I owned a Maruti 800 and needed a bigger vehicle to seat 5 people (plus my 3 year old daughter). Running was not much - mainly weekend driving - I looked at Swift, Versa, Indica, Indigo, Esteem - almost all cars.
Zeroed on the Zwift and Indica Xeta. When I took my family to have alok at the Xeta - they all were impressed wiht the Marina - the space inside - as well as the boot space....
As regards price goes - Swift was expensive than the Marina - and Marina was more spacious..... and comfortable....
At the same time 3 of my friends purchased the Marina and all were quite satisfied with it.
So finally I purchased a Marina - Petrol in April 06 form Fortune Motors - Thane.
Till now have travelled about 2, 300 kms - took it for 2 long drives - one to Chiplun - covered 500 kms in one day in May - peak of summer.... and To Pune on the expressway..... and its great.... Good cooling even in peak of summer.... - great space..... very comfortable... with power steering its very easy and smooth.... feels very stable......
Marina has 3 head rests in the back seats and these are adjustable - so for a tall person its very comforting... unlike the Indigo where there are only 2 headrests and not adjustable....
Leg room in front is awesome (I am 5.10 in height and very comfortable - do not have to shift the seat back) - leg room at back is also veyr good.
Looks- I like it.... and it takes people turn and look too....
On the negative side - a few observations...
Low mileage - mine is a petrol variant - so I get only about 8-10 kms overall.. with AC on constantly... maybe its early days and it will improve - but then this is something I had anticipated.....
Gear shifting - especially the first gear is a problem.... not smooth at al - Maruti 800 gears were very smooth.... hope to get it rectified in my first servicing....
Pick-up is a bit on the slower side - especially from a dead start situation - like standing at a traffic signal.... even he pick-up of Maruti 800 was good.....
Overall - a truly great car and good value for money..... huge space - good leg room - ideal for family of 5 - tall people.... comfortable ride - good cooling even in peak summer time... Go ahead...... and enjoy this vehicle....
UPDATE after 2.5 years and 32, 000 kms
It almost 2.5 years and I have covered about 32, 000 kms. actualy in the firstyear I covered only 5, 000 kms. These days I take it to office everyday - to Nariman Point and now to lower parel from my residence at Mulund. a daily drive of about 60 kms plus. with continuous AC on.
The mileage I am getting is quite good - about 11-12 kms per litre. and no problems in the car at all. Overal I am realy satified with the car... Excellent space - inside the cabin as wel as the boot. Good AC and mileage is decent too - as compared to my expectations - in Mumbai city traffic. I have been getting 14-15 on the Mumbai - Pune expressway with AC ON.
The complaint about gear shifting initialy has also vanished.