I wanted to upgrade from my aged 1999 Santro to a new Sedan. After doing the rounds of various Car Dealers with my son in Dehradun and searching the web I was almost almost hooked for the Ford Eco sport(TD-Ci).
But after driving the car I was disappointed with its handling characteristics, specially the feedback on the steering. I was then fascinated by the Fiat Lin ea(Emotion Diesel) which I again turned down due to its large size and the poor infrastructure and Service record of the Co. It was then that I settled for the tried and tested New Maruti Suzuki Dz ire.
On my visit to the Maruti Suzuki Dealer in Dehradun my son who is completing his Engineering Degree was impressed by the cars interior, specially the dual tone interior and the features(ZXi) and suggested to buy it, although, earlier he was strongly in favour of the Ford Eco sport. The reason to buy a Petrol variant was that my driving would be around 500 km a month and also the Claimed mileage by Maruti. The reason to buy the high end variant(ZXi) was its features like the 2 Air Bags, ABS, Push Start, Auto climate control AC, 15" alloy wheels, 6 speaker 2-din music system with BT, USB and auxiliary port, electrically adjustable and retractable rear view mirrors, rear parking sensors, etc.
Now that I have driven the car for almost 1000 km, I am impressed by its performance, specially the handling of the car, its perfect braking, the mileage of around 16 km/liter, the good music system, efficient AC, the comfortable seating, etc. I drove the car with my 2 kids for 350 km from Dehradun to Shimla to Rampur Bushahar in HP in one go and there was no fatigue, post travel. My kids loved the journey and the fresh feeling, thereafter. The driving being mostly in the hilly region, the car was tested to its full potential. The climbs were mostly done with ease, although at 3 or 4 times it felt a little out of breath which could possibly be due to the new engine tuning. The handling of the corners by the car was perfect, although I felt some obstruction from the A pillar during cornering. There was very little body roll during cornering. Braking was perfect even when cornering at speeds. The Nahan Shimla road is a perfect testing highway for any car.
The only shortcoming of the car is that the high end model does not have a navigation system, a rear parking camera, rear AC vents, leather upholstery, etc as has been provided by the competitors. Otherwise, being a Maruti it is peace of mind from the maintenance and spares price point of view.