Hi All ,
I surveyed for 4 long months to buy a 2nd hand Car ... I might have reviwed/Drove ... around 30 Zens , 10 santros and 15 Esteem’s .... But I only Got to see 3 Matiz in and around Bangalore ... And I Picked up one among them it had done 59, 000 kms and costed me 1.2 lakhs ... Most of my friends, colleagues and cousins had discouraged me to go for Matiz due to Service/Support issues... But the one I drove was simply awesome ... The Dude who owned this car earlier had maintained it like a VIRGIN ......
Apart from Cost as the Key Criteria I was as well looking for a ... good mileage / power / Comfort and Looks ofcourse ... Matiz Posessed all of these and i picked it up .... It is an outstanding example of a compact car design that best leverages exterior dimensions to maximise interior cabin space.
If I can recall correctly ... At one point of time .... Matiz which was an 800 cc car priced above Rs 2.5 lakh was considered above Santro, a 1000 cc car available at the same price (it was indeed a Small Big CAR) ....... Matiz definately took a toll on Santro’s and Indica’s.
I am not quite aware of the Matiz Service issues in other B/C Grade Cities/Towns .... But , Trust me there would be no issues for spares and service if u live in Metros ... There are N - Number of people who still Support and Service Matiz ...
In Bangalore these people Service Matiz - Fast Cars , Manipal Motors , Vijay Autos , Rai Morors , Prime Automobile (Spares Only) - Tel 51243435 , 26706800
I still wonder what if Matiz Still Thrived in the market today ........ ? I am sure it would have taken a toll on Hyundai’s , Tata’s , and Maruti’s ..... My Car recently Clocked 120 kms in the Airport Ring Road ... And around 130 Kms in the Mysore -Bangalore Highway...And no hassles even in such high speed ......
Whilst my recent drive From Bangalore-Kollegal-Mysore-Bangalore this Bomb carried 6 adults including the driver and still managed to cruise at 120+ Kms with an approx mileage of 15.5 kms/litre....and WoW what a stability this car posseses truly unbelievable.... Indeed my respect to this car has increased after this trip ... It indeed made mockery of Santro’s , Zen’s, and Indica’s ..... on the Mysore-Bangalore Highway .......
I recently had a problem with the coolant leak (Hose pipe Blown out) But it was fixed with the Tata Indica Spare ... Apart from which I have’nt had any issues so far ...
Id also like to list out the pro’s and con’s of this Car ...
Con’s
1) Power / Pick up drops with AC On ... (Quite Obviously its a 800 CC Engine).
2) In Case u live in B/C Grade cities ... This Car would definately have Spares/Support issues ... So u need to think twice before u pick up a Matiz .
............... I suppose thats enough for the disadvantage ...............
Pro’s
1) Great Mileage - 14-15 kms in city and approx 18 on a long drive ....
2) Matiz’s air-conditioner is one of the best in its class.
3) Dont Go by Rumours for Spares and Service ... (u still have lots of people repairing matiz). Infact most of its spares are compatible (After some minor alteration) with Maruti 800 and Tata Indica.
I probably , might sound a bit biased towards Matiz ... But, its good to see an Orphan Out-Perform by beating the best and the rest ...
Now that GM has Adopted this CAR ... Id love to see matiz regain its previous honour as "best small car of the year".