[Leoshashi]

Lovely report brother! Can relate to each and everything since our 800 also came around the same time, as the first new car in our family. Take good care and she'll be with you forever.

Regards,
Shashi

[chiranjitp]

Brilliantly written review sid hilldriver along with some brilliant photos, please share some interior photos. My story is quite similar to yours, our first car was a 99 Omni, I was 5 when we bought our Omni (actually the Omni came home on my 5th birthday), the next car in our family was bought in 2012 (a Fiat Punto Emotion MJD), even the odometer reading is quite similar (the Omni has done a shade over 105000km).

Though unlike you, I don't remember anything about the car selection procedure, I only knew that my parents had bought a pink Van on my birthday . Btw, is your M800 pre BS I or BS I complaint? I always thought that our Omni was BS I complaint (since it was bought in 99), until last year when I checked the exhaust system & found that there was no Catalytic converter (no Cat-con means pre BS I complaint). Apparently it seems some pre BS I M800s & Omnis were sold until 99 in tier II & tier III cities (the non metro cities only moved to BS I norms in 2000, while the metro cities moved to BS II norms in 2000).

Here is a photo of our Omni that I clicked yesterday (please excuse the missing LHS wiper ):

[sid_hilldriver]

Originally Posted by ringoism

Those particular alloys really suit the car well - a very good choice.

I'm 6'2" for reference, find them plenty comfortable enough to sit in / drive - have manhandled another white H.P. M800 on a couple of outstation trips in the hills - I think they're great fun to drive enthusiastically. You really sit down low in them like one would in a sports car, and they're just so light / nimble / toss-able, good enough grip and very little body-roll. I suppose the rarer 12-valve 5-speed could be a bit of an upgrade, but three-bangers are always going to be a little rough anyway, and whatever, just a great driving experience overall, and so cheap and easy to own / maintain.

I should probably think of getting one for my wife to drive around locally... but probably would rather get something more highway-worthy at this point, for double-duty.

-Eric

Thanks for the compliment on alloys. I procured them all the way from Pune, from Neo Wheels headquarters(Long story).
Yes, you are right regarding the body roll thing. Though it can be a bit of an issue for tall chaps like you in a long drive. But for non-aggressive driving, this car is pure bliss. And you better grab a K10 AMT for your wife. It's doing good in these hills irrespective of the prevalent superstitions about AMT in hills.

Originally Posted by bullrun87

The 800 can truly be a blessing in narrow shimla roads. Excellent writeup by the way, you truly love your car.
By the way it seems we are neighbours, from your pictures I can see that we live in the same colony . Do get in touch sometime.

Small world. We shall catch up surely in some colony meetup

Originally Posted by maverick.munish

Shimla and Maruti 800's have a long long association. Make no mistake , the car is more than capable of negotiating all that Shimla can throw at it -- Snow, rains and those high inclines. (Especially the High Court to Bemloe climb) I can vouch for that for sure.
We for one had a Aug-1998 model that served us well for over 17 years.
With no one around to drive my father gave it away to one of our knowns who uses it till this very day though in the rather sombre roads of Hamirpur.

Yes inclines can be done easily. High Court - bemloe climb is an easy one though.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Lovely report brother! Can relate to each and everything since our 800 also came around the same time, as the first new car in our family. Take good care and she'll be with you forever.

Regards,
Shashi

Shashi mere bhai.Thanks for the kind words. You are the inspiration behind this writeup. You have always generated and produced so much good content regarding M800s that I thought someday I will give you a fight for sure. Nice to hear from you.

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Brilliantly written review sid hilldriver along with some brilliant photos, please share some interior photos. My story is quite similar to yours, our first car was a 99 Omni, I was 5 when we bought our Omni (actually the Omni came home on my 5th birthday), the next car in our family was bought in 2012 (a Fiat Punto Emotion MJD), even the odometer reading is quite similar (the Omni has done a shade over 105000km).

Though unlike you, I don't remember anything about the car selection procedure, I only knew that my parents had bought a pink Van on my birthday . Btw, is your M800 pre BS I or BS I complaint? I always thought that our Omni was BS I complaint (since it was bought in 99), until last year when I checked the exhaust system & found that there was no Catalytic converter (no Cat-con means pre BS I complaint). Apparently it seems some pre BS I M800s & Omnis were sold until 99 in tier II & tier III cities (the non metro cities only moved to BS I norms in 2000, while the metro cities moved to BS II norms in 2000).

Here is a photo of our Omni that I clicked yesterday (please excuse the missing LHS wiper ):

Attachment 1846883

Thanks for the kind words. Mine is a BS 1 though I am not sure about the catalytic convertor. Well how can you not remember your selection process. At 5, I knew the difference between your OMNI and the pre facelift Omni. Except for steering and headlamps, your Omni had 2 reverse lights on your bumper as compared to a single reverse light in the pre facelift model.

[ringoism]

Actually I found the headroom fine and body roll minimal, and I DID drive it aggressively!!!

My wife says an AMT would be "boring". She's an unusual (and excellent) woman in more ways than one. That said, most of the people I find driving manual gearboxes badly are men !

To get OT here (you started it!), main objection I have to AMTs and hills is the downshifting that should be done when descending gradients. It would rarely be as smooth or controllable as I can do with a manual, and ultimately hardly anyone's going to bother. I know a lot of people just ride the brakes down every hill anyway, but that dramatically increases brake servicing costs, and taking potential fade / fluid boiling into account, creates some unnecessary risks, too.

-Eric

[sid_hilldriver]

Originally Posted by ringoism

Actually I found the headroom fine and body roll minimal, and I DID drive it aggressively!!!

My wife says an AMT would be "boring". She's an unusual (and excellent) woman in more ways than one. That said, most of the people I find driving manual gearboxes badly are men !

To get OT here (you started it!), main objection I have to AMTs and hills is the downshifting that should be done when descending gradients. It would rarely be as smooth or controllable as I can do with a manual, and ultimately hardly anyone's going to bother. I know a lot of people just ride the brakes down every hill anyway, but that dramatically increases brake servicing costs, and taking potential fade / fluid boiling into account, creates some unnecessary risks, too.

-Eric

Interesting.
Looks like we should look forward to a Himachal Chapter Team Bhp meetup.

[sid_hilldriver]

One year update

So the vehicle went to the denter's yesterday for the following works :-

1) Front left door denting and painting
2) Front left fender denting and painting
3) New front bumper
4) New front parking lights
5) Retractable seat belts
6) Garnish (strips near windows)
7) Door latches replacement
8) New Lock Set by Minda
9) Rear left Tail light
10) Rubbing and polishing

Initial pictures

[Gansan]

^^Is there a built in heater in the car, like the ones that come with AC models? Is it comfy in Shimla weather?

[sid_hilldriver]

Gansan, Yes there is a built in heater and does fine most of the times.

[sid_hilldriver]

So the vehicle is back from the denter's. Adding some pictures.

[sid_hilldriver]

Hi fellow BHPians!

Just updating here that Maruti was about to turn 25 years old in April 2024 and was starting to give surprises in the middle of the road every now and then. We needed a small vehicle for local driving in Shimla traffic. Hence, I had booked the Maruti Jimny. However, post price revelation, we did not find it VFM.

Eventually exchanged my Maruti 800 with a new Alto K10 VXI+ on 20 June, 2023.