[ultimatechamp]

Originally Posted by rrs1951

Congrats, Bouncer!

I too, went in for a Zen Estilo about six months back, even after reading a lot of bad reviews about it, and I am certainly not repenting. Reviews have a lot of subjectivity and I feel the best way to select a car is list your own needs and take test drives of shortlisted models.

People also talk about the flimsy build quality of this car. My experience says otherwise. I have done more than 6000 km so far, mostly on pothole-lined roads of Mumbai), without any problem. The car is tougher than people give it credit for. About three months back, my car was involves in a "serial" accident in which seven cars were involved. Mine happened to be the sixth. Although I could stop before my car touched the one in front (brakes are good), an Indica which was behind me could not, and hit my car from behind. The damage suffered was much less in comparison with the magnitude of impact. Probably the imapct was absorbed nicely. the car was quickly repaired and is back in action.

None of my various pasengers have complained about lack of space - in fact most feel that there is a lot of space.

The AC is quite powerful and cools the interiors fast. I always drive with theAC on, and get a mileage of 11.4 kpl in city. There is also a decent amount of luggage space.

The car is very manoeuvrable. I do not think it is unstable at all. On my only drive outside the city, I took it upto 115 kph without any problem. Traffic prevented me from going any further. That trip gave me a mileage of 18.4 kpl.

All in all, it's a pretty good car.
I am quite happy with it.

I agree with you completely.
Talking about 'instability' beyond 100Kmph+ speeds in an Estilo is a lot of bull.
Me and wifey sitting beside me went to Bolpur,Shantiniketan and was back same day by 8pm in Kolkata and the speeds I drove at quite a few stretches on NH6 was above 165Kmph ! Dont worry,I have taken pictures to show.It is a rock steady car,trust me.
I drove the Estilo and went on accelerating at 5th,and boy was it smooth.It was as if I was a hot knife going through butter,thanks to a wonderful monocoque body design.My car is yet to be 'performance enhanced',but still driving my Estilo at excess of 160 was so very smooth.The engine sound was like the car could go more! I had although made a change from the original earlier,in terms of replacing my MRF ZVTS 145/70 R13 to Michelin XM1 155/65 R13 at dot 3000Kms.That was all.

I really hadn't even dreamt of achieving 160+ on my Estilo !!

The AC cools quick,I recently have fitted tints on all sides and front too.The Michelins were a great decision (telling from experience after driving in torrential rains at speeds in excess of 80Kmph! ).The slightly fatter tyres give a better road grip.

Mileage is something which I cannot comment on at all.Havent checked mileage in my previous car in 5 years,havent in this car since I bought it !!

[abhinav.gupta88]

Congrats on the buy dude.
Put some good alloys on it and it will look amazing.

Enjoy the ride

[jazzy_2cool]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

Mileage is something which I cannot comment on at all.Havent checked mileage in my previous car in 5 years,havent in this car since I bought it !!

Dude Its very much needed now,do update us on the FE your Car is giving
I am sure it will be +15.......

[Bouncer]

Thanks everyone for your good words and inputs. Was unable to check in TBhp for last three weeks for some reasons.

The OE foglamp from Vxi have costed ne Rs. 3,200/- from MGA.

In the meantime the car was given for painting door handles body coloured and the window frames mat black for Vxi looks. Attached is the pic which speaks of outcome. Pashankars did a good job.

The parcel tray is added. Fitting the same is a DIY job, which was easy.
Next in line are alloys and tyre upgrade when time and money permits.

As a matter of fact the car is sitting in parking garage as its not been put to use much since buying and initial few days. Hardly done 700 kms till date. Will be giving for 1st service this week. The real use of this car is expected from Jan 09. So nothing much to update at this point.

[SLK]

@ bouncer, congrats on your car.

Just would like to know, how much did you get for the M800? without Ac compressor?

[Bouncer]

Originally Posted by SLK

@ bouncer, congrats on your car.

Just would like to know, how much did you get for the M800? without Ac compressor?

Without A.C. compressor (replacement cost 12.5 K) , with all 5 tyres which needed immediate replacement (around 5.5 K) and with expired insurance (around 3.5 to 4 K) , I got 80K for my 8 years old car. I am satisfied.

[BenjiRoss]

The paint job has been good. Congrats on your car!

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

I agree with you completely.
Talking about 'instability' beyond 100Kmph+ speeds in an Estilo is a lot of bull... I drove at quite a few stretches on NH6 was above 165Kmph ! Dont worry,I have taken pictures to show.It is a rock steady car,trust me...

UChamp,

That is some mighty speed that you have done on the Estilo. There is no doubt that this vehicle is capable of doing such speed (hell, even I do 140 KMPH in my 796CC Alto!), but the difference, what I have felt, is the again as you mentioned, the stability. The height of the car and hence the center of gravity being higher is not something that I would risk.

But this is just my 2 paise.

[Dry Ice]

The car is definitely looking better with those tints. Now all you need is to provide her with some new shoes!!

[SLK]

Originally Posted by Bouncer

Without A.C. compressor (replacement cost 12.5 K) , with all 5 tyres which needed immediate replacement (around 5.5 K) and with expired insurance (around 3.5 to 4 K) , I got 80K for my 8 years old car. I am satisfied.

Yup, I got this same 8 year old M800 5gear, AC works, Tyres new, Battery new, Insurance working. Will try mine out soon

[ultimatechamp]

Originally Posted by Bouncer

Without A.C. compressor (replacement cost 12.5 K) , with all 5 tyres which needed immediate replacement (around 5.5 K) and with expired insurance (around 3.5 to 4 K) , I got 80K for my 8 years old car. I am satisfied.

Thats a wonderful price you have got mate!I sold my 5 year old M800 at pristine condition (only the rear 6x9 speakers from Pio needed to be replaced ) and that too with expired insurance for Rs 75K !! Good shot

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

UChamp,
That is some mighty speed that you have done on the Estilo. There is no doubt that this vehicle is capable of doing such speed (hell, even I do 140 KMPH in my 796CC Alto!), but the difference, what I have felt, is the again as you mentioned, the stability. The height of the car and hence the center of gravity being higher is not something that I would risk.
But this is just my 2 paise.

You are absolutely right! The inherent 'tall boy' design of these cars (Estilo,Santro, even WagonR,etc) makes them difficult to drive at high speeds.Only straight lines can be tried out and that too with proper shoes!I did mine with the AC off and windows down and on a ten-mile stretch of arrow-straight highway. I had earlier changed my tyres to much higher speed rated tyres with wider grip (overall driveability is much improved).

[SLK]

Originally Posted by ultimatechamp

Thats a wonderful price you have got mate!I sold my 5 year old M800 at pristine condition (only the rear 6x9 speakers from Pio needed to be replaced ) and that too with expired insurance for Rs 75K !! Good shot

Your's must not be 5 gear thingy then! 5 gear is a very different machine.

[ultimatechamp]

Originally Posted by SLK

Your's must not be 5 gear thingy then! 5 gear is a very different machine.

Bang on Boss!!
Mine was the absolute base model with 4 gears only.

[ultimatechamp]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

UChamp,

That is some mighty speed that you have done on the Estilo. There is no doubt that this vehicle is capable of doing such speed (hell, even I do 140 KMPH in my 796CC Alto!), but the difference, what I have felt, is the again as you mentioned, the stability. The height of the car and hence the center of gravity being higher is not something that I would risk.

But this is just my 2 paise.

My high speed pics ->
Wifey stopped me from snapping more

[rrs1951]

I agree with HappyWheels. Zen Estilo may be capable of very high speeds on straight roads, but you have to take care when negotiating turns. It won't take a turn at the same speed that my old Indica could. But, having said that, one must remember that Zen Estilo is meant to be a city car. I, for one, have no hang-ups about slowing down to a reasonable speed while turning. After all, none of my ancestors bore names like Schumacher, Prost or Senna. Also, since most of my driving is in Mumbai traffic, any speed more than 70 kph sounds like supersonic speed to me!

As I said before, I have no complaints about my Zen Estilo.