[RijuC]

Originally Posted by FNM

By the way, both vehicles were the top of the line variant with the 1 litre turbo-petrol and 6-speed torque converter transmission.

Could you please share your experience of test driving the 1.0 Turbo AT.

[nightfury88]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I went to a Nexa nearby with my Dad and took a look at the Fronx.

Looks like Nexa E-City

[FNM]

Originally Posted by RijuC

Could you please share your experience of test driving the 1.0 Turbo AT.

Sure, I will post my impressions soon.

[FNM]

Originally Posted by RijuC

Could you please share your experience of test driving the 1.0 Turbo AT.

To put a reference on my driving impressions of the Fronx, I own both a BMW 3-Series and a Wagon R. The 3-series is the one I drive daily, while the Wagon R is for running errands. However I am judging the Fronx from the perspective of a 16 lakh car. Driving the 1.0 Turbo with a proper torque converter auto transmission was a pleasant experience. The car is easy and effortless to drive in traffic. It is responsive enough to take advantage of small gaps in traffic to overtake. Occasionally there is a slight delay in shifting down when you smash down the accelerator suddenly, but this is to be expected. By and large the engine/transmission work well together and I enjoyed driving the car.

As for the other aspects, the fit and finish were good, and driving position was good, and the seats are comfortable. For reference,I am 6’2” tall. I did not spend time getting to know the central display, but it did look cluttered to me. Hopefully one can customise it to display only the information you want.

The suspension is plaint enough on most surfaces, but at speed over certain undulations the car does tend to dance a bit. However I do wonder whether the tyres in the test cars were overinflated.

I drove the Venue and Sonet over a year ago so my memory of those cars is a little faded, but out of the three, I would certainly choose the Fronx. This is a car I would be happy to own.

I hope this helps.

[Anxiousblock]

Can dealers charge extra on accesories (fitting charges)? Ther prices on genuine Maruti website and dealer quotes are different.

[TechFan]

Yesterday I got the chance to test drive the Fronx in Chennai. It was a Delta plus 1.2 NA manual variant in blue colour. The overall driving experience was positive - good visibility, stable ride, refined engine, light clutch and smooth gearshifts. The only downside was a lack of rear camera in this variant which the dealer said can be added by him. The interior is very similar to that of a baleno

[Turbohead]

So I checked out the Fronx today. Looks really appealing externally and feels great from the driver's seat. The plastics seem ok and is similar to the Baleno. The panels inside felt flimsy personally.

Some observations:
1) Although the rest seat headroom seems adequate for 5'10", if you lean back to rest your head, you will hit the roof. Absolutely disappointed.
2) The rear seat width is similar to Polo/Vento. Not completely convinced that 3 people can sit comfortably as mentioned in the review.
3) The height adjustment lever for the driver was either faulty or poorly implemented - it scrapes against the fabric which quickly wears off. Pic attached to demonstrate the same.


The Ciaz is still on sale and I'd honestly prefer that considering the price isn't very different if you have family and loot to haul.

[m8002?]

I took a short test drive of the top variant ( 1.0 Turbo with AT ) yesterday and was pretty impressed with the drive. The acceleration was smooth and linear. There was slight jerk when the turbo kicked in but after that the car just keep pulling. The leg space in the rear is good though.

The AC cooled the car quickly at 2:30PM. The interiors are exactly Baleno and they are par for the segment.

Maruti can keep telling its an SUV/Crossover, but its not. The seating position is very sedan/hatch like. Even the ingress/egress I found was very much like getting into a normal hatch. I was not sure where the increased GC disappeared. I am 5'8" and the rear head room was just adequate. The boot loading lip is very high. It would be difficult to haul a heavy bag into the trunk.

[Chewbacca]

My thoughts on the Fronx ...

First I went to TrueValue and took a quote for my Wagon-R 1.2 AGS top model which is in pristine condition, has clocked just 20 K in 3+ years. Wagon-R does not have rear AC vents, I miss that so Fronx was my new hope. TrueValue offered me 5 L. Then I headed over to Nexa showroom.

The first thing I noticed is the difficulty in Ingress and Egress.

Ingress: With Fronx having a GC of 190 mm, we have to raise our foot almost 1.5 feet to be able to step inside properly. For elderly people this would be a problem.

Egress: While getting out of the rear seat, Wagon-R style, I banged my head under the C pillar. I am just 5'8", I just can't believe this.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

1) Although the rest seat headroom seems adequate for 5'10", if you lean back to rest your head, you will hit the roof. Absolutely disappointed.

Exactly my thoughts. There was just 2 inch space left over my head. Add 1~2 inches more if seated in the first row (depending on the incline). The front seat head rests can be pulled up just 1 notch, try pulling it up further it touches the roof, you cannot even make it latch on to the 2nd notch !! This car is strict NO for anyone taller than 5'8" as it would be a safety concern.

Imagine the consequences if the driver fails to notice a speed bump, people in the back row are going to get hurt !! Maybe I am a too critical as I have got used to the roomier Wagon-R, definitely NOT going to replace it with Fronx, period.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

2) The rear seat width is similar to Polo/Vento. Not completely convinced that 3 people can sit comfortably as mentioned in the review.

The rear seat has lesser thigh support than the Wagon R !! Without thigh support our legs won't stay parellel and would widen at the knees, and in that position my knee was perfectly blocking the air-flow from the rear AC vent.

On my way out of Nexa I was thinking "hope TrueValue does not start chasing me for selling my car"

[kosjam]

I wonder if the Fronx can be called a commercial failure, considering that I was informed that all variants most colours are available for ready delivery within 10 days including number plate/ registration.

A vehicle which was launched barely a month ago and considering the amount of marketing and media hype it has received, if it is readily available while its competition, such as the Venue, has a 6-8 week waiting period, something might not be right.

The only issue in my opinion is, they are charging at least 1 lakh extra OTR for all models on offer.

[RijuC]

Originally Posted by kosjam

I wonder if the Fronx can be called a commercial failure, considering....

The only issue in my opinion is, they are charging at least 1 lakh extra OTR for all models on offer.

Commercial success or failure of FronX can be determined from the sales figures, sales growth rate parameters etc. after few months. Initially the sales figures could be high due to extraordinary media hype and YouTube coverage the newly launched car models are receiving nowadays. Every YouTuber is buying a new model everyday. God knows who pumps the money. Dust settles after couple of months and then we can understand whether the model is successful or not.

If waiting period for equivalent Hyundai model is high, that could be due to ongoing supply chain issues and production bottleneck. And MSIL might be managing the supply chain issue in a better way.

[m8002?]

I am quite sure the sales will not be great and Maruti will start offering discounts. However, I would be disappointed if they again discontinue the 1.0 engine.

Given similar interiors and price points, the Brezza makes a compelling buy for automatic. There is a reason why it commands a 6 months waiting list. It just does not feel like a sub 4m car.

[FNM]

Originally Posted by kosjam

The only issue in my opinion is, they are charging at least 1 lakh extra OTR for all models on offer.

I suspect the name itself will have some people off. I think Maruti have shot themselves in the foot by giving it such a silly name.

[RijuC]

Originally Posted by FNM

I suspect the name itself will have some people off. I think Maruti have shot themselves in the foot by giving it such a silly name.

It's not a Silly name at all. MSIL head honchos have already found a good explanation of the name "Fronx", that is "Frontier-Next". It was perhaps a reverse engineering process for them. First, launch the name. Then carry out an exercise to find how it was derived.

Thanks to the innovative Youtubers, we got a better sounding name "Fron-X"!

Hope the product secure good sales numbers based on its performance and not on name. Otherwise we know how well the 5 star rated cars do sell.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by RijuC

Otherwise we know how well the 5 star rated cars do sell.

Not sure if there was pun intended.
IMO those high safety ratings give a false "perception of safety" to the Indian car buyer. The design dynamics (weight, height, wheelbase, bodyroll) of the car be such that it minimizes the probability of a crash, that comes foremost and that exactly is the point missed by our buyers.

Tatas and Mahindras are yet to learn how to reduce car weight without compromising safety. The car weight and CoG alone plays a big role in driver not losing control of his/her car. Marutis shines in this area and thus the safety ratings even if low, equates to a 5 star rating.

Head-on collision is now rare because most highways have dividers, what we see in the news everyday is some car has rear-ended a truck or bus, the bonnet has completely gone under the truck and the impact point was not the front bumper but the A-pillar and the wind-shield, leading to casualties. That's when those x-star safety rating go out of the window.

I wonder when will Global NCAP realize that they need to customize their crashes as per Indian road conditions and driving habits (aversion to seat belts)