[mithun]

Originally Posted by Eddy

And I disagree. Comfort, compared to other cars in the early to mid 90s, was much better. No other car offered such ease of ingress and the rear legroom. Add to that, the dicky where I spent many a journey sleeping !!
The only thing missing was the AC, but we were not used to it then so did not miss it much

What I've meant is that a new M800 rides better than a new Omni. I agree with you when it's compared with old cars...

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by mithun

What I've meant is that a new M800 rides better than a new Omni. I agree with you when it's compared with old cars...

But you couldnt carry more then 5 kgs of vegetables in it. Would you? for big families this was the perfect vehicle.

Its only recently that we see nuclear families with 3 or 4 members, before we had a couple of dozens staying together. Indian families have been big anyways.

This vehicle has been unique. It holds it own, in a market where vehicles far outnumber the power it produces. But till today we dont have a viable alternative in that price range.

The TATA Ace with a badly engineered body didnt work.

Agree it isnt good in a lot of respects but what it does for the owner (if he understands its limitations) is way beyond what it is worth.

Something very much like us Indians. Everyone knows why jobs get outsourced here right

For all those who dont like it, there is always the Innova and Xylo for you folks.

[NIP]

The thread says 'Omni Haters'...so all you lovers stay out !

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by NIP

The thread says 'Omni Haters'...so all you lovers stay out !

LOL Why not name this the Omni: Hate/Love thread

[Fordmanchau]

I really don't agree with this thread, well each individual likes or dislikes the car depending on their parameters, but using the word HATE is very strong. If you don't like the car then you don't buy it, and when you don't buy it, there is no question of hating it.
I learnt driving on this car, when in 1998 we bought a second hand '94 model, we sold it in 2003 and bought a new Omni. It has tremendous utility. Till today we have the car, we take it to our village, load it with tonnes of grain sacks and drive back. It gets planted with the load and drives very well. we have done many long distances trip on it with family.
Well those we really didn't longed for A/C, ABS, airbags, etc because we did not know about them, but still people travelled in those cars,and look at the value the car offers along with the space in that price range. You just can't hate it.

[Turbo Head]

To be honest, I cant digest the idea of loading/unloading in my car. The car is for safe and comfortable journey for other purposes we have tempos/vikram/ace etc.

[gods-envy]

the ubiqutious Maruti Van. It was our first car(1998 model) and I did all my initial driving on it. Sold it for a second hand Accent, cant seem to recollect the year though but for sure served us well for more than 5 years.

Served us well and just let us down once with a faulty fuel pump. Replaced it and it was as good as new.

In one of my recent drives to Mysore, I saw the car still going good and strong.

Brought a smile on my face

[rageshgr]

I think the thread has back-fired and turned itself into a why I love Omni thread. As a child I thought it was a nice car. I have not traveled in an Omni. The only downside I could think are the lack of power and probably not poised around the corners.

I think it is based on the Suzuki Super Carry, which once featured in Top Gear, Richard tried a Scandinavian flick at about 60-70 kph and Voila! it toppled!

[fast_elegance]

OMNI - Love or Hate? I think most people will love it for its simplicity. It doesnt boast about itself but decently does its job. We owned one for almost 2 years and was used to carry eggs (we were wholesale dealers for eggs). Talking about the suspensions what can be more brittle to carry than eggs. All the eggs remained in 1 piece.

I surely did enjoy driving it. Its a completely different feel. It was really easy to teach my bro to drive on it as well .

I had a cousin of mine who did a Mangalore - Bangalore (360kms) in 4 hours with a Omni. Totally insane considering the bad roads and to top it winding Ghat sections .

[sbhaduri]

I would agree with fordmanchau completely.hate is such a strong word.If you dont like it you don't buy it. Maruti Omni has once been a peoples carrier.I cherish the moments when i learnt driving in that car from my father.It was a 1990 model which my family owned till 2006 and then sold off to buy our current car.

If the omni is driven sensibly its a good car even for the highways.We have done quite a lot of highway driving in that car without any mishaps.It offers oodles of space with huge legroom both front and rear with a big boot.Once with the rear seat removed we even transported our scooter in it from jamshedpur to Ranchi.

Its a simple plain car which does its duty well.Transportation from place a to place b comfortably.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

I really don't agree with this thread, well each individual likes or dislikes the car depending on their parameters, but using the word HATE is very strong. If you don't like the car then you don't buy it, and when you don't buy it, there is no question of hating it.
I learnt driving on this car, when in 1998 we bought a second hand '94 model, we sold it in 2003 and bought a new Omni. It has tremendous utility. Till today we have the car, we take it to our village, load it with tonnes of grain sacks and drive back. It gets planted with the load and drives very well. we have done many long distances trip on it with family.
Well those we really didn't longed for A/C, ABS, airbags, etc because we did not know about them, but still people travelled in those cars,and look at the value the car offers along with the space in that price range. You just can't hate it.

[B.R.S.Rao]

I own Maruti Omni, 2006 model. I heard that New Maruti Omni O2 will be introduced shortly. Any news?

[devrajman]

My Grandfather always owned Omni. He must have bought and sold 8-9 of them!!!

OMNI the car with aerodynamics of a BRICK! is a great van. There are many one liners for this car. Hate or Love it, its one never say die tin on 4 wheels.

->800cc but awesome power, pickup and mileage. Load it full & still has juice!
->smallest and cheapest car with differential
->brakes good. Never acutually topples unless you drive like a manic or think your driving a ferrari.
->turning radius fantastic
->very easy to park and get it out due to front wheel just below the driver
->very cheap maintenance
->very good resale value
->customizable like, remove seats or add seats. Do anything with space inside. Absolutely fun to have.
->no power steering still easy to navigate
->awesome leg room, felt like soat for people in rear
->no REAL upgrade of tyres required and still pretty stable (new models)
->very good road view
->cheapest tall boy (easy in easy out)
->good road clearance
->city mileage 13 & highway 20
->many more cant recall....

I know there are many reasons to hate it. But i can bet, if you owned it when there were no other cars (still there is no such cheap car with so many utility) you will never want to change.

[DicKy]

Why oh why are you guyz mashin' up the omni????!!!!
Know am writing in a 4 month old thread,but i could't stand you guyz having a hate thread for omni!!
OK ,it doesn't have a bonnet(which is a big turn off for me and dad)therefore unsafe.
It's not sporty to drive 'cos its tall.
I always felt it could have a fifth cog in the highway.

Then you guyz should smash up the scorpio which is ugly,dynamically unstable which makes it unsafe amd doesn't even have the space of an indica.
For that money you could buy a ANHC or fiesta which are good looking and handling cars.
The point is you are comparing a whole different class of cars.
I can't say any more points than what the other omni lovers had said.
Omni can't be thought of as a personal or office going car(though we did the same with ours)
Its for people who think practical.


If it had AC,a more powerful engine and the springs at the rear changed to coils and also the engine mounted up front ala versa,it would be the perfect car for India.
Know we have the new eeco,but i would shudder to think of a van with all the powertrain up front.Yuck
The eecos destined to fail in the long run( well in realty it would sell like hot cakes)

[clevermax]

two reasons to hate it

1) If you drive it and collide head on, you'll die even before the vehicle starts getting dented. Crumple zone for the car is YOU!
2) The ride quality is out of this world! The rear seats are just 2 or three inches higher than the floor how will you sit on them!