Its official. Curtains down for Esteem

agspins · 8th October 2007, 12:17

Dont think that ugly thing will be introduced in the place of esteem,instead jimny in the 5door avatar or sx4 hatch could be better options to fill the gap.

WhiteKnight · 8th October 2007, 12:28

Another great car heading for the exit. Esteem was lucky that it had a longer stay in the market compared to OHC and Baleno.

Suzi folks...We want Esteem replacement to be a true car, not a CARTOON

scooby05 · 8th October 2007, 12:33

I only Hope they produce 25000 of them for the taxi market, before stopping. they will be able to sell them off, and our taxi condition will Improve Greatly!! [sorry fiatwalle, but the taxiwallas dont maintain their cars anywhere close to youll]
as their stock gets older theyll give bigger discounts to lure the taxiwallas, and so a win win situation!!
Ive used an automatic in the house from 1997 to 2004, and it was a very dependable car.

sivadas · 8th October 2007, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Funny thing is that, all those who have called Esteem 'outdated', 'tinny', 'boxy' and all will now start shedding tears for it. (Like Zen and baleno before)

Isn't that quite natural CrAzY dRiVeR? At the time of retirement people would/should talk graciously.

Absar · 9th October 2007, 17:20

Farewell to one of the greatest car we had! We owned an Esteem and sold it off at the 110k mark. It served us excellently! I'll miss this car in the market (but somehow I don't like the rear of the present Esteem). The '98 look was best! It was a gem of an engine.. Lovely power!

cya
A

Equus · 9th October 2007, 19:24

Farewell! Esteem has indeed played a very important role in the history of Indian automobiles. At one point in time, we had 5 Esteems in our (greater) family!

anandpadhye · 9th October 2007, 20:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Another great car heading for the exit. Esteem was lucky that it had a longer stay in the market compared to OHC and Baleno.

Suzi folks...We want Esteem replacement to be a true car, not a CARTOON

Ha ha ha...

Well said.

Suzukis are getting increasingly ugly looking these days

2theMax · 9th October 2007, 20:37

sad ..still cherish the 6 years of esteem before i had sell her off , still have the keys with me though .

Nitin · 9th October 2007, 21:09

A graceful retirement,indeed. Having had 2 of them one after the other,its the only car that I loved to throw around corners,and put the pedal to the metal.
The 1st Esteem we had was a very well maintained one,driven by an elderly person.The 2nd one was used in rallies,and boy..it had some goodies on it. Really miss driving them.

Bye bye...esteem!

esteem_lover · 9th October 2007, 22:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by sivadas

At the time of retirement people would/should talk graciously.

Like they never did for the sienna & the petra.

come on this is not an obituary.

sudarshansarma · 10th October 2007, 00:00

Very touching what you guys have written above. But i have had my first days as a driver in an esteem...i've too sneaked it out without a license, had my first kiss in it(and more!!), and took it up to hairy speeds(For an esteem) of over 100..where it felt like it was coming apart. I remember how the 1.3 L sticker on the fender fell off and i searched for hours to find a replacement coz i wanted to differentiate my car from the 1000's of err...1000's(maruti) on the road...it stayed reliable and if my memory serves me right it never ever broke down...EVER!!!..We sold it to a person in Bhopal and went in for an accent..which broke down twice in its 7 and a half year life with us...shame!...Great job maruti...you've earned crores from this car...but as someone else in this forum said...dont ever flog another car for so long...dead horses will only go so far

rr_zen · 10th October 2007, 00:16

The Esteem has carved a niche for itself in its segment. As the adage goes, all good things must come to an end and thats typical of the Esteem. I would say the Esteem has made a graceful and honourable exit.

Whatever car replaces the Esteem, it better live upto the standards that the Esteem has set. I would have been glad if the new sedan had retained the Esteem badge like the new zen estilo. And of course, not only the badge but also the legend.

sivadas · 10th October 2007, 10:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Like they never did for the sienna & the petra.

come on this is not an obituary.

Esteem Lover, I said retirement, not obituary. And who knows, Petra might reincarnate again as 'xxxxxxx'

Like 'Zen', Maruti/Suzuki would like to continue with the 'Esteem' moniker for sure.

lordofgondor · 10th October 2007, 11:42

That's definitely a sad news! Though the car's been there since ages, I still like the way it looks and love driving it. Nice power and maneuverability. I just hope that it gets a worthy replacement that can live to (and exceed) the benchmark that the current Esteem has set.

sushrutha · 10th October 2007, 13:02

Hmmm time has come for esteem to exit from the market .
Really fantastic car.
According to me Maruti has produced 3 great cars namely 800 , Zen , Esteem, sad to hear that already in these 3 one has gone ( Zen) ( Forget the Zen estilo - it's never a Zen for me), other (esteem) time has riped .. these two cars are truely an auto enthusiasts car accroding to me. Particularly those carb ones.
Why are good car always put into rest, even though they were/are doing good in the market. some ex .. Zen , Esteem, OHC, Qualis etc ...

Can't maruti do a makeover to esteem, a slight modification for the front grille , n rear reverse lights ( new one's look ugly ) as someone said .. Yeah 98 esteem is the best looking one.
Add 1.3 multijet fiat engine .. n then try selling it ? I don't think it will hamper the SX4 market ..

8th October 2007, 12:17	#31
agspins Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MH-31 Posts: 1,652 Thanked: 508 Times View My Garage	Dont think that ugly thing will be introduced in the place of esteem,instead jimny in the 5door avatar or sx4 hatch could be better options to fill the gap.
	() Thanks

8th October 2007, 12:28	#32
WhiteKnight BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 998 Thanked: 661 Times View My Garage	Another great car heading for the exit. Esteem was lucky that it had a longer stay in the market compared to OHC and Baleno. Suzi folks...We want Esteem replacement to be a true car, not a CARTOON
	() Thanks

8th October 2007, 12:33	#33
scooby05 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,145 Thanked: 192 Times	I only Hope they produce 25000 of them for the taxi market, before stopping. they will be able to sell them off, and our taxi condition will Improve Greatly!! [sorry fiatwalle, but the taxiwallas dont maintain their cars anywhere close to youll] as their stock gets older theyll give bigger discounts to lure the taxiwallas, and so a win win situation!! Ive used an automatic in the house from 1997 to 2004, and it was a very dependable car.
	() Thanks

9th October 2007, 17:20	#35
Absar BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Madras Posts: 560 Thanked: 10 Times View My Garage	Farewell to one of the greatest car we had! We owned an Esteem and sold it off at the 110k mark. It served us excellently! I'll miss this car in the market (but somehow I don't like the rear of the present Esteem). The '98 look was best! It was a gem of an engine.. Lovely power! cya A
	() Thanks

9th October 2007, 19:24	#36
Equus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,123 Thanked: 423 Times	Farewell! Esteem has indeed played a very important role in the history of Indian automobiles. At one point in time, we had 5 Esteems in our (greater) family!
	() Thanks

9th October 2007, 20:37	#38
2theMax BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 337 Thanked: Once	sad ..still cherish the 6 years of esteem before i had sell her off , still have the keys with me though .
	() Thanks

9th October 2007, 21:09	#39
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	A graceful retirement,indeed. Having had 2 of them one after the other,its the only car that I loved to throw around corners,and put the pedal to the metal. The 1st Esteem we had was a very well maintained one,driven by an elderly person.The 2nd one was used in rallies,and boy..it had some goodies on it. Really miss driving them. Bye bye...esteem!
	() Thanks

10th October 2007, 00:00	#41
sudarshansarma BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 101 Thanked: Once	Very touching what you guys have written above. But i have had my first days as a driver in an esteem...i've too sneaked it out without a license, had my first kiss in it(and more!!), and took it up to hairy speeds(For an esteem) of over 100..where it felt like it was coming apart. I remember how the 1.3 L sticker on the fender fell off and i searched for hours to find a replacement coz i wanted to differentiate my car from the 1000's of err...1000's(maruti) on the road...it stayed reliable and if my memory serves me right it never ever broke down...EVER!!!..We sold it to a person in Bhopal and went in for an accent..which broke down twice in its 7 and a half year life with us...shame!...Great job maruti...you've earned crores from this car...but as someone else in this forum said...dont ever flog another car for so long...dead horses will only go so far
	() Thanks

10th October 2007, 00:16	#42
rr_zen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 1,799 Thanked: 400 Times View My Garage	The Esteem has carved a niche for itself in its segment. As the adage goes, all good things must come to an end and thats typical of the Esteem. I would say the Esteem has made a graceful and honourable exit. Whatever car replaces the Esteem, it better live upto the standards that the Esteem has set. I would have been glad if the new sedan had retained the Esteem badge like the new zen estilo. And of course, not only the badge but also the legend. Last edited by rr_zen : 10th October 2007 at 00:22.
	() Thanks

10th October 2007, 11:42	#44
lordofgondor BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: UP 16 Posts: 936 Thanked: 159 Times	That's definitely a sad news! Though the car's been there since ages, I still like the way it looks and love driving it. Nice power and maneuverability. I just hope that it gets a worthy replacement that can live to (and exceed) the benchmark that the current Esteem has set.
	() Thanks

10th October 2007, 13:02	#45
sushrutha Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chikmagalur/Ban Posts: 1,703 Thanked: 333 Times View My Garage	Hmmm time has come for esteem to exit from the market . Really fantastic car. According to me Maruti has produced 3 great cars namely 800 , Zen , Esteem, sad to hear that already in these 3 one has gone ( Zen) ( Forget the Zen estilo - it's never a Zen for me), other (esteem) time has riped .. these two cars are truely an auto enthusiasts car accroding to me. Particularly those carb ones. Why are good car always put into rest, even though they were/are doing good in the market. some ex .. Zen , Esteem, OHC, Qualis etc ... Can't maruti do a makeover to esteem, a slight modification for the front grille , n rear reverse lights ( new one's look ugly ) as someone said .. Yeah 98 esteem is the best looking one. Add 1.3 multijet fiat engine .. n then try selling it ? I don't think it will hamper the SX4 market ..
	() Thanks