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Old 30th December 2008, 21:36   #331
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I took a test drive of A Star (ZXI)today.
The salesman I bought my swift dzire ZDI(which is the first dzire ZDI in kolkata by the way) through came for the demo to my office in lunch time.
Me and two of my colleagues took it for a drive on rajarhat road.
Here is my unbiased review on the same.
Engine: Not very powerful but very refined. I took it to 140 KMPH and was redlining in every gear. The engine is a bit rough near redline but overall same or better than my santro eRLX in terms of refinement.
Interior: Seems quite classy. Steering, power window switchgears, bottle holders, lighy switches and many other things like door trims are direct take over from swift/sx4 parts bin and looks and feel real classy for a small car. The center console is nice. The driver feels like driving a much bigger car.
Suspension: Very well balanced car. Did quick lane changes, slowdown then building speed again while changing lane ( the maneuverability I have to exercise all the time on indian highways)was very poised even in speed in excess of 120 KMPH.
Safety: Airbags make you feel secured. Here some are complaining about ABS. I found the ABS working fine though a little less responsive than in dzire or sx4. I have driven dzire and sx4 a lot and in A* it felt to me that ABS is not working but actually here you have to be real firm on brakes and have to keep the pressure firm. ABS worked for me when I slammed the brakes on a dusty surface. And the car didn't skid much though a little skid was there but I thing it's due to the JK tyres. I had the similar problem in my dzire earlier days and have posted about the same in the forum. But changing the tires to MICHELIN XM1 energy made that a never reproducable issue.
Space: I am 6'1". I found leg space in front decent and at rear to be ok provided not both tall men sitting front and back. Trunk is real small.
Design: Look is subjective but what I found real pain area is the headlights it can crack from shoulder rubbing we face in kolkata or such places and one small crack will force you to change the big lights and would cost you dearly.
Overall I found it a very nice city car which I would dare to take to outstation once in a while.
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Old 31st December 2008, 14:34   #332
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I took a test drive of A-Star ZXi in Mangalore last week, found it is good for a city drive. Engine is refined and smooth. I have a sense that it is bit over priced in India though.
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Old 2nd January 2009, 12:11   #333
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Yes ..its over priced.. There will be a reduction in its price. Keep watchin .
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Old 3rd January 2009, 15:53   #334
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Not impressed at all

Well thought that i also post my views here about the test drive we did a couple of weeks back, looking for a hatchback to replace my brother's aging Santro Zipplus.

Let me first speak about the positives:
- Good front seats which have decent thigh and lower back support. Something missing in my wagonR.
- Very stable at high speeds, again unlike the shaky wagonR.
- Steering has more feel to it, although its EPS. Much better feedback.
- Good and precise gearbox.
- Good looks (thats why its in my avatar)

And now coming to the negatives. Note that the reference car i am using is the WagonR, which i have been driving for the past 5 years.

- Very low front visibility. The dashboard is set very high, when i asked salesman why is it so, he replied so that the ac flow is effective in the rear seat. I am 5,11, and still found the dash to be hindering front visiblity. I can't imagine what the average height people would feel like.

- Poor low end response. We had test driven i10 1.1 prior to driving this, and there was a significant drop in pep, secially in the lower gears. Heck, my wagonR drives much better that that. Who wants to 'revv it to the moon' (as the automags say) in city traffic to extract performance?

- Vibrations. Believe it or not, the steering and gear lever vibrates at idle. Not so much as the Alto, but it does, nevertheless. Shameful for a car costing 4 lacs. Even the decade old WagonR and Santro is better in that regard (maybe because they have 4 cylinder motors).

- Ultra small boot. So small that i wonder you can ever think about going to the shopping mall in this car. Totally useless. Again, the wagonR and Santro (old horses, yeah!) beat it.

- Engine refinement. I didn't find the engine to be so refined as all the hype was indicating. It was better than the wagonR, but only just. Maybe expecting a bit too much. :(

- Rear seat space. The less said about this, the better. Pathetic indeed.

All in all, i would not recommend this car to anyone with a family, big or small. For the college goer, its probably OK. Put some alloys and tints and a sub in the small boot, and there you have something to showoff to your friends. For a family man, or someone who travels more than 3 people too often, this is car a strict NO NO.

My brother booked an i10 era, and i think thats the right and more practical choice.
Maruti, please don't disappoint us by launching non-practical cars. There is still a sizable demand for no-nonsense practical and spacious cars in the market. I only the hope that Splash would be better.
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Old 3rd January 2009, 16:03   #335
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Whats the deal that you've got on the era ?
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Old 3rd January 2009, 16:21   #336
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I agree with all the things you said, what makes it even more irritating is that the sales person was trying to tell me its a 'sports car' because of the tacho and all.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DCEite View Post
Well thought that i also post my views here about the test drive we did a couple of weeks back, looking for a hatchback to replace my brother's aging Santro Zipplus.

Let me first speak about the positives:
- Good front seats which have decent thigh and lower back support. Something missing in my wagonR.
- Very stable at high speeds, again unlike the shaky wagonR.
- Steering has more feel to it, although its EPS. Much better feedback.
- Good and precise gearbox.
- Good looks (thats why its in my avatar)

And now coming to the negatives. Note that the reference car i am using is the WagonR, which i have been driving for the past 5 years.

- Very low front visibility. The dashboard is set very high, when i asked salesman why is it so, he replied so that the ac flow is effective in the rear seat. I am 5,11, and still found the dash to be hindering front visiblity. I can't imagine what the average height people would feel like.

- Poor low end response. We had test driven i10 1.1 prior to driving this, and there was a significant drop in pep, secially in the lower gears. Heck, my wagonR drives much better that that. Who wants to 'revv it to the moon' (as the automags say) in city traffic to extract performance?

- Vibrations. Believe it or not, the steering and gear lever vibrates at idle. Not so much as the Alto, but it does, nevertheless. Shameful for a car costing 4 lacs. Even the decade old WagonR and Santro is better in that regard (maybe because they have 4 cylinder motors).

- Ultra small boot. So small that i wonder you can ever think about going to the shopping mall in this car. Totally useless. Again, the wagonR and Santro (old horses, yeah!) beat it.

- Engine refinement. I didn't find the engine to be so refined as all the hype was indicating. It was better than the wagonR, but only just. Maybe expecting a bit too much. :(

- Rear seat space. The less said about this, the better. Pathetic indeed.

All in all, i would not recommend this car to anyone with a family, big or small. For the college goer, its probably OK. Put some alloys and tints and a sub in the small boot, and there you have something to showoff to your friends. For a family man, or someone who travels more than 3 people too often, this is car a strict NO NO.

My brother booked an i10 era, and i think thats the right and more practical choice.
Maruti, please don't disappoint us by launching non-practical cars. There is still a sizable demand for no-nonsense practical and spacious cars in the market. I only the hope that Splash would be better.
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Old 3rd January 2009, 17:18   #337
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Talking about Irritating things :-

MY ZEN ESTILLO SPORTS does not have a tacho - Beat This !!!

Despite this the A Star The model i had my TD in did have a tacho )just does not have the feeling of a Zen.

Personally i feel the A Star is a lot over priced.


-

Quote:
Originally Posted by adityamunshi View Post
I agree with all the things you said, what makes it even more irritating is that the sales person was trying to tell me its a 'sports car' because of the tacho and all.
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Old 3rd January 2009, 17:53   #338
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddy View Post
Whats the deal that you've got on the era ?
Well i think other than the cenvet benefit, he got 1st yr insurance free and an Mp3 player (Pioneer HU) and the usual teflon coating+anti-rust coating. IIRC he also managed to get Autocop.
I will let you know the full details after enquiring from him. Dealer was Superon hyundai near NH8 gurgaon.
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Old 3rd January 2009, 22:16   #339
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I was reading the A Star v/s i10 comparo in ACI and was to learn that the Zxi doesn't get rear wash wipe!? What the hell is Maruti thinking?! I am sure it's not about cost because the Zxi gets ABS and Airbags.
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Old 29th January 2009, 21:27   #340
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I was at the CARS India showroom yesterday evening and saw 2 A-Stars on display. Had a very brief dekko, as I was short of time.

What I liked was the gear shift - it was butter smooth and oh-so-precise slotting. Just like I experienced with the i-10 when test drove it for a friend. Really loved it.
Looks like Suzuki finally got it right when it comes to gearboxes in cars here. The Swift was good, but still not perfect. Now the A-Star is real nice.

Looks are not to my liking - more or less like the i10 which again is bad in looks. Why can't they make a decent looking hatch ?
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Old 30th January 2009, 13:16   #341
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supremeBaleno View Post
Looks are not to my liking - more or less like the i10 which again is bad in looks. Why can't they make a decent looking hatch ?
Well, you have the Chevy SRV and the i20---both are magnificent looking hatches. Even the i10, IMO, looks good, except from the rear.
If you meant cars from the Maruti stable, then the Swift looks good. So did the old Zen.
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Old 19th February 2009, 18:46   #342
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I got my astar zxi on 9th jan, and clocked 1400km and past 1st service.

Pros: Cars is very comfortable and fun to drive. good mid range response. Easy to turn, Stable at high speeds, High revving engine.
Cons: Minute rattles from side(near mirrors), AC makes a buzzing sound, Reverse gear does not engage properly, Jerky ride while shifting gears.

I dont think Astar gear shift is as good as i10. It just better than swift

Mileage figures are just as ACI posted. I doubt if I got the exactly the same car which ACI tested on. . What do you think??

City 12.5kmpl
Highway 17.5 kmpl
AC ON always.


PS: 3500 - 4000 rpm is the peak torque and ideal time to shift to higher gears. Anyway it has a almost flat torque response from 2500 - 5000 rpm, below which its better to go to lower gear.
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Old 20th February 2009, 11:46   #343
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If these are FE figures, then i10 kappa almost the same - 12kmpl in city with AC. ACI seemed right, very little difference in FE between i10 and A* - quite unexpected!
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Old 20th February 2009, 13:54   #344
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandeep108 View Post
If these are FE figures, then i10 kappa almost the same - 12kmpl in city with AC. ACI seemed right, very little difference in FE between i10 and A* - quite unexpected!
What 12 kmpl in the city for A* and i10 1.2
Then why are people buying so many i10s in Bangalore, shouldn't people just buy swift that gives the same mileage. I am really
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Old 20th February 2009, 14:40   #345
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12 KMPL (with AC) for the A-Star?? What happened to MUL's claims of 19.6 KMPL??
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