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Old 4th January 2006, 22:52   #1
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M800 100 km report!!

Maruti 800 -- a name that spells car for the masses...
It is really true...

a few days ago i had written a post wherein i had a bad experience with my esteem and blah blah..(do read the entire post for the whole story)

so as i was disgusted with the service by bimal and hence went in for the m 800 as a second car for my wife.
as i am looking for a used OHC vtec, i am currently using the 800.
i have covered around 1000 km in 15 days.
i was surprised at the handling and FE. the car handles beautifully even at 100kmph, the car is very steady. the brakes are a little scary at these speeds as it tends to be a little hard, you need to apply a lot of force to step onto the pedals.
the suspension is a dream.
on bangalore roads my esteem used to rock like a boat. the m800?? nada steady as a rock.
i bought the ac variant..the ac is veeeery powerful, cools the car almost instantaneously, the interiors is plasticky and the seat covers are fully rexin.
well what can else you ask for 2.59 lakhs i guess....
the fe is very good, i get around 21 kmpl during the run in period and it is supposed to improve after the break in period.

the car can move from standstill in 2nd gear with ease and can move in third from standstill with a little effort...
well what this translates to is torque, and good torque.
no need to change gears in city traffic.
very easy to park

well i guess this is a very good car for your daily runabouts as it is almost as easy to maintain as a 2 wheeler.
the spares are cheap and the maintanance costs are as low as a two wheeler.

the new headlamps are very powerful and the light level adjuster is a good afterthought that has gone in to add it to the car..

the car has good pickup (even with ac on ) thanks to BS 3
the only drawback is the non existance of a 5th gear.
at 4th the car feels that it should have had another gear for overdrive..

all in all a Value For Money car.......
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Old 7th January 2006, 16:58   #2
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Nice review there Aditi..

I own a Maruti 800 myself (its 9 year old carburator model).Very light and quick in the city. Easiest to park.
But i do feel, that Alto is the most sensible buy in the first car segment.
whatsay.
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Old 7th January 2006, 17:02   #3
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Yeah, Alto has effectively replaced the 800, but I feel 800 has more character and charm.
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Old 7th January 2006, 18:05   #4
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.. nice writeup..
it seems you have tried all types of things during the runin period only!... starts in 3rd gear..... 100km/h.... et all.

I too have an 800 a 5 gear one... the car 'feels' really FAST... but actually is not so fast.

But seriously I haven't been able to figure this out myself.... the 800... 'feels' much better at 140km/h than my wagonR and Alto Vxi..... even the engine doesn't seem to be under strain. (god knows what its made off).

But its all well till you are going dead straight... any disturbance and you feel the car is hardly in your control... its running on its own!
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Old 7th January 2006, 18:25   #5
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hi dudes, me too in the M800 club, well adit plz tell me which fuel you used (i mean high octane one or the normal one), when you got 21kmpl....
because i got the same (no, more than 21kmpl theoretically) when i used xtra premium...
but mine is a carb model one and much older; about 10 years (95 built)...... and i think if you use xtra premium and drive normally (?) you will get much better mileage....

Best of Luck...
Enjoy Life...

Pratheesh Prakash

Last edited by pratheesh : 7th January 2006 at 18:42.
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Old 9th January 2006, 16:05   #6
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21kmpl that too with moving in 2nd/3rd gears from standstill ? great.

Yeah the 800 does have a charm (having driven my sister's car quite often), but with all due respect calling its suspension a dream and engine torquey is a bit too much. (of course the 800 I have driven most is a 98 model carb with 4 gears)

As said above brakes are of the poorest quality and turning too quickly can give the passengers heartattacks not to mention the driver.

But its a sensible, small and affordable city car (yet) although I hope its discontinued soon as the Alto has indeed replaced it.
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Old 9th January 2006, 20:00   #7
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Maruti 800

Hi All,

To answer your questions

1) Fuel - I use the High Octane version.
2) Suspension - Maruti has improved the suspension, it does feel much much better than my esteem shocks....
3) Effortless driving except for brakes - that department needs improvement
4) Alto? - It has the same engine, but drive the car and you will know it.
Switch on the AC and immediately the pick up drops, drastically unlike the new 800.
I do agree that the Alto is a good looking car, but all said and done cost of maintanence is very less compared to the alto..wat say?
I wish they were manufaturing the Alto Vxi, that was a CAR!!!
1.1l excellent pickup, that was some car.
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Old 9th January 2006, 23:12   #8
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I agree with you on the M800. Have driven my friends year old M800 quite often and its a joy to scoot around in the city... Not quite as easy to drive around traffic as a bike, but definitely easier than my Accent. I think the pick up from 2nd and 3rd is attributed more to the short gearing rather than the torque.
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