We had great pride in bringing home our Esteem VX in 1998. It did not have much competition in those days.
Having done that and now over seven years and about 50000 kms we have got a bagfull of rewards and disappointments.
Rewards :
- The Esteem has a fantastic Power steering system which makes manuvering turns and U turns a piece of cake, The gearshift is also smooth as moving spoon in butter. You can drive the Esteem VX with the index finger! Literally ( Tough I can’t swear by that because if an RTO reads the review he’d be gunning for my lisence).
2.Spacious side room (for 2 persons only) no shoulder brushing. And good interior insulation from soumd etc.
Easy to maintain. Quite inexpensive servicing at the local petrol pump, spares are fairly economical. But lasting parts(if original).
Smooth long drives. Good rolling pickup on expressway. Altough you cannot think of entering a rally you will be satisfied with speed.
Reliable vehicle. Always been there.
Disappointments:
Terrible entry and exit. If you have any type of back/ knee problem stay very faraway from this vehicle. The back doors barely open 45 deg. and keep comming back at you as you try to get out and coupled with the low profile of the car this becomes a nightmare. I think Maruti’s success prevents it from caring about it’s customer on this count especially the elderly persons who have to actually make a brave effort of getting in and out of this car.
Poor Airconditioning. Zero marks for this one. You gotta keep topping the gas after a few years. Anyways the ac was never good in the first place.Works well only in monsoons, in summers either Keep spending on ac upkeep (this is truly ac mechanic’s oportunity car) or open the windows to enjoy cooler air outside.
Poor Head room. I am 6 ft whenever I get into the fron seat my head hits the rear view mirror.
Bad mileage - our (carburatted) Esteem gives about 14kmpl on long runs and about 7-8 kmpl in city(Mumbai). On LPG (we have the LPG OMVL kit) we get 5.5-6.5 kmpkg.
Average power and wobling in second gear at low speeds. Tough first and third gear performance is better. Worse with LPG . In petrol there is marked improvement in smoothness and power.
A little bumpy. You get too much bumps for you investment ( on the new purchase)the shocks are just about fair and barely prevent rumble and jerks.
Overall if you want a trouble free vehicle which every mechanic in India can repair go for the Esteem. It’s reliable and most parts including tyres have long life. Good service back up. And extremely wonderful to drive , even when you are tired you will enjoy driving the Esteem.
But be prepared for all the above disappointments.