I was using good old M800 for last 8 years. We felt that it is high time to buy a new car. Sad to see off the old reliable. But as they say all good things come to end one day, to pave way for the new. (By the way I always wonder who are these they?) We fixed the budget around 350-400K. We are a small family of 3. After usual debate we agreed to focus on Wagon R, Santro, i10 and Indica Zeta.
I am not expert in the automobile. So I enquired with some experts such as auto garage owners, my earlier mechanics and on net. For every car there were differing and conflicting opinions. Some were of the opinion that I should buy only M800. Some old timers even went up to saying that the old Premier Padmini was the best and even offered me some oldies. Not their fault of course. Personality can be misleading. But I was not in a vintage mood.
We decided to make a general survey with actual users. All of above cars were being used by either some of the friends or a relatives. Everybody was recommending his/ her model of car. Some of them were even kind enough to offer a good ride as a test drive. I did not find any strong justifiable negative opinion about any car, except natural owner bias.
So all technical problems were eliminated. The only thing remaining was personal choice…… Now we all know how difficult this thing is…Shall we go with Shaharukh Khan or a close friend owning a Wagon R? Buy a Zeta and be proud of supporting Indian venture?.....
Finally I and my wife decided to visit all the showrooms. We were well received everywhere and found all sales people quite good, courteous and enthusiastic. Again our task became difficult. Had some of the sales person appeared rude it would have been easier to eliminate that brand. Alas! No such luck. (I hear somebody saying what a way of taking decision? But some of my friends have been fortunate this way). Only thing we found easing our decision that we found three additional cars Palio, Spark and Zen Estillo.
Meanwhile, I met one good old friend who had either driven or owned all of the above cars (and he is very good at that) said all are equally bad (why not good?). Also He added that, I should only buy a saloon car, stretch the budget or go second hand, else go to ditch! But he has this style of expression. I felt a bit hurt at this indirect suggestion, that I must find additional employment, so that I can pay the installments. Personality…. What else! But was relieved to understand that this saloon has nothing to do with heir. He said that he has read in one auto magazine that small cars feel cramped with 5 people, but a saloon car comfortably accommodates 4 (yes four) adults! What a help! I thanked him for his valuable guidance.
Till now we had the pricing and feature details of all the cars with us. So I, my wife and my daughter decided to make a feature wise comparison and mark final total price against each. (We added a decent 20K for music system, seat covers, and floor mats etc. in final all inclusive dealer price with all discounts, additions etc.). We grouped cars with similar features. Now we narrowed to lower price and highest features. This surprisingly revealed that Zen EstilloVxi, which was not our original list, has excellent features at a very good price. My wife and daughter were happy with the looks, which I somehow felt bit queer and didn’t feel quite tuned to. So naturally, as you have correctly guessed, we purchased the Zen Estillo VXi in Sept 08.
The next day my saloon car friend dropped in. He concealed his sarcasms and started taking look at the car. It is a very nice habit of these enthusiasts, that whether they personally like a car or not, once charge is handed to them, they will explore it thoroughly.
He examined it from outside Hmm… he said it is having body colored side mirrors, handles, bumpers, and fog lights… Ok…good paint finish too. I handed him the remote of centralized locking system and told him the car has i-cats security system to impress him. Of course these people will not be easily pleased. We sat inside. Hmmm… AC, power steering…then he tried to look in the side mirrors….Aha! They (Maruti) have even not provided a lever from inside. This is what he said, he disliked about them (henceforth Maruti) they will be careless.
I said that I don’t know much, but they (you know who) said it is having electrically operated side mirrors. This time I definitely saw some visible softening of his face. Then we had a good long drive. He remarked power with AC quite OK. While driving he saw rear window defogger, headlight adjustment knob, electronic taco/trip meter. After we came back we got out he saw a good boot space, foldable rear seats. From outside, he agreed, one does not feel, the Interiors and inside space which is quite nice. Finally he was ready to have a cup of tea at my home; this meant that he was satisfied with the car. They have made quite a good work; value for money was his final remark.
I have done around 10K running till now. I use it mixed on highways and in city. On both roads I found it excellent and trouble free performer. It is very comfortable to drive. It delivers decent fuel consumption about 13-14kmpl in city traffic and 16-17kmpl on highways with always AC on. AC performance was satisfactory even in this hot summer of 40 (degrees) with no much appreciable power drop. Overall I feel that this is an excellent car at this price. (You may feel this is natural owner’s bias, can’t help, now I am in the driving seat)
About the looks I am now used to it. (Remember how Santro/ Matiz looked when they were launched for first time?). Over last six months I have seen more and more Zens appearing on road. Earlier it had strong elderly companion in Innova but now a mid size brother (or sister?) seems appearing in the form of Honda Jazz? They seem to be going that way. Happy to be seen in similar company. After all, in car and in life, company of like minded people is what matters the most.