[bvasista]

Thanks for the review blackwasp !!

Other topic:
I have question on using manual in case of AMT here. Usually for MT cars, we use clutch while changing the gear. I have driven Chevrolet Cruze which had a button/knob on the gear rod itself which needs to be pressed in order to use gears (+/-) manually instead of auto.

I have seen here and also in the new dzire that there is no button/knob on gear rod in case of AMT. How to change the gears (+/-) if we want to use manual gears here?

Simply change to "+/-" by not using the accelerator?

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

The Maruti S-Presso is on sale in India at a price of between Rs. 3.71 - 4.99 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

Lovely review @blackwasp & guys! Very detailed as always. Cars in this segment should feel lucky to be reviewed by TBHP as they get the same attention as a BMW X6 would - only at this place. 5 Star rated review.
At some places on interiors - switchgear, knobs, levers - Maruti has really gone too cheap. Could have done better I think.

At the same time - a capacitive touch screen head unit in a car of this segment is just fantastic. Shows how much has changed in just 5-6 years! Capacitive units are fabulous to use & this is one item that the owners are going to just enjoy to the fullest. This head unit will single handedly sell the SPresso higher trim in semi-urban and rural areas.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Gap between the wheel & arch is way too large. Looks ugly. It’s especially horrible at the rear and the tyre is way off center. Would suggest getting the wheel well coated in black (anti-rust maybe) to improve the looks (or you can buy the car in a darker colour).

This was in fact the first thing I noticed when I saw the car in person for the first time a few months back. Here is how it looks. Its really ugly. Brake lines, suspension components, even the fuel line to the tank are all visible. No attempt to hide these things at all, is disappointing to be honest. Notice the weird angle at which the black part of the bumper meets the rest of the wheel well. The designers sure have a very different taste of visual appeal.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Navigation is through Navimaps, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. No variant gets a reversing camera and it is not possible to retrofit one either. The Renault Kwid offers one in the top two variants.

Are we sure about this? There are already customers on TBHP who have installed the official accessory camera to feed the visual into the stock ICE screen. Here's the latest entry from yesterday -
Link to TBHP owner's post on SPresso rear camera. (Maruti S-Presso, the SUV'ish hatchback. EDIT : Launched at Rs. 3.69 lakhs)

Originally Posted by bvasista

Simply change to "+/-" by not using the accelerator?

Yes - just push / pull the lever. No need to even release the accelerator for that matter in fact in most AMTs of today. When you move the lever, the AMT+ECU automatically cuts accelerator input for the shift duration & activates it back. In the manual mode also - the upshifts are what are really manual. The unit logic automatically downshifts without user input when it senses that the RPMs are too low.

[Sandeep M]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Other Points

• The S-Presso is offered in 4 variants - Std, LXi, VXi and VXi+. The base model lacks even A/C and power steering.

Always thought LXi was the base trim. Who would have guessed there would be car with no A/C in 2020.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Sandeep M

Always thought LXi was the base trim. Who would have guessed there would be car with no A/C in 2020.

Thats no surprise. Many folks do this regularly. Even the Santro (new) had a variant like this at launch. This is the variant that allows for the advertised "starting price" which is very low. The car maker doesn't actually want to sell this variant at all. Its used to bring people to the showroom thinking the car fits in their budget easier.

Its then upto the dealership to convince the customer to go for at least LXi citing reasons like (valid) better feature list and huge waiting periods / supply problems for the LX trim in this particular area.

[Mr.Beat]

It's great that Maruti realized the sales taken away by Kwid and the ever-growing need for a muscle car in every segment.

Some Observations


1. The key that you have mentioned in the last image, My 1 Million worth ciaz has almost the very same key. Even the steering is very similar

2. Kudos to the team to have the CNG hole identified. This is why we love your reviews for such unimaginable details.

3. I find the name S-Presso very quirky.

4. I haven't seen many cars on Mumbai roads. Seems the market for this car is in tier 2 or 3 cities

5. I think even the Tiago has a variant without A/C

[Romeo_Mike]

Nice and crisp review as always guys! Needless to say 5 stars!

I am having a hard time believing this car is based on the newer heartect platform and not the old Alto platform. Can someone please confirm?
The non plastic bits in the car like driver and passenger foot well layout the rear floor hump have a uncanny resemblance to that of the Alto K10. Infact plastics aside, the car seems to have borrowed heavily from the Alto K10. And if my hunch is right, the rear doors would have felt much lighter and thinner than the front doors.
If yes, that could be the reason for not providing a speaker grill in the rear doors. There's simply not enough space and they want to discourage people from trying it

[neil.jericho]

Great review as always. Somehow I never liked the S-Presso from the time it was launched and after reading the TBHP review that has highlighted its shortcomings and prominent cost cutting, I feel justified in not liking the product as well as Maruti's approach to the market. Since it appears to overlap pricing with the Alto, what is the generally recommended option between the two products?

At least in Cochin, I see very few S Pressos on the roads, I dont think it has clicked with the market here.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Since it appears to overlap pricing with the Alto, what is the generally recommended option between the two products?

The AltoK10 has been all but discontinued (since the engine is not updated to BSVI for it). So pricing overlap doesn't really exist anymore. I think MSIL didn't think it was possible to increase the pricing on the ALTO nameplate anymore. And the SPresso is a way to increase pricing in the same segment.

Of the two, looks wise AltoK10 looked far better. But the tall-boy setup & the hot touch screen ICE of the SPresso surely would have swayed people away from the AltoK10.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

At least in Cochin, I see very few S Pressos on the roads, I dont think it has clicked with the market here.

As per data release recently (was available on the SPresso thread in Indian Car Scene section) - the car is selling mostly in semi-urban & rural areas. Much lesser in larger cities. Yes - very few are seen in Pune also (compared to its peers. I see more Kwids.).

[Asish_VK]

Great detailed review.

S-Presso reminds me of a plastic unibody car, which used to be available in toy shops during festivals at temples / churches in my vhildhood. And I used to hate that toy since it was not that good looking and I used to get them as gift since it was cheap

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

At least in Cochin, I see very few S Pressos on the roads, I dont think it has clicked with the market here.

I think in Kerala, people have some thing towards asthetic , I have seen more number of Eons in Kerala than any place in South India (including Bangalore), where Alto dominates the roads.

[styx71]

Excellent review, as always

Originally Posted by blackwasp

• If you’re considering the top-end S-Presso, better go for the WagonR, which is a higher quality product overall. Price difference is nothing in EMI terms, especially if you consider the discounts on offer.

There is no considerable discount on Wagon R currently(compared to let's say Celerio which has a cash discount if 25k). Although they did start offering a cash discount of 10k starting towards the end of last year, they also increased the price by 3.8k (for 1.2 zxi amt model). The cash discount they offer is not on the Ex-Showroom price, but what the sales folks call the overall price - meaning reduction in Ex-Showroom plus corresponding reduction in road tax.

While there is also an Exchange discount of 20k, based on my experience, Maruti dealers (at least in Bangalore) always undervalue your current car compared to Ford or Hyundai. In my opinion, they could be more than making up for the exchange discount they offer.

[NiInJa]

Perfect review ! I borrowed my dad's car last Sunday to go on a longish drive to Panchgani, drove it on highway for the first time and would relate everything that has been written in this review.

After driving, I realized that Pune-Goa is possible without feeling tired on this car, if one can forgive how jiggly (I borrowed the word from the review ) it is on undulating roads.The car can cruise comfortably at 85 kmph all day which is a decent speed, overtaking also is not a big issue as it revvs pretty nicely. Only grouse is it misses out on tachometer.

I wonder how the review car's headlights look so powerful and white (Camera cranking up aperture ?) My dad's car's stock headlight bulbs are too bad, but the throw and spread is excellent.

If only it had a better safety rating like Tata's Tiago, I cannot think why one would go for any other second city car than this. Its interesting that only Maruti and Renault/Datsun now have a 1000 cc small car while Hyundai and Honda have discontinued their smallest cars.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Its interesting that only Maruti and Renault/Datsun now have a 1000 cc small car while Hyundai and Honda have discontinued their smallest cars.

Hyundai Santro has a 1086cc engine. 4 cylinders. But not too large from the K10 as such.

[manjunathkl]

Excellent Review. S-Presso is a worthy contender for A segment. Basic, nimble, no-nonsense, it gets the job done. At this price-point, people must not expect any car to be designed very aesthetically. Its odd proportions make any design on it look a bit off. It is just slightly wider than an Auto.

Positives:
Refined Petrol Engine
Brisk Performance at low speeds
Reliable, Long life
Lightweight (a.k.a Heartect platform)
Most interior space for the smallest footprint (Japanese are experts in tallboy design)


Negatives:
Poor dynamics
Not really a safety champion (Current-gen Swift scored 2 stars in NCAP, I can only guess what will S-Presso score)
Thin sheet metal/bumpers will remind you about its cheap price
Basic Interior (except the borrowed ICE), but it will be well put together. This car is not meant to make you feel special
Absence of anything optional - Claddings, Underbody protection, Vanity mirrors and many such things we take for granted.


Nano should've been this, but sadly some huge risks in the platform meant, the car was way too basic to be even entry-level car. An unusually high number of fire cases burried the Nano deep. No offense to any Nano owners, strictly speaking from a Business point of view.

S-Presso is an excellent car if you know how to use it. One should refrain from taking this on a highway. This is strictly a city car, must be used to run errands or commuting to the office in high traffic roads. These days our highways have vehicles that can cross 150KM/H so easily, and with S-Presso's height, light-weight and skinny tyres, it would not be pretty if you have to execute an emergency evasive action at high speed on this car.

[Sasanka_Sanga]

My personal experience is the car becomes unstable over 100 KMPH and also the steering feels very light which gets the confidence down at higher speeds.

As usual the body of the car is pathetic, I could press the hood and doors with one hand (with my thumb) to be precise.

I felt K10 was a better car than this considering both have identical Cubic Capacities.

Customers mindset is changing now a days. They are more focused on safety than mileage so Maruti Suzuki is failing in this segment and that is the cash point for Tata (they are making very sturdy vehicles these days).

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Hated the design to core since the first time I saw it on road. Mean no offense to any owners or future owners.

The only thing I liked about the car is how well and informative the head-unit is. Gives out some good information and has good connectivity options.

I strongly feel, Tata still has a chance with Nano. If S-Presso can sell with such body style and features. Apart from a touch screen and an extra cylinder, I do not see anything more that S-Presso brings on the table. Both of these Tata can manage easily!