The Maruti 800 can definitely be a campaigner for Energiser Batteries ......both go on and on and on......This car seems to be the darling of the masses for the most obvious reasons.Its cheap, compact, fuel efficient and did I say it was cheap?But the car also has its shortcomings(pun intended).
Starting with the interiors, they are the most cramped on this side of the Auto-Rickshaw.The word spartan aquires a whole new meaning in the 800 with ’creature comforts’ being the A/C and...uh ....yeah thats it, only the A/C.There is nothing else in the car worth mentioning about.The front seats offer a good view of the road and are quite comfortable.The rear seats are something else and will be comfortable only for sub-12 year olds and shopping bags.There is only so much that 2.5 lakhs can buy you and if you looking at spacious and comfortable interiors you are clearly looking at the wrong car.
The exteriors too are nothing to write home about with the bumpers looking more like an after-thought with the only reedeeming feature being the rear lights(Zen lookalikes).But the car is nice to drive and really fuel-efficient giving about 14kmpl with a heavy foot in the city and about 18 kmpl on the highway.(If you drive like my mother I would’nt be surprised if it gave you 18 kmpl in the city).
The best part about this car is that even a half-drunk mechanic in the middle of night in Rajasthan can repair this car if anything goes wrong(which wont in the first place).Did I hear someone saying spares?Wait till a few more million 800s are sold and the spares will be cheaper than the labour cost of service.Finally buy this car if you want to graduate from a scooter.