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Old 6th June 2010, 17:02   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sidindica View Post



THE MARUTI ESTEEM.


A BLOCKBUSTER WITH 18 YEARS OF UNINTERRUPTED SUCCESS.





Yeh kahaani itihaas ke pannon mein amar rahegi...

Very well written,Sid.

Ladies and Gentlemen,let's hear it for Director Sid and the Hero,The Esteem




Undoubtedly,the E is the BigB of the Indian Automobile Industry
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Old 6th June 2010, 17:50   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shantanumishra View Post
Hey sid, 5 Days and no update on this thread, common man, seems you are beating Sam to keeping us waiting for the next update.

Pls post soon
The story has been written already in the first post. This was a "different" writeup, just to showcase something refreshing.
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Old 6th June 2010, 20:19   #18
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@ hiren.mistry, you're not alone pal. I too drive a September '95 Esteem Lx. It's been my mom's car, and hence has run just 87500 kms in the 15 years of it's life with us. It's still a blast to experience the way it takes off once the lights are green(though I dislike the thing of the others leaving me in the dust post 90 kmph )

But gotta agree with GTO about the handling in the ghats part. My recent trip to Mahabaleshwar was where the bone stock Japanese Milf put a teenage SX4 to shame in the ghat.....the memory of that trip still brings a big fat smile on my face!

I love this machine from the bottom of my heart that has served me so well all these years and treasure my relationship with fond memories, warm feelings and a special place in my heart!
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Old 6th June 2010, 23:48   #19
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i had an April '95 Esteem that we sold just one month back for 40K. I think it is one car that gives an amazing view of the road!
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Old 8th June 2010, 11:25   #20
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Love my esteem

Really good and long post. I agree with GTO, Esteem is essentially a driver's car. I have been having a pre-owned 99 Esteem for the last 4 years and its been a bliss. Some negative points though

1. AC for a 10 year old car is really pain on maintenance. I have already changed the compressor once.
2. Too much of rattles inside the car. AC in mode 3 is really noisy. Don't know if it is a problem for my car
3. MASS support for the car is pathetic.
4. Been trying to sell the car, but no buyers so enjoying my ride till now
Attached Thumbnails
"18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem-p1010396.jpg  

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Old 10th June 2010, 01:09   #21
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The ever reliable Esteem! I learned driving on our '98 model Esteem. It was a base model LX with no power steering and manual windows. But who cares, put the pedal to the metal, and away she goes. Was a bit jerky in city driving though. This is definitely a legend of a car and deserves the same level of respect as a Vtec. It was a rally champ as well!
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Old 5th September 2010, 15:49   #22
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Esteem Fuel efficiency and other areas

Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post one-liners that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the overall quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further.

Last edited by GTO : 6th September 2010 at 09:21.
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Old 6th September 2010, 09:51   #23
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Ahh! Beautiful write up! My DREAM for a long time -- I still wish it was around. When I was a kid, I would watch out for the hero of the movies to come and land in this car as an intro shot -- and there were a handful of movies which featured this car too. There was a movie in which was named "The car" and was purely based on a car - a M-1000; that too a red one.

I always wished this car was launched with our National engine [1.3 MJD], I would have bought one for sure!

Change is inevitable. A friend of mine owns one and she claims it gives around 16 - 17kmpl in city with A/C on Shell petrol. I was blown away to listen to that -- and also my respect for this mean machine doubled.

I drool over this machine even today when I see this in service stations and dont miss a chance which I get to sit inside; ofcourse with the owner not around.
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Old 6th September 2010, 15:34   #24
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I almost bought a new Esteem VXi a couple years back. It was the last model, with the big black slatted grille and multireflector tail-lights. They were selling it at a huge discount to make room for the Dzire, I think. Sarathy Motors offered free music system, spoiler, remote locking, Leather seats, full mats, alloys at 8K extra, and a Rs. 1 lakh exchange price for my 800 back then. I guess they were trying to clear off their accessories inventory as well. I wish I'd bought one back then, but I was discouraged by everyone saying it was an old model and prone to rattles and vibes. One of our neighbours snapped it up, and it still looks pristine.

I don't understand what the problem was with the brakes that you mention, GTO. The one I TD'd had brakes that were prone to locking up, the bite was so hard. Did they change the brake servo in the later models?

What I disliked, particularly with the early models was that the back end 'sat down' when loaded up, making the car look odd. Oh, and there was a rumor that Maruti tricked the journos who test drove the Maruti 1000. The TD cars had the 1.3L engine not the 1L from the Gypsy. Customers who bought 1000s after reading about it's astounding performance got a rude shock when they finally drove their cars. I've only heard this mentioned, so I don't know how true it is.

Last edited by vivekgk : 6th September 2010 at 15:41.
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Old 6th September 2010, 16:21   #25
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The esteem was my car in college. My family owned it for 5 years and it really served us well! We used to own a ford Ikon also in those days - and we used to often compare how much more hassle free the esteem was

I was actually sad to see it being sold

Some of the best things about that car

1. It had really good seats (for the driver)
2. It was a great handler and it always begged to be driven hard
3. Awesome engine
4. It had some cool ICE - 12 CD Changer / Tape Deck / MP3 Player
5. It was fuel efficient (Gave 11 to the litre in city)
6 It was really cheap to repair
7. If the bumper was busted - it could always be screwed back on!
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Old 17th May 2011, 00:32   #26
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Re: "18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem

We had a '96 model maroon Esteem LXi - used her through college and we gave her to our office manager a couple of years ago. Still looks pristine. My dad was gaga over her, but hated the AC. I think his (and my) feelings for her can be summed up in the following incident:
My uncle was visiting us, and he had just picked up a Cielo. He was telling my dad how well the Cielo was built, and claimed that a head-on collision between these two cars at speed would result in instant death for the driver of the Esteem (my uncle was a tad too morbid for the dinner table), while the Cielo's driver would merely lose a leg. Whereupon my dad loudly banged the table (this was post a few cocktails, mind you) and swore that he "would rather be dead in an Esteem than crippled in any other honky-tonk car!"
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Old 17th May 2011, 00:40   #27
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Re: "18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem

Very well written. My dad and me have been in love with the esteem a long long time.
Even though we have the swift diesel right now, both of us are striving hard to get a black VXI MPFI esteem like it was our only goal in life.

Whenever we still see an esteem, it just makes us forget all the BMW's and Mercedes.
India truely goes home in a maruti.

Kudos to Maruti. After Finishing my automotive engineering in 5 days and MBA from UK next year, i still dream about working for Maruti even though a job with big brand will take my future to new heights, but working for an indian company and helping the progress of 'OUR INDIA' is just something which no money can buy.

Cheers
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Old 23rd May 2011, 12:40   #28
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Re: "18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem

Quote:
Originally Posted by humyum View Post
i still dream about working for Maruti even though a job with big brand will take my future to new heights, but working for an indian company and helping the progress of 'OUR INDIA' is just something which no money can buy.

Cheers
To Clarify

Maruti is as indian as say a VW ..aheeem -- no that would be an hyperbole! But Actually TATA and M&M would be the truly Indian options. Today Suzuki has a stake in excess of 51% in Maruti India and hence it is majorly a Japanese company listed in the Indian Stockmarket. (Infosys getting listed in USA) does not make it an American company and similarly Maruti owned mainly by the Japs does not make it any more Indian.

That said Maruti is a great company that does make many nice cars and it's business model is oriented towards the Indian customer in a big big way. So kudos to that.

Also the Esteem was the first Indian lux car as we call them now, though it was towards the end a bit long in the tooth.
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Old 23rd May 2011, 15:53   #29
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Re: "18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem

The MPFi Esteem's still a bomb to drive. Accelerates like a cat - on - a - hot - tin -roof, it can still cock a snook w.r.t. 0 - 100 kmph acceleration runs, to the SWIFT's, Dzire's and Verna's.

Our family owns a 2006 LXi. Everytime i slide behind that steering wheel, floor the throttle and hear the MPFi G13B's deep induction roar, a silly grin pastes across my face
And it was practical with a decently sized boot which did justice to the airport - station - dropoff's. Very frugal as well - we still get a steady 11.5-12kmpl in the chaotic Calcutta traffic with A/C on. And last but not the least - bulletproof reliability!

+ve's
1) Engine
2) Gearbox
3) Turning Circle
4) Nimbleness
5) Decent boot
6) Reliability
7) Fuel efficiency
8) Cheap to run and maintain

Some time honoured Esteem traits:
1) Weak "glow-worm" headlights.
2) Asthmatic power windows
3) Brake fade at high speeds
4) Cheap combination switch feel ( it never failed though!)
5) Tinny build quality
6) Limited rear door openings
7) Weedy 155 stock tyres with the terrible MRF ZIGMA tread pattern *Shockked*

By the way - don't you guys feel that the ETIOS "feels" quite close to the Esteem when driven?? From what i heard, Toyota , back in 2006 when they started the ETIOS project , took a long, hard look at the MpFi Esteem and benchmarked their future entry level sedan's weight against the bantam weight 880 kgs Esteem !

The Esteem is Dead , Long Live the Esteem !
Attached Thumbnails
"18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem-dsc00033.jpg  


Last edited by suhaas307 : 18th February 2012 at 21:37. Reason: Edited extra smiley. Note: Only 2 smileys allowed per post.
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Old 23rd May 2011, 17:04   #30
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Re: "18 till I die" - A tribute to the Maruti Esteem

The Esteem - The car that changed the Indian automotive scene. A car that made us believe in more than mobile boxes.

It was my first car too (a used 1998 model that I bought in 2002). Did brilliantly well till I wrecked it but it kept me and my mates safe despite her own injuries. She truly was my Wildflower!
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