Finally Maruti has come up with a car that can give good competion to sedan’s in India.
Last Sunday I did a test ride of the much talked about Car SX4 ZXi version.
At a first glance this car is really impressive, bold head lights and tail lamp, metallic silver made it really impressive. It has all the striking looks of a good European car (resembles a lot with Volvo).
It looked longer than Honda City and is 4490 mm long. Looks wise it is a five star car. The engine theoretically is also impressive and is pretty much similar to that Baleno. Zxi also comes with all the features like climate control, leather seats, keyless entry, ABS etc. So its a complete car.
Now the actual test.
Although, the car has all the features but there is feeling that something is missing. The dashboard is not very impressive and gives the feel that cheap (Maruti 800 like) plastic has been used. Not very impressive though I did like the AL accent. The other two striking features were, steering mounted stereo control and illuminated key ring socket. The sound system is also very impressive but I expected a better instrument panel.
Space wise, it looks big from ext but not so spacious when seated. Infact, rear seat is so cramped that it can only accommodate 2 adult & 1 kid. Knees are bound to touch the front seat.
The drive! Not impressed. For a car costing around 7.8 the drive was really bad. Power steering is not very stable at high speed. A little twist of arm can actually lead to a big accident. Power is missing, it took almost 48 sec to reach the speed of 80 KM/ Hr. I think, and Santro has a better pick-up than this!
Verdict: -
It would depend what you want in a car, if looks then yes it is very impressive.
If you are looking for features then it comes second to Indigo XL (I am really impressed)
If you want space then it stands no where (Indigo XL, City, Assent are better)
If power is your requirement then not impressive (City, Assent, Aveo, XL are better)
Fuel efficiency it is very close second to City.
Yes this car stands tall in term of dealership, maintenance and its cost, post sales service. I think that no one can beat Maruti in that.
Over all it can be a good ladies car. Since I wanted to replace my wife’s car I think I will go with this.