When I was upgrading from a Maruti 800 to a Mid sized car, had evaluated multiple cars like Ikon, Indigo, Esteem etc. Was told by a lot of ppl. that I should go in for something new instead of an Esteem. After careful consideration reg. Reliability, Easily Accesible Service Stations, Quality of Service, Cost of Maintenance, Mileage and looks, I finally did go for an Esteem Vxi. I feel it is still the best value for money car. I have owned it for about a year now and am really happy with it. The new model makes it more attractive to buy. Recently, my car was fully submerged in july 27 bombay floods as a result my car was with Spectra motors for about 3 months and was worried about what state I will get my car back in. But to my pleasant surprise, my car has been done up very well (at least technically) and is performing as good as any new car would. Of course, cosmetically (cleaning etc.), Spectra could have done a much better job. The point remains, that this car is performing very well even after having been submerged fully (and done up of course).
For anyone who is not really fussy about the Fancy and useless gadgetary and excessive power (which typically one does not use on Mumbai roads anyway), and is looking for Value for Money, Maruti Esteem is the car to buy. Vxi model does provide the normally desirable stuff like power windows, power steering, power antenna etc.
Good car from a reliable company with a very good service network.