Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo - First Impressions

basilmabraham · 9th December 2006, 17:04

I had posted this here, thought it should be here in the new car reviews.

Saw the Estilo at Popular Automobiles Trivandrum. They had two variants - a Blue Vxi and a Bright red one.

First impression was not really good as this one was standing close to the Wagon R. It looked small when standing near the Wagon R. The WagonR seemed to have a greater road presence.

Didnt drive it as demo cars are still awaited...

My takes -

1. Entry and Exit is very easy, as the car has a high stance and doors open wide.
2. The front seats are comfortable and roomy, you get a feeling of being in a big car.
3. The dash is huge...it extends a lot to the wind shield..there is quite a lot of space between the dash edge and the wind shield...this definitley gives the feeling of a big car, but dont even think of seeing the bonnet from inside...may be a problem for many...compared to my PalioD, the dash is huge and front body visiblity is very less.
4. There is a quarter galss in the front, and the A pillar is very wide..could cause issues when taking U turns..
5. the steering wheel is sporty in beige color. felt a bit plastcky though.
6. the controls looked standard...not much fun to operate.
7. the audio slots (two separate cubby holes) could take a double din player...it seemed a bit far from the drivers position...may be difficult to operate while driving...safety says one shouldnt

8. gear shift lever and hand brakes are nicely chrome lined...the hand brakes looked and felt similar to any other car...
9. One big disappointment was the gear shift,....it felt really bad ...may be it could be better with the engine running....i dont understand why maruti has came up with this pathetic gear box..may be it runs well..but feels very very bad...you have to search for each gear slot to put the vehicle in gear...my palio, even though a diesel, has a much better shift...
10. the back seats are not 60:40 split...so may be a problem for some....the seats in the rear are cramped..its strictly a 4 pax car....no support fro thighs or neck in the rear...
11. the boot lid has a handle like the door handle on the outside and opens smoothly...the boot is adequate for the size of car...i cant compare it with any other vehicle other than my palio which has a bigger boot.....like in the palio there is a small hold inside the boot lid, for closing the boot lid...
12. the bonnet lid is very small....the ngine bay looked cramped, even though everything is neatly arranged,...people might find issues with fitting extra horns or any relays....since the bonnet door is small access to various parts of the engine may not be easy...dunno for sure...
13. head lamps are huge....going almost all the way to the bottom of the wind shield...fog lamps are integrated for the Vxi...

Overall I a not very impressed with the whole package...may be because i went with great expectations...a nice car ..but there are definitely better options...

the price quoted was 3,81,000 odd OTR for the LXi and 4,07,000 OTR for Vxi without ABS...with ABS it would cost 4,37,000 OTR..
the WagonR is comparitively priced...3,85,000 for LXi...

seeing the similarity in price, my obvious question to the sales person was that would it be self cannibalism...the answer was funny to hear...the Estilo is for people below 35 years ,and WagonR for the 35+ crowd....only time would tell which one would survive....

All said and done, for a sub 4 lakh car, i would think twice before deciding on the Estilo...if Fiat brings up the favelifted Palio with a frugal 1.2 engine for a similar price...I would definitley go for it....this is my personal opinion

the dealer has promised to bring the car to my place on monday..will take a test drive and see if my opininos change...

angelfire · 9th December 2006, 17:47

Good review basilmabraham...i did check out the New Zen Estilo today...Nd guess you have covered all the points...Wht i noticed first was the gearshift ..... pathetic for sure compared to the OLd zen...Also the interiors..All new dials and consoles..But Very plasticky...not Even close to the wagon-r or even the alto in terms of quality...Well my Overall opinion... ...Aint such a good bargain for your $$$$....Think twice before you go for it...

speedzak · 9th December 2006, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelfire

Also the interiors..All new dials and consoles..But Very plasticky...not Even close to the wagon-r or even the alto in terms of quality...Well my Overall opinion... ...Aint such a good bargain for your $$$$....Think twice before you go for it...

I dont agree that!
The interior quality is much better than WagonR and Alto. Maybe in the VXi version I saw. The Dash is far better finished. The only thing to grub was the same Ac/fan controls as in Alto WagonR which is very very cheap in feel and looks.

Rest, the car is ok. Not a bad car for sure. Could be bettered though!!
That's all.

I liked it!

theMAG · 9th December 2006, 19:28

Saw an Estilo driven out from the Mandovi godown while I was driving back from office - a red colored base version with noncolored bumpers. Looks ugly from back, acceptable from side and nice from the front. Too raised I felt. Its a better looking Wagon R - thats abt it.

ravibhat · 9th December 2006, 20:26

Yes its better looking wagonR nothing special about it. Maruti has launched new zen estilo just to attract buyers who don't want to buy wagonR for its looks. Because they don't have any other better small car
to design and launch and they know people blindly go for maruti for its price/resale value/furel economy nothing else impresses about maruti cars for sure including swift.

Regards,

Ravi.

Tech · 9th December 2006, 21:37

IMHO it looks better than others + it is new. It's going to be the same negative words like when Swift was launched, still it sold in good numbers.

Besides price/resale value/furel economy etc are very important. People but Santros for looks and for 'not buying a desi Maruti factor mentality'. Nobody minds a poor Korean engine which will have to be kicked out after 3-4 yrs. People have money to throw around these days and do not take sensible desicions. By the way Suzuki was mentioned as Japanese no. 3 recently in Economic Times. Also Japanese / European cars are best in the world. Koreans and Americans lag behind.

It may look slightly feminine like the name, however from certain angles, it looks powerful as well. Different people see different things in the same car. See below -

Lalvaz · 10th December 2006, 03:58

The initial photographs look awesome. I like the fact that you now have ABS as an option on a smaller car. And I think the overall look and feel of the interiors is far better than the Wagon R.

Personally own a Santro, and I like it. But I can see the logic in buying a Maruti for its excellent aftersales, resale value and extremely low maintainence costs.

hellspawn · 10th December 2006, 05:23

saw a zen estilo on the roads,first comment by my mom was "suzuki shrunk the toyota innova".and then i thought "ya it looks like a scaled down innova"

basilmabraham · 10th December 2006, 07:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedzak

I dont agree that!
The interior quality is much better than WagonR and Alto. Maybe in the VXi version I saw. The Dash is far better finished. The only thing to grub was the same Ac/fan controls as in Alto WagonR which is very very cheap in feel and looks.

Rest, the car is ok. Not a bad car for sure. Could be bettered though!!
That's all.

I liked it!

with you Zak. The interior quality is not really bad...infact its at par with or better than the swift...thats my personal opininon....

dont know what, i didnt feel so happy seeing this car...so wrote such a review..also i didnt mean to say that the Estilo is a bad car...all i said is that in my opinion, the car could have been better...also think a lot...see the car, test drive it yourselves before going for it...because style, comfotr etc are very relative...and change from person to person...

I am taking a test drive tomorrow or day after ...hope my opinino changes after that..

angelfire · 10th December 2006, 12:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedzak

I dont agree that!
The interior quality is much better than WagonR and Alto. Maybe in the VXi version I saw. The Dash is far better finished. The only thing to grub was the same Ac/fan controls as in Alto WagonR which is very very cheap in feel and looks.

Rest, the car is ok. Not a bad car for sure. Could be bettered though!!
That's all.

I liked it!

Hey Zak..i felt the interiors had a plasticky feel to it......They could have worked on the on it right..that too 4lac+ car..what say??...

Boom Shiva · 10th December 2006, 12:46

All this criticism is actually making me wonder...when the original Zen first came out, it also got roundly criticised by everybody for its shape and form. A couple of years later, it was selling like hot cakes.

Perhaps the Estilo is in for the same fate?

theMAG · 10th December 2006, 15:05

Boom, when the original Zen was out, its jellybean shape was unique at that point of time - hence the mixed feedback. The Estilo's design, au contraire, was seen on the Matiz and Wagon R already. Howver, I undoubdtedly believe that the Estilo will sell in high numbers from the start

2L8uLoose · 10th December 2006, 16:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by theMAG

The Estilo's design, au contraire, was seen on the Matiz and Wagon R already.

Lets not forget.. A "MINI ME" version of the Innova.. in some perverse way.

F50 · 10th December 2006, 21:43

I checked the car in a hurry ...
I can say only one thing right now, 'Gaadi shuru hote hi khatam ho jaati hai'

Seats are so small. I thought i was sitting in 1:3 car.
I dont know about drive and all but I didnt at all get the "roomy" feel inside.
Gear shifts very pathetic dont know what it will be while on the move.
If anybody says that 5 people can sit easily is gonna get a 'smack' unless he/she was talking about three 5 years old kids sitting.

Overall, as my friend 2l8 said its a mini-innova ... matiz & wagon R.

hawkeye · 10th December 2006, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by F50

I checked the car in a hurry ...
ISeats are so small. I thought i was sitting in 1:3 car.
I dont know about drive and all but I didnt at all get the "roomy" feel inside.

I agree to what F50 has said.

The car feels very cramped. Forget about 3 adults being comfy in the rear.

9th December 2006, 17:04	#1
basilmabraham BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney/Cochin Posts: 772 Thanked: 76 Times View My Garage	Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo - First Impressions I had posted this here, thought it should be here in the new car reviews. Saw the Estilo at Popular Automobiles Trivandrum. They had two variants - a Blue Vxi and a Bright red one. First impression was not really good as this one was standing close to the Wagon R. It looked small when standing near the Wagon R. The WagonR seemed to have a greater road presence. Didnt drive it as demo cars are still awaited... My takes - 1. Entry and Exit is very easy, as the car has a high stance and doors open wide. 2. The front seats are comfortable and roomy, you get a feeling of being in a big car. 3. The dash is huge...it extends a lot to the wind shield..there is quite a lot of space between the dash edge and the wind shield...this definitley gives the feeling of a big car, but dont even think of seeing the bonnet from inside...may be a problem for many...compared to my PalioD, the dash is huge and front body visiblity is very less. 4. There is a quarter galss in the front, and the A pillar is very wide..could cause issues when taking U turns.. 5. the steering wheel is sporty in beige color. felt a bit plastcky though. 6. the controls looked standard...not much fun to operate. 7. the audio slots (two separate cubby holes) could take a double din player...it seemed a bit far from the drivers position...may be difficult to operate while driving...safety says one shouldnt 8. gear shift lever and hand brakes are nicely chrome lined...the hand brakes looked and felt similar to any other car... 9. One big disappointment was the gear shift,....it felt really bad ...may be it could be better with the engine running....i dont understand why maruti has came up with this pathetic gear box..may be it runs well..but feels very very bad...you have to search for each gear slot to put the vehicle in gear...my palio, even though a diesel, has a much better shift... 10. the back seats are not 60:40 split...so may be a problem for some....the seats in the rear are cramped..its strictly a 4 pax car....no support fro thighs or neck in the rear... 11. the boot lid has a handle like the door handle on the outside and opens smoothly...the boot is adequate for the size of car...i cant compare it with any other vehicle other than my palio which has a bigger boot.....like in the palio there is a small hold inside the boot lid, for closing the boot lid... 12. the bonnet lid is very small....the ngine bay looked cramped, even though everything is neatly arranged,...people might find issues with fitting extra horns or any relays....since the bonnet door is small access to various parts of the engine may not be easy...dunno for sure... 13. head lamps are huge....going almost all the way to the bottom of the wind shield...fog lamps are integrated for the Vxi... Overall I a not very impressed with the whole package...may be because i went with great expectations...a nice car ..but there are definitely better options... the price quoted was 3,81,000 odd OTR for the LXi and 4,07,000 OTR for Vxi without ABS...with ABS it would cost 4,37,000 OTR.. the WagonR is comparitively priced...3,85,000 for LXi... seeing the similarity in price, my obvious question to the sales person was that would it be self cannibalism...the answer was funny to hear...the Estilo is for people below 35 years ,and WagonR for the 35+ crowd....only time would tell which one would survive.... All said and done, for a sub 4 lakh car, i would think twice before deciding on the Estilo...if Fiat brings up the favelifted Palio with a frugal 1.2 engine for a similar price...I would definitley go for it....this is my personal opinion the dealer has promised to bring the car to my place on monday..will take a test drive and see if my opininos change...
	() Thanks

9th December 2006, 17:47	#2
angelfire BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mangalore/Chicago Posts: 251 Thanked: Once View My Garage	Good review basilmabraham...i did check out the New Zen Estilo today...Nd guess you have covered all the points...Wht i noticed first was the gearshift ..... pathetic for sure compared to the OLd zen...Also the interiors..All new dials and consoles..But Very plasticky...not Even close to the wagon-r or even the alto in terms of quality...Well my Overall opinion... ...Aint such a good bargain for your $$$$....Think twice before you go for it...
	() Thanks

9th December 2006, 19:28	#4
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	Saw an Estilo driven out from the Mandovi godown while I was driving back from office - a red colored base version with noncolored bumpers. Looks ugly from back, acceptable from side and nice from the front. Too raised I felt. Its a better looking Wagon R - thats abt it.
	() Thanks

9th December 2006, 20:26	#5
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Yes its better looking wagonR nothing special about it. Maruti has launched new zen estilo just to attract buyers who don't want to buy wagonR for its looks. Because they don't have any other better small car to design and launch and they know people blindly go for maruti for its price/resale value/furel economy nothing else impresses about maruti cars for sure including swift. Regards, Ravi.
	() Thanks

9th December 2006, 21:37	#6
Tech BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: India Posts: 216 Thanked: 20 Times	IMHO it looks better than others + it is new. It's going to be the same negative words like when Swift was launched, still it sold in good numbers. Besides price/resale value/furel economy etc are very important. People but Santros for looks and for 'not buying a desi Maruti factor mentality'. Nobody minds a poor Korean engine which will have to be kicked out after 3-4 yrs. People have money to throw around these days and do not take sensible desicions. By the way Suzuki was mentioned as Japanese no. 3 recently in Economic Times. Also Japanese / European cars are best in the world. Koreans and Americans lag behind. It may look slightly feminine like the name, however from certain angles, it looks powerful as well. Different people see different things in the same car. See below -
	() Thanks

10th December 2006, 03:58	#7
Lalvaz Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,412 Thanked: 2,177 Times	The initial photographs look awesome. I like the fact that you now have ABS as an option on a smaller car. And I think the overall look and feel of the interiors is far better than the Wagon R. Personally own a Santro, and I like it. But I can see the logic in buying a Maruti for its excellent aftersales, resale value and extremely low maintainence costs.
	() Thanks

10th December 2006, 05:23	#8
hellspawn Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: noida Posts: 1,686 Thanked: 7 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	saw a zen estilo on the roads,first comment by my mom was "suzuki shrunk the toyota innova".and then i thought "ya it looks like a scaled down innova"
	() Thanks

10th December 2006, 12:46	#11
Boom Shiva BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,055 Thanked: 18 Times	All this criticism is actually making me wonder...when the original Zen first came out, it also got roundly criticised by everybody for its shape and form. A couple of years later, it was selling like hot cakes. Perhaps the Estilo is in for the same fate?
	() Thanks

10th December 2006, 15:05	#12
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	Boom, when the original Zen was out, its jellybean shape was unique at that point of time - hence the mixed feedback. The Estilo's design, au contraire, was seen on the Matiz and Wagon R already. Howver, I undoubdtedly believe that the Estilo will sell in high numbers from the start
	() Thanks

10th December 2006, 21:43	#14
F50 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai/USA Posts: 1,707 Thanked: 103 Times	I checked the car in a hurry ... I can say only one thing right now, 'Gaadi shuru hote hi khatam ho jaati hai' Seats are so small. I thought i was sitting in 1:3 car. I dont know about drive and all but I didnt at all get the "roomy" feel inside. Gear shifts very pathetic dont know what it will be while on the move. If anybody says that 5 people can sit easily is gonna get a 'smack' unless he/she was talking about three 5 years old kids sitting. Overall, as my friend 2l8 said its a mini-innova ... matiz & wagon R. Last edited by F50 : 10th December 2006 at 21:44.
	() Thanks