[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by sidindica

people called it cute, chubby, stylish etc etc but for me, it looks ugly with those goofy eyed headlamps with that beautiful grill,

For me, the front looks like that of a shocked toad. Of course, the concept of good looks varies with person.

rear legroom is even less than an alto, and headroom is pathetic and this couples with small rear windowd, makes it feel that you are sitting in a claustrophobic cabin, even worse than a swift.

On a wagonR, the high seating position does compensate for this.

absence of a dead pedal is shocking.

Does any model from MSIL come with a dead pedal? What is so shocking about this?

whan will maruti learn to make spacious and comfy cars??

Heh. And come up with worty successors to worthy cars?

does this car really have a boot or just for the sake of it?
it's boot capacity is even less than an 800, leave alone an alto.
only one medium suitcase and that to on vertically position will fit, nothing else will.

OMG!!!

Means no sub. No long trips. Only an overhead luggage rack. Like that on taxis.


[/quote]reel 13: final verdict: ** 1/2.[/quote]


Please do not be offended; and just to understand the review better - how would you rate other cars, especially the i10 variants mentioned in the review?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by palioman

Priorities for us Indians.
1.Fuel Efficiency ( aka "average").
2.Fuel efficiency .
3.fuel efficiency.
..
..
..
The Palio launched in 2001 had all requirements in a compact, well built and safe car,looked smashing for its time and failed dismally, not due to aftersales but the all important "average".

Atleast you should give Indians credit for standing by their priorities - the Palio did not meet the first 3 priorities mentioned by you and Indians gave it a thumbs-down.

However, if you think it is only FE that matters to Indians, then Palio-MJDs should be selling like Swift-DDiS, which is not the case, right. So again, there is more to it than just FE.

[johnda]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Atleast you should give Indians credit for standing by their priorities - the Palio did not meet the first 3 priorities mentioned by you and Indians gave it a thumbs-down.

However, if you think it is only FE that matters to Indians, then Palio-MJDs should be selling like Swift-DDiS, which is not the case, right. So again, there is more to it than just FE.

I agree with you, It's not only about FE, Palioman was wrong about the Palio I'm not starting the Fiat thingy here again. We must always address/rate a product in with its complete form.

[penpavan]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Atleast you should give Indians credit for standing by their priorities - the Palio did not meet the first 3 priorities mentioned by you and Indians gave it a thumbs-down.

However, if you think it is only FE that matters to Indians, then Palio-MJDs should be selling like Swift-DDiS, which is not the case, right. So again, there is more to it than just FE.

As they say, FE is a "necessary but not sufficient" condition

[finneyp]

Let us leave alone Palio & Fiat from this thread!

Back to Maruti A-star, the specs & review doesn't look impressive, but it will sell in numbers, why?
Coz it has a Maruti suzuki badge

[kiku007]

Good honest review there Sid! Thanks.

Earlier Hyundai thought i10 was competing against the Swift just because it was priced near (Or even more for certain variants?) the Swift.

And now it's Maruti's (Or the Press?) turn to claim that the A-Star is up against the i-10 just because it's priced near it! God help Indian Car Buyers.

From what I have read here, IMHO we should not compare the A-Start with the i-10. But then it leaves the question of where does this car fit in the already crowded Small Car segment?

Maruti can please bring some sense by atleast phasing out the Zen Estilo. No offense to Estilo owners.

[Maverick1977]

Its quite disheartening that Maruti is not going to bring this as an Alto replacement. But this is something that every manufacturer does in India (including a premium brand like Skoda).
I was waiting for this car, but after reading the review, I have doubts lurking in my mind. Quite a disappointing design, expecially after what MSIL had displayed at the Expo.

[esteem_lover]

Going by your initial expressions, this car will not stand up to its competition, the i10. We need more reviews on this, preferably from someone who has been in the i10.

@Sb

[tarunmadhok]

Well I somehow disagree with this TD review.

The company must have invested a lot on R&D, design and development for A-Star. They must have done there homework well before making this final product. Moreover this same model is going to be exported overseas also and Nissan would be picking it to sell it under its brand name.

We should wait for few more TD reviews from some Sr BHP guys before coming to the conclusions.

[Path_Finder]

Good review Sidindica. Thanks for the detailed coverage, but a bit too critical. Ya! A bit difficult to satisfy the critiques.
I would tend to agree with palioman on the deciding criteria for success.

[neoranjit]

Nice review. But am not sure if you should expect a Dead Pedal / Height adjuster or for that matter, audio controls on the steering for this price esp when Maruti wants to cut down as much as possible .

I guess it will sell more than the Kappa. I recall seeing a 170mm ground clearance in one of the ads.. thats the same as the Sx4

[luky_13]

I think in india we can define Car buyers under the following categories:

1. Usability Sensitive - Fuel Efficiency, Value for Money, Resale, TCO
2. Driveability Sensitive - Comfort, Fuel Efficiency, Brand, Status
3. Passion - Looks, Brand, Status

95% of car owners would fall in 1, 2 so its not surprising why even with mediocre standards manufacturers get-away. For the average car buyer torque / styling / space have little meaning, after the first few days of ownership all that matters is getting from point A to B, quick and cheap.

[pras.oct25]

Fantastic review buddy. But to be honest you may have scared a lot of people away from buying the car . But I must add that its Maruti, and Marutis sell in India no matter how crappy they make them.
I do agree however with the point being made about the lack of space in these cars. Its like the car was built inside a tiny room and they had to make it small enough to fit in that room. Right from the alto to the swift and even the huge looking SX4 are lacking in space.
Having bought my new Verna a month back, I do agree that hyundai has gotten much better than maruti. While at maruti the chap called me everyday for 10 days promising to bring the vehicle for a test drive the next day (he never did till the end), the hyundai guys were falling over each other to let me test drive the verna. I drove it thrice in fact by the time I bought it, each time loving it more then the previous!
Perhaps a testament to the fact that maruti dealers are not so confident about their cars after all?? But anyway, I'm sure the A* wil sell like hot cakes. It is a maruti suzuki after all! The only question will it carry on the legacy of the 800 and the alto. One feels that the Hyundai i20 will anyday be better then the offerings of maruti that ar ecoming up (a* and splash).

[suman]

Nice review Sid but you're a hard man to satisfy!

Originally Posted by tarunmadhok

We should wait for few more TD reviews from some Sr BHP guys before coming to the conclusions.

You mean just because someone has a 1000+ posts against his name, he would be therefore be a good reviewer?

[biju_kp]

Well written review Sid.
How did you manage a review so fast?