question was something like 'Would you still buy a Maruti today if your budget was under 10L?'

1. Have owned a jelly bean Zen and Swift 1.3 petrol earlier and they were both fun to drive. From what I've heard, the current Swift lacks the dynamics of the 1.3 but is still a decent drive.

2. When it comes to the competition amongst the hatchbacks, the Polo is top of mind as far as I'm concerned. The Honda Jazz is spacious and nicely put together but deserves a more powerful engine. Don't like the small one's from Hyundai and Tata. However I haven't driven the i20 in its latest avatar.

3. Our crowded cities need no Turbo and the NA engines from Maruti are good enough given the ease of maintenance.

The decision makers at Maruti are stuck catering to the same economic segments for a long time now. Not sure why they've kept their eyes closed to a significant number of car buyers with rising income levels and who aspire for something premium.

[skillaft]

I cannot vote since I am a newbie but still want to take part in the discussion. For me the vote goes to YES!

The reasons for the same are as follows:
1) City use only- It will be a secondary car for us and only for city use. We already have a Ecosport if we want to go on highways. Maruti in my opinion the best in terms of cost, size, reliability and running cost. Since I live in Mumbai, a small car is a pro for me.

2) Since the budget for the second car is somewhere around 5-8 lakhs. I guess Maruti bests any other brand in this segment in terms of points listed above.

3) I will leave for college soon and my parents don't have any knowledge about cars but since my cousins and mama (mother's brother) live nearby and they are using Maruti's for the past 13 odd years (Esteem, Zen Estilo, Alto, Celerio and WagonR). They can help my parents in maintaining it because they know how Maruti functions and have dedicated SAs who will take care of cars nicely.

4) I understand that safety and build quality is a big concern but it is not like that the door will just fly off while driving. As stated above, it will be for only city use and the primary drivers i.e my parents are the most sedate drivers. I doubt that they will barely take the car above 60 kmph. Even though it a concern, it is manageable.

Therefore, I would happily go for a Maruti if I buy a car.

[BHPjunkie]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Based on the recent thread by GTO on Maruti and also the poll on what cars BHPians own where Maruti tops the list, I thought it would be nice to know, how many of us would still buy a Maruti today? If yes, what model would you buy from their current line up and why?

That's a great question. As is mentioned in another thread, about the 1.3 DDiS engines and their in-house 1.5L diesel engine, these are the only engines I would pick. The 1.6 DDiS S-Cross was a rare breed and it had a gem of an engine. However none of them are available in the current scenario.

From the current line-up, would only consider the S-Cross for its build and driving dynamics. If they launch the S-Cross with their own 1.5L diesel mill, I would buy it without a blink.

[Bhodrolok]

Voted No.

I have not bought a Maruti Suzuki till now and I am not going to in future due to absolute lack of priority on safety and quality.

Currently we have a Vento & Grand i10 at home & absolutely happy with both.

[theabstractmind]

1. NO Diesel Engine
2. NO build quality (barring S Cross and Brezza)
3. NO Timeless looks (arguably barring S Cross)
4. NO Safety (related to build partly - body caves in like a Coke Can mostly,, barring Brezza)
5. NO exciting Automatic Gearbox (AMT on Maruti is the worst of the lot, haven't driven the TC... But a 4 Speed? NO)

Conclusion: NO. Won't buy one today.

[n33rav]

Yes!

In fact bought Ignis just few months ago.

Why? No option from other manufacturer and no other car matched performance and refinement of Maruti in my budget of max 7 lacs.

I wanted a tall car and there were only two options, WagonR and Ignis. I chose Ignis for its relatively premium feel.

Had I gone for other manufacturer if there were options?! Probably if its from Hyundai, not for anyone else.

[chethan.ram]

I never thought this thread would run into so many pages. Even though I voted NO for the poll. I never mentioned the reason.

Yes, I have used Maruti in the past, this was back in 2006 when I had my Esteem. I drove it for about 5 years. Then I made a switch to Punto and I am still driving with 160k on the odo. For me, its the build quality which is very important and not the fancy features. I don't think there is any Maruti in today's line up which can impress me. Plus, Maruti has always been neglecting safety and I don't see them improve in those lines. Hence its a strict NO to me.

[MercFan]

After having bought 1M800, 2Swifts, 1SX4 and 1Ertiga in our family, I will politely refuse to buy a Maruti/Suzuki. Also, have advised many of my friends, colleagues from staying away from MS. One word to describe MS - "Cheap". No, I did not mean "cheap" as in cost but low quality, poor materials, outdated models, rattles, build quality, overall MS cars feel 3rd grade cars inside and out. These are not my rants on the brand but my frustration and fed up of waiting MS would improve their cars quality. Dumped MS for good and shifted to TATA.

PS: "BIG NO" for MarutiSuzuki cars.

[igemini]

Voted YES.

I don't own a Maruti right now and when I made the most recent car purchase(s) I have never even considered Maruti as well. The reason was very simple, those were supposed to be my only cars and will be used on highways and will be driven only by me. The only Maruti I owned to date was the first-gen Swift.

Now, why I should still buy a Maruti? Very simple, if I want a small car for city usage for me or my family then the Marutis such as Espresso, Alto, Wagon R, etc will tick all the boxes. More importantly, the simple NA engines make the Maruti cars less complicated to use for nowise drivers. Definitely, the engines and gearboxes are more reliable as they use simple mechanicals and a superior ASS. Their K Series engines are very good as well. I find the Espresso a super easy car to park and drive in the city, plus the space inside that car is very good to me. So I will still buy it regardless of the NCAP stars.

BUT, as a car that goes to the highway more often or as a sole car, I will not buy a Maruti as of now.

If it is about Sheet Metal, then Maruti is at par with Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Datsun, etc. In fact, even 20-25 Lakhs worth of cars still use horribly thin sheet metal and compromised structure/platforms.