[benzinblut]

Writing on this thread after a long long time.

The trusted esteem was going good and strong, however, we needed something newer and faster for our highway stints.

In Sep'12 we traded the Esteem for a new Toyota Etios. We listened to our mind and took a practical decision. The Esteem was 3,42,223km when we let it go.

The brighter side is, Etios is living upto our expectations on FE, performance and reliablility. Its been only 20,000km on the Etios so far but thats more than enough to gain our trust.

We are in love once again; this time with Etios. However our Esteem will always have a special place in our hearts.

[supremeBaleno]

Is it a Petrol or Diesel Etios ?

BTW, close to 3.5 lakh kms on a car in just ~8 years is just amazing. That's one workhorse !!!

[benzinblut]

It has to be diesel. The Etios GD and its as frugal as the Esteem, only much more pepier.

I had taken a parting picture, but sadly cant locate it.

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by benzinblut

The trusted esteem was going good and strong, however, we needed something newer and faster for our highway stints.

My Esteem 2004 Di was sold too, after 8 years. It was one of the few Maruti Esteems on the streets of Hyderabad and I wondered where they all went. It was cheaper to run than a Maruti 800 and the servicing was cheaper than a Maruti Swift. The boot space was pretty decent too, though at times I did wish it could hold more (it didn't have a provision for a roof rack or Thule box and I didn't want the roof drilled into).

[GTO]

Originally Posted by benzinblut

In Sep'12 we traded the Esteem for a new Toyota Etios. We listened to our mind and took a practical decision. The Esteem was 3,42,223km when we let it go.

Talk about long, reliable service! Would be very curious to know how much she went for.

Here's wishing the Etios serves you as well.

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by GTO

Talk about long, reliable service! Would be very curious to know how much she went for.

Half the credit goes to the reliable Peugeot TUD5 mill too.

[mints21]

Originally Posted by GTO

Talk about long, reliable service! Would be very curious to know how much she went for.

Here's wishing the Etios serves you as well.

Adding to what GTO wanted to know, I am also curious to know the reactions of the buyer. Was he told that look buddy these are the exact kms this car has done?

After seeing the way you had kept the esteem, I am sure that Etios will serve you even more than the Esteem.

[benzinblut]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would be very curious to know how much she went for.

Exchanged it at Millenium Toyota against the Etios for Rs. 90,000 (including 10,000 exchange bonus). I informed them the actual mileage of the car. This was the best price I managed to get, and am very happy with it.

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Half the credit goes to the reliable Peugeot TUD5 mill too.

Absolutely. The simple motor did what it does best. Extremely satisfied with it.


Some interesting facts:

• At the time of sale, the key was so worn out that it could come out in any position from the slot.
• The OEM fabric seats never wore seat covers and were without a single tear.
• The car was mostly driven with only one person on board.
• The only symptoms of high mileage were a slight play in the steering, increased vibrations when cold and soft suspensions.
• The FE remained untouched throughout its tenure.
• The furtherest the car went was Rajkot in the North, Nasik in the East and Kolhapur in the South directions.

Originally Posted by GTO

Here's wishing the Etios serves you as well.

The Etios swung into action from the start. Its already done 32,000km and has replaced the Esteem gracefully in all aspects. The main grouse was the bottoming out which we got fixed exactly like your Civic (Thanks a lot). Infact I got it done at Toyota for free. Toyota has been doing it for all customers who report this issue. Must be a common problem.

I have just sold my Optra Magnum TCDi and bought a new Swift Vdi last week. And, Etios is currently running on the RACECHIP that I had bought for Optra (same connector. different setting).

Am planning a thread on the Etios and Swift. I hope I find time to put up both reviews.

[virtualdanger]

Very interesting write-up Benzinblut. For starters I didn't even know that Esteem was ever available in a diesel variant. I do remember the Peugeot though, so this is interesting info.

I do recall a time when we were also used to slower (relatively) cars, and in retrospect it hard to imagine what we found acceptable and cool, compared to what we have now.

Your diesel esteem sounds really impressive. Its done some major miles, and with good mileage returned, and great reliability. Thanks for the lovely share. Cheers!

[kinjulian]

A very interesting read Benzinblut. I hope you get a lot many miles and smiles from the new Etios as well.

One of the points that has been going through in my mind right from the first time I read your post is the environment friendliness aspect. I feel that such a long term, well maintained car ownership helps mother nature by reducing all the energy and raw material resources consumed in building new cars. Not only that, since your car has been consistently fuel efficient, the overall carbon footprint should also be low. I believe that the practice of trading cars every few years is creating a lot of stress for mother earth. All of us can learn from you and your father and stretch the lifespan of our cars.

[Serpentor11]

Amazing write up benzinblut. Sad that you no longer have the car. I'm sure you are still missing it.
Esteem was my first car, my first love. I have driven many cars, from a cabbie's Indica to Skoda Superb, but no car thrills me like my Esteem did. Give me a Lamb and I'd still choose an Esteem.


Cheers mate

[nik0502]

Hey benzinblut,

This is an awesome thread that I found. I too have an Esteem. I am not sure how many KMs it has done. Its a Petrol one. Its 97 model and i bought it in 2009 and the ODO had 55k KMs on it. It gave me hell lot of troubles but i still love it to the core. And inspite of having more modern cars in my garage i still drive it 80 KMs every day and a 600 KMs highway drive once in a month. Primarily because it is fitted with CNG and gives me 28-29 KM/L on highway on CNG. I Drive my Fiesta and brothers Verna very sedately but i could never control myself when i am driving Esteem and i am always first when the red light turns green.

nIk

[nawabnabeel]

Originally Posted by benzinblut

Exchanged it at Millenium Toyota against the Etios for Rs. 90,000 (including 10,000 exchange bonus). I informed them the actual mileage of the car. This was the best price I managed to get, and am very happy with it.



Absolutely. The simple motor did what it does best. Extremely satisfied with it.


Some interesting facts:

• At the time of sale, the key was so worn out that it could come out in any position from the slot.
• The OEM fabric seats never wore seat covers and were without a single tear.
• The car was mostly driven with only one person on board.
• The only symptoms of high mileage were a slight play in the steering, increased vibrations when cold and soft suspensions.
• The FE remained untouched throughout its tenure.
• The furtherest the car went was Rajkot in the North, Nasik in the East and Kolhapur in the South directions.

The Etios swung into action from the start. Its already done 32,000km and has replaced the Esteem gracefully in all aspects. The main grouse was the bottoming out which we got fixed exactly like your Civic (Thanks a lot). Infact I got it done at Toyota for free. Toyota has been doing it for all customers who report this issue. Must be a common problem.

I have just sold my Optra Magnum TCDi and bought a new Swift Vdi last week. And, Etios is currently running on the RACECHIP that I had bought for Optra (same connector. different setting).

Am planning a thread on the Etios and Swift. I hope I find time to put up both reviews.

Your esteem di was a great car. I remember once your drove it down to our place and you let me drive. That was the first time I drove it. It was a rev friendly motor.

Replacing it with etios was a good decision. It has almost no turbo lag and has a big boot.

I really liked the way you kept your optra. It was always in top condition.

Swift vdi is a great car and a better handler but I know you will miss your optra's torque.