My 2020 Maruti Dzire: Purchase & ownership experience

BHPian R4m4kr15hn4n recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Prelude

Why the upgrade to Dzire? Though our good old Zen Estilo was still running without a hitch, the K10 engine started showing the strains on full load. When the car was newly purchased, we were a family of 4. And then, over the years, life happened. I got married, became a father and grew a bit wider (am already more than 6 feet tall). So, from 4 adults, we became 5 adults and 1 baby. Travelling with all the folks became a bit of a hassle. And with the baby on board, the boot, let’s just say, requires the size of a whale and I will leave the rest to your respective imaginations. The cramped backseat and the engine, though could still crunch miles on highways, in the city, it was a struggle.

My father believes that, if it ain’t broke, why to fix it. I have been bugging my dad to consider upgrading the car ever since I got married, but dad didn’t budge from his position. And frankly speaking, I still do not possess the necessary courage to go against my father’s opinions on financial matters. So then what changed his opinion? Corona! Because of the lockdown and the subsequent lockdowns and the other restrictions meant that travelling to my hometown would have to be done by car, rather than train. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights to my hometown, so car travel it would be.

Because of the lockdowns, we have had to prolong the “mundan” (Head shaving ceremony) of my kid. Traditionally, we do the “mundan” in my hometown, near Kanyakumari. Given the current situation, with no direct travel option other than a car, dad relented. Here’s a fun fact, on a bright Friday morning last December, I casually broached the topic of a new car with dad, and to my utter disbelief, dad agreed without any arguments.

Oh, and one very important aspect in all the points that I had discussed with dad, to consider before finalizing the car, in the words of my father - The new car must be a Maruti or the deal is off.

I am quite sure that a whole lot of folks would be aware of this sentiment. Finalized the budget by taking into the opinions of the Home Ministers. Based on the finalized budget, the best option for us was the facelifted Dzire. Seemed the right choice as well, moving up the car food chain, from a small hatchback to a compact sedan.

And before my dad could change his opinion or mind, called up the showroom and enquired about the car’s availability for instant purchase. The showroom folks responded by saying only the brown colour is available for instant purchase and it's an October manufactured car. For November or December manufactured cars, I would have to wait for 3-4 months.

Considering the exigent circumstances, and the not so older manufacturing date, went and booked the car on Friday evening itself. Gave our good old Estilo on the exchange, got a good offer as well. Paid the token amount on Friday and the full payment on Monday with the delivery on Monday itself, albeit with the temp registration and on Wednesday, left for my hometown for the ceremony. Talk about the spontaneous purchase!

The variant we opted for was the Manual VXI. Between the different variants on offer, VXI makes the most sense for people on a tighter budget. At under INR 8.5 lakhs (on-road price), this trim offers the most value as you will not be missing any major features, exception is the rear defogger, which even as an accessory, is not available.

Looks

A completely subjective matter. The showroom had the white color model on display. We all liked the front fascia, especially so in the brown color shade. The trapezoidal grill kind of grows on you. To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the facelift when it was launched. But over time, I have come to like it very much. Gives the car a more distinguished look in my opinion.

Build Quality

A traditional Maruti Suzuki vehicle this. A bit on the lighter side than the competition. Shut lines, for most parts, are consistent, though a bit wide for my taste, and at some places, there are wider gaps as well (especially in the boot). I made a point about the boot size before. The boot size is 378L, which, amongst its competition, is not the biggest I admit, but coming from the tiny boot of Estilo, the boot in this car is fairly decent. I could cram about 12-14 luggage bags inside. I haven’t had a situation where I found the boot to be inadequate <touchwood>.

Engine - Facelift vs Pre-facelift

The facelift Dzire is fitted with a new engine (K12N). It makes about 89 BHP, which is 7-8 BHP more than the previous version and the torque figures are more or less similar. I was a little bit elated to know that the new engine has a little bit more horsepower and knowing the K12 series, this would translate to, well, a lot of things that I don’t want to put down in an official forum. But boy, was I in for a rude shock.

Now, this is where I am having the most trouble. Traditional K12B engine was such a hoot to drive with its free-revving nature and the slick gear-shifts and the light clutch. The K12B engines on Swift, Baleno, etc. all were very eager to be revved. I never found them wanting to be bereft of power. This new Dualjet engine (K12N) is a bit of a downer in that sense.

This K12N engine does not like to be revved. Plain and simple. And here I was hoping to enjoy the additional power in a more, let’s just say “enthusiastic” manner.

In the approx. 20K kms that I have driven since taking delivery, I have observed the following:

• Though the power builds linearly, it's not fast enough as compared to the older engine. It’s a little lethargic.
• The engine coasts along quite well on the highway. 2000 rpm for 80kmph and 2500 rpm for 100kmph.
• The clutch is a little on the heavy side.
• The gear shifts are notchy, especially when shifting from 2nd to 3rd or from 3rd to 4th. Because of this, the car jerks quite a lot.
• The engine sound is pretty sad. There is a diesel-like clattering and at highway speeds, the sound is not at all appealing.

PS: All the above points are my observations while driving. I could be completely wrong about it. So, requesting the esteemed members of the forum to correct me in case these observations are wrong.

But one thing I must admit, the K12B engines that I had driven before, the power delivery post hitting 100kmph, would taper off. Above 3000 rpm, the acceleration above 100kmph is slow, but I did not feel that with this K12N engine though. The power keeps on building till 150kmph in the same way that the engine builds its power from 15kmph. And this engine is super silent during idling. Many times I have had to look at the tacho to know if the engine is running or not.

Ride Quality and Handling

As is with all Maruti cars, the ride quality is largely compliant, but sometimes I do wonder if Maruti tinkered with the suspension in the facelift. More or less, at lower speeds, there is no uncomfortableness while going over speed bumps or potholes, but at times when I have been sitting in the back row, I have felt the bumpiness. I admit that I could be off-base here, but that’s what I have felt.

Moving on, despite the lightweight build of the car (kerb weight is about 900kg), it is stable at high speeds and is firmly planted. I was pleasantly surprised here. I would hesitate to go above 100kmph in my Estilo or the Swifts and Balenos that I have driven, but not this car. Good job done by Maruti here.

The car is equipped with EPS, which as per the norm, is light and very useful at low speeds, but it does feel like it's disconnected at times. I won’t get the feedback instantly, again the lethargy of this car is mind-boggling. The steering does weigh up nicely at higher speeds though and that gives you peace of mind.

NVH Levels, well, it's not really great, to be honest. At lower speeds. On smoother roads, the NVH levels are quite contained. The only noise you hear is the tyre noise. But on a coarser road.

Overall, I am satisfied with the car’s day to day performance.

Nitpicks and Other Tidbits

• There is underbody protection for the engine bay. Nice surprise there. Good job Maruti.

• The dead pedal is usable, with adequate space and incline to rest your foot.

• Coming from Estilo, where there was a parcel shelf behind the back row, am kind of bummed out that there is no usable space behind.
• The rear parcel shelf is slightly high mounted in my opinion which kind of blocks out the rearview.

If it feels like I left out some of the details or pictures for that matter, it will be because I was not aware of them (a noob mistake) or they were already covered in the official review of the 3rd Gen Dzire. Did not want to rehash the same thing again.

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