[rr_zen]

@arjitM: Congrats on your great buy. You have indeed made a wise decision.

The esteem is undoubtedly a great performer. A lot of people opine that it has been here for too long which is true but the same goes on to say how reliable and trusted the car is. Its got a heart of gold (the 1.3L MPFI engine) and with its graceful looks, it drives with aplomb. I have been a proud owner of an esteem for the last 4 years and have no regrets at all.

The FE I get in city now is around 12 - 13 kmpl with A/C on 90% of the time, while on the highways my faithful companion returns about 17 - 18 kmpl (A/C on all the time). I use BP Speed always and plan to switch to Shell regular or premium once am back in India.

The figure you have quoted (11.5 kmpl) is slightly on the lower side for your style of driving and given the fact that it has barely 5000km on its odo. The things you may want to look at are :

1. Quality of fuel that you use (Try switching to Shell)
2. Tyres inflated to the correct pressure.
3. A worn out clutch plate (remote possibilty though)

Keep pressurizing your Maruti A.S.S till they solve the problem. I have done that a couple of times (polite yet stern) and it has given me good results. Since your car must be within the warranty period you have an edge.

[angelfire]

Wel..11.5 kmpl is quite ok i feel...Cause city drivin involves a lot of factors like traffic..congested roads..bad roads etc...Take any car in the same segment for that matter...The milege wil be quite low....
Take your ride on the highway and check your milege....you`l be surprised!!!!

[akroy]

[quote=rr_zen;388578]@arjitM: Congrats on your great buy. You have
The figure you have quoted (11.5 kmpl) is slightly on the lower side for your style of driving and given the fact that it has barely 5000km on its odo. The things you may want to look at are :

1. Quality of fuel that you use (Try switching to Shell)
[quote]

There is no Shell outlet in Kolkata but still the avg I feel this is on lower side....probably some fuel adulteration...try changing your fuel outlet....
Fuel Adulteration is famous in Kolkata...

Abhi

[kdeepakk]

Hello All;

I own Esteem Vxi from 2003. Its one amazing car. I have completed around 72000, but still i feel it has a new one. No major problems other than small niggles.

Let me list down some of the Positives of the car then negative.

Positive:

1. This is the vehicle made to drive on smooth roads only.
2. Shocks are good on smooth roads, not fit for pot holes.
3. Driving is very comfortable, steering control is good.
4. AC is good, it takes around 5 - 10 mins to cool the car.
5. Interiors is good for the amount paid.
6. Mileage is good, i get 14 in city & 19 on highways with AC.
7. Top speed touched is 145 KMPH with a mileage of 16KMPL

There are many more positives to list down, these are some main things.

Now coming to negatives.

1. Back seat leg room is not good, vehicle is good only for 4 people.
2. Engine sound can be heard in the cabin.
3. Shocks are weak on bad roads.
4. Low seating is not comfortable.
5. No ABS, adjustable steering, airbags


Think that should give a good idea for people to buy Esteem. There is a new model of esteem which is getting launched in First Quarter of 2008. But not sure, cos this was told in a article.

Regards
Deepak

[ArijitM]

Thanks guys for the suggestions.. Yes there are no Shell outlet in Cal..But I tank up from a HP Company outlet.. But probably worth trying a new station..

Here are some update - I got a 12.3 KMPL in the last fill in city w/o AC. Only thing done was cleaning the air filter(during second service)..Should I do it regularly??

[ArijitM]

Guys, I forgot to share one more aspect of my buying. I saw the difference between LXi & VXi was coming to around 40K. I decided on LXi & fitted the differential accessories from the distributors itself. Still managed to save around 12K which I ploughed back on the alloy wheels....Off course I could not get the seat-height adjuster & rear defogger but that's ok..

[ArijitM]

Originally Posted by shuvc

Well I follow almost a similar route.
In the morning
Lake Town - VIP - Ultadanga - EM Bypass - Nicco Park - Sector V
In the evening
Sector V - Rajarhat - VIP - Baguihati - Lake Town

Without A/C and I believe driving more aggressively than you, I comfortably clocked 11.5 to 12.5 with the Baleno all winter - it's dropped slightly with the switch to 195 tyres in Jan.
Same stretch last summer , with 90% AC, similar driving, the worst I got was 10.5

I guess you should be getting more from the Esteem. 12+ surely.

Ok guys, need technical funda..

I keep hearing 2 / 3 things about which I have absolutely no idea

1. K&N Filter

2. Additives like System G

What are these ?? Do they help clocking better KMLP??

(I come online at TBHP occassionally.. so tend to post in bulk!!)

[akroy]

1) K&N : Its an air filter. It has many forms (conical or stock)...You can replace the stock one directly after removing ur paper filter, it will surely help in Kolkata conditions... no need to frequently change ur paper filter...u can not clean it in say every 25K-30K kms...for me info: K&N High Performance Air Filters, Oil Filters, & Cold Air Intakes - Official K&N Engineering Site

2) Sys G - follow this IFTEX- fuel additives Although I have never used Sys G but I do use Barhdal Injecter cleaner and its very nice (eventhough I fill Shell)...A bottle (Rs330) mix in a full tank of petrol and repeat this procedure in every 2500km....I think additives is very essential especially in Kol as u can never trust the pump....

I think local guys like planet_rocker, shuvc etc can help u procure one in Kol.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by ArijitM

Before buying I was very confused about whther to buy Ikon or Esteem. I dont regret buying Esteem but just curious to know what a similar LTR from Ikon owners would be

Hi Arijit,
Please check out the Long term report from sammyboy on his 2005 ikon Flair, and which i also hijack at times.. with reports on my 2006 ikon Flair.

Link :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ip-report.html

[ArijitM]

Originally Posted by akroy

1) K&N : Its an air filter. It has many forms (conical or stock)...You can replace the stock one directly after removing ur paper filter, it will surely help in Kolkata conditions... no need to frequently change ur paper filter...u can not clean it in say every 25K-30K kms...for me info: K&N High Performance Air Filters, Oil Filters, & Cold Air Intakes - Official K&N Engineering Site

2) Sys G - follow this IFTEX- fuel additives Although I have never used Sys G but I do use Barhdal Injecter cleaner and its very nice (eventhough I fill Shell)...A bottle (Rs330) mix in a full tank of petrol and repeat this procedure in every 2500km....I think additives is very essential especially in Kol as u can never trust the pump....

I think local guys like planet_rocker, shuvc etc can help u procure one in Kol.

Great info akroy... what is the price of the filter? Where can I fit / buy these? Can it be done from a maruti workshop? Guys in cal any idea?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ArijitM

Great info akroy... what is the price of the filter? Where can I fit / buy these? Can it be done from a maruti workshop? Guys in cal any idea?

Stock replacement filters are cheaper and priced around 4K-5K and conical filters give you better performance but it needs a bit of modification to your bay and is also little more expensive around 7K.

These prices vary in each city and installers are not Manafacturers but special installers, find out you may have someone in Kolkatta