[DCEite]

This question has haunted me for quite some time....
When i see the roads everyday, they look like as if they are not made of concrete , but of Maruti Zen.... there are so many of them on roads, that u wonder whats so special about that car....

The main point i want to make here is that, yes agreed its a peppy little car with a very responsive engine, but the thing is...compare its competetion...
it priced between Rs. 3.5-4 lac.....
Now consider the situation when a common man enters the Car Showroom with this much budget....
He has the options of :-
Santro Xing:- More powerful (1.1 l as compared to 1 l) engine,
More BHP, more Torque, More front legroom(and possibly rear legroom), Engine as peppy and responsive if not better, and equally good service backup. Fuel efficiency about 0.5-1kmpl less.. dont know if this matters much...
Maruti WagonR:- Now this car actually costs less than Zen, but its engine is more advanced than that of Zen, add whatever i said about Xing, add to it its alomost same fuel efficiency and the fact that its a MARUTI.....
Maruti Alto top end version:- again i would say though the engine is not quite in the same league as Zen, i dont think that it is miles away in terms of performance compared to Zen, and exteriors are pretty similar as well, and BETTER fuel efficiency then Zen...
Fiat Palio base version I need not say much about this car... as fellow t-bhpians are big fans of it.. except for the poor fuel efficiency and a.s.s.

Now the question is what is that ONE BIG THING about Zen that sets it apart... that makes the common Indian a great lover of this car............

[speedsatya]

hey dceite,
i agree with u.the zen is already past its prime.
maruti is simply cashing in on its popularity.dunno when will maruti stop the M800,zen and the esteem.
the zen is simply eating into the sales of the more superior wagon r.maybe people prefer it becauue of its cult folllowing,its good FE and its revv-happy engine which is very low on maintainence
but its too cramped in the rear,with very less dicky space.
also the body panels tend to rattle after 3-4 years or 50+k kms.

maybe maruti cud instead of giving it a face lift phase it out .
when honda cud do that to the old Cityat its best ,why can maruti not do this to its outdated cars.

[ported_head]

Driving dynamics I guess. I always thought of it as the Indian Mini. Too bad though, it's a pretty outdated package now.

[lamborghini]

well the only reason its selling is coz of its reputation and reliability.. even looks ...

[GTO]

The Zen is a terribly terribly outdated car now, and its nothing but a HUGE Cashcow for Maruti. Imagine a newer generation (Alto) selling for less than the older gen (Zen).

The Zen sells mostly on image. Its still got a yuppy side to it.

GTO

[normally_crazy]

well - there is something known as SENTIMENTAL VALUE too !!

btw - some MUL guys had come over to our factory and i asked them when were they planning to stop producing the esteem - the answer not for the next 2 years atleast. i suggested they have the baleno priced on the higher side so y the esteem they said its selling and we dont see any reason to stop producing it!!

cheers

[X-Machine]

Trust in Maruti and in Zen.This is one of the many reasons why people still prefer Zen.And moreover,this car has proved its reliabilty time and again.Its revamped recently,and that is enough reasons for people to buy this car.
But IMTO,i too echo every1z views.This car is too outdated.Infact,which Maruti car is`nt??

X

[DCEite]

One wonders how many years will Maruti take to introduce Suzuki Aerio, Reno, Sidekick etc,. into indian market...

[lamborghini]

hey GTO the vitara ait ...
hopefully maruti will wake up and really launch the swift and such cars ...
the zen,esteem,800 are the most outdated maruti cars ...

[GTO]

the zen,esteem,800 are the most outdated maruti cars ...

Add the Gypsy and the Omni to that list too.

GTO

[shravan316]

Yeah, all the cas in the Maruti line-up except the Alto and the Grand Vitara are absolutely outdated! No wonder the Santro took over as the highest selling car. Hyundai have been constantly upgarding their cars, well, atleast the Santro has been updated pretty regularly.
Gypsy, 800, Esteem, Omni, Zen, etc............ it seems as if an eternity has passed since these cars have been launched and yet, not a single major upgrade!

[tacho]

I think that a lot of the Indian car buyers are very ignorant about cars. They go by brand name, reputation and some false information .

And BTW, i drive a zen too(dad's money). but mine is a diesel . Iam a college student doing 2000km a month and so we were looking for a small, reasonably powerful and economical car. the only 2 choices in 2001 were zen and indica. I pursued my dad to buy a zen because it was relatively a better driver's car(better performance,gearbox and probably brakes). The indica was jus too slow.

Mayur

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by dceite

One wonders how many years will Maruti take to introduce Suzuki Aerio, Reno, Sidekick etc,. into indian market...

Many more years. Currently they're (they think) enjoying largest customer base in this country.

[z klasse]

Maruti phasing out zen or 800 is close to impossible. These cars are its bread and butter. The alto is now overtaking the 800 as the price is very competitive. But 800 and zen will be there for long. they will keep including new looks but removing it completely is impossible.
They are introducing diesel engines in 2006 so the zen will have a better one. Especially after april 2005, when Euro III comes into play I wonder what zen and esteem diesel wil do.


Z Klasse

[lamborghini]

the current esteem and zen diesel will be sold in rural markets .
in 2006 even fiat is going to use its famed multijet diesel engine along with maruti .
will be worth buying then with no hassles of FE