Hi everyone. This is my second thread in as many weeks. The car in question is my mom's brand new steed, the Maruti Suzuki Estilo LXi Green (with Factory fitted CNG).
Buying the Estilo was something that happened out of a coincidence that I have mentioned in my earlier thread.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...swift-zdi.html
I went to test-drive one car (A-Star Auto), test drove the Swift ZDi out of total boredom and actually ended up buying a Midnight Black Swift ZDi, a car that I least expected to end up with!!
Anyway, one will ask,"this guy is speaking about an A-Star, then a Swift. WHERE THE HELL does an Estilo figure in this???"
At one point of time, even I was about to ask myself. HOW DID I END UP BUYING THE ESTILO????
Here's how it panned out. I booked my Swift, 10 days before I actually got delivery of the car. In those 10 days that I paced to and from the showroom in order to get a glimpse of my black beauty, I came across a white Estilo VXi. I have never really liked the car since it was launched, but I haven't really hated it either. I had neutral feelings towards the car, but let me be honest. I NEVER thought I'd end up owning one.
Anyway, as I walked up to the White Estilo, I couldn't help appreciate the fact that Maruti had done a good job with restyling the front. I opened up the hood, and I appreciated the good looking, tiny, K-Series unit and the amount of space there was in the engine bay to service the car without really taking a lot of things out. I opened the driver side door and sat in the driver's seat. "Average interiors. BAD plastic quality!" I thought.
Also, opened the boot and liked the fact that a 5 lac rupee car had a larger boot than my 8.5 lac rupee car had!
As I was just poring over some silly details, I saw my SA, Mitin Udeshi approaching in the rear-view mirror (more about him later.) I was a familiar sight for him, as I almost spoke to him twice daily about the status of my Swift, and even used to drop by on the way back from work regularly. I just got off the car and went off to the accessories section to choose the free accessories for my Swift. Suddenly Mitin just mentioned that there was a large discount on the Estilo. It struck me like lightning! WHY not replace Mom's aging (yet, pristine) Zen for another Zen, as it was called earlier.
Maruti Suzuki had called it the Zen Estilo when they had launched the car a few years ago, to cash in on the name, "Zen," that had captured a million hearts and garnered massive numbers for Maruti Suzuki in the 'premium' hatchback segment, owing to it's free revving, buzzy, smooth engine and smacker of a gearbox.
If you ask me, honestly, I was never a fan of the Zen. We bought it in 2004 when there were better cars in the market. The WagonR and the Santro were way better options, even then. But Dad was just too keen on getting a Maruti Zen at that time and since he loved it so much, we went for it. The car had a lot of demerits, but the smooth engine and relatively sweet driving experience made the car a nice, chuckable option for driving in the city. Soon, the car's job was to transport mom around, as she learnt to drive and the car was relegated to small runs throughout her life. She has now been sold at 35000 km, in a near mint condition.
Back to the story. Immediately, as my mind started working, I realized that the car was EOL (End of Life) and was being phased out. But then again, I didn't have much to worry about, as the car shared a lot of mechanicals with another car that sold in bucketloads, The WagonR. I have nothing to worry, I thought. Even my earlier Zen was discountinued 3 years after I bought it. Finding parts for her even now would be a piece of cake. At the back of my mind, the security of the car being a Maruti cemented my opinion, and further, the thought of sending two Marutis for service just cushioned my mind and made me feel very comfortable with that thought.
I drove him in my Civic, thinking I should discuss this with Dad. I called him up from the car. The conversation stands like this,
Me: "Dad, Maruti has big discounts on the Estilo."
Dad: "Son, have you lost your mind? We are waiting for delivery of a car and you want to buy another one? I am calling (our family doctor)"
Me: "But there is a xxxxxx discount on the Estilo."
Dad: "............" Silence on the other end.
Me: "Dad?"
Dad: "Ok, call him home in the evening. Book it!"
I kid you not. That's EXACTLY how the conversation happened. 1 minute and 11 second conversation is what it took to convince both of us to buy a Maruti Estilo! NO test drive! Can you believe it?
Anyway, he came home, we were about to book a White VXi (top model) since we could palate the boxy shape only in white (and I liked dusky brown but no one likes what I like) when suddenly Dad said that he would like to buy the factory fitted CNG LXi Green version. And suddenly our decision started sounding more lucrative and attractive than before. A factory fitted CNG Maruti with a 1000 cc 3 cylinder K-Series engine that gives 20+ km to the kg, coupled with Maruti's A.S.S. and a 4 year extended warranty! Win-win, if you ask me.
The decision made so much practical sense that we actually had a laugh at the end of the day as if we got the deal of our lives. And we actually did!!! Our Maruti Zen was being purchased by them for a good price. They even gave us a gigantic loyalty bonus. Over and above that, we got huge discounts on the ex-showroom price of the car, and suddenly we were looking at a factory fit CNG car that was a class higher than the Alto 800 Petrol, and cost lesser to buy!!!!!!!!!
We paid that night and waited for delivery. And wait we did! We had Lord Ganesha at home for 2 days and couldn't really get the car, even though it was ready to be picked up.
The next day after immersing our idol, Dad and I went and got her home.
Yes, the first time I drove a CNG Estilo was the time we drove off with her.
About the car:
Haven't driven her much. Out of the 244 km she's done, I have done a 100.
Initial Impressions:
The car feels smooth, tractable, and has that almost frictionless feeling when one leaves the clutch. Off the blocks, you would be hard pressed to tell whether the car actually runs on CNG or is on Petrol. The pick up is quite nifty and though the car gathers speed at a relatively slow pace, the beauty of the K-Series gem shines through, making the car feel quite sprightly.
The clutch is very very light and has a smooth progressive action. The car requires minimal throttle response when in city traffic and just keeps rolling without any inputs on the A pedal. The IDEAL city car, if you ask me.
But get to a highway, and immediately, some weak points are brought forward. The car is light, and you feel it. Be it the wind, swaying your car around, or a relatively light car like the Honda City, passing it at a decent speed, throwing the car all over the place with the wind around it. The light steering is pleasure in traffic but lifeless at speeds above 70-80 km and the car's ability to get displaced on large bumps at high speeds makes the car feel very nervous.
Don't cross 80, and you feel right at home. The suspension is absorbent (surprisingly so) and the seats feel ok. The visibility is good, and so is the engine response in all gears. Gearshift itself is good, but the reverse gear and 5th gear are difficult to slot into, maybe because everything is so new!
The car plastics are crap, and the car comes with cheap, 800'esque outer rear view mirrors. This, being an LXi model, it only comes with power steering, front power windows and central locking. Otherwise, she's barebones. The ashtray and cupholder feel like they have been plucked out of a Tata Sierra.
Accessories:
The SA got me Fog lamps (non-OE), Door moulding strips and mud flaps on the car for free. Not bad, considering that we got a huge discount on the car, already!!!!
I installed the following things afterwards:
1. Packy Poda floor mats.
2. Stebel Nautilus Horn with Hella Relay (damn! That stock horn was a single tone of worthless bulls**t!)
3. Pioneer FH-X559UI dual din head unit
4. Powerbass 6.5 inch components in the front doors powered by a
5. Convex 2 channel amplifier
6. Rear doors had JVC Coaxial speakers
The part you all are waiting to read about. THE CNG PART:
This being a factory fitted CNG car, there are a few features that separate the car from a normal Estilo.
1. The CNG cylinder in the boot.
2. The CNG kit in the engine bay
3. The fire extinguisher below the passenger seat.
4. The CNG warning light in the instrument cluster, alongwith the usual check engine light.
5. The CNG switch next to the Alarm and Headlight leveler switches.
6. Additional bolstering in the rear suspension to bear the weight of the cylinder.
7. Some strategic changes in the engine, to allow it's longevity, considering the dry nature of the fuel (CNG)
8. The NGV Type Nozzle in the Petrol Filler cap, next to the petrol filler.
When the car is started, she starts on Petrol, and within a few seconds, depending on the conditions set by the CNG ECU (yes, there are 2 ECUs), the car makes a PING type of metallic sound and switches over automatically to CNG. I own another CNG car, (a retro-fitted sequential CNG injection Honda Civic) and however good the installation, that feel of a pre-engineered, pre-installed CNG kit is something else. You know that it's all part of the same car, and you have that security, that if something does go wrong with the car, you will not be shunned away by the service centre for having a CNG kit in the car (many do that. Honda was hesitant to service my car because it had a CNG kit on it.)
As Dad says, a factory fit is a factory fit. NO Aftermarket CNG install can be as neat!!!!!!!!!!!
Can't really comment on the mileage as we have done very less time with this car, but as of now CNG average is pathetic. Spoke to the SA and he said that CNG average improves only after the first inspection. Let's see if that's true.
A word on the Sales Advisor. Mitin Udeshi from Vitesse. Never met someone with this much dedication to sell cars. To be honest, I didn’t really show any enthusiasm on the first day. Interested I was, but didn’t really speak about the finance part once. The next day, I got calls from all the dealers who gave me test drives with the customary question, “Sir, KYA DECIDE KIYA AAPNE?” This guy was firmly planted. Not fickle minded. No cheap tactics to sell cars. No false claims. Not even a sales call. He even highlighted some points of the VW Polo over the Swift, while comparing. I was sure. If I was buying a car, it was going to be from Mitin. And Vitesse only. We have a long history with Vitesse since 1985 and have bought as many as 12 Marutis from them and have only good things to say about them. Their service, delivery deadlines and promises are realistic. Their service workshop at Prabhadevi is par excellence and we are privileged to have Vitesse in Mumbai. Since 29th of August, we have liked Mitin and his honesty so much, that we have bought another 7 cars from him in a matter of 3 days. Till date, he hasn’t said no or shown any negativity for anything we have asked him. He has even kindly offered a few accessories and accommodated special discounts for all the cars we bought from him. YES, EVEN THE SWIFT! In fact, we got a 25000 rupee discount on it, plus 6k worth of accessories.
A few photos. Sorry for the poor quality. All shot from my HTC Droid DNA at night with poor lighting..
23rd September 2013, 23:08
(11)
Thanks
, because I haven't tried it yet.
The ON Road price of my Estilo is, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, 4 lakh rupees!!!!!!!!!!
Got that fixed and now the horn button works from all three places on the steering wheel.