When I turned 18, I wanted a car that was small but a powerful one. So my dad bought the Zen in dec 2002. There weren’t many options apart from Santro, Wagon R, Indica and ZEN. It had and has the cutest looks ever to find in its segment. I was all excited about this baby and had to flip the car keys to go for a joy Ride with my friends. Its been long since I first drove it and now I have graduated to flipping keys to getting it out with some authority.
Good Stuff;
Zen comes with a 993cc, 60bhp all alluminium - MPFi engine. It is very POWERFUL as compared to its size. Pick up - excellent... Speed - Too Good... my top speed being 140 kms/hr (Speedo error) on NH8. The handling is good too. But at such higher speeds, you might feel that the car is moving in AIR... It sipzzzz around the city traffic nicely. The low sitting position gives a bit of luxury car ownership cum sportzzz car feel (I kno its too much). In city traffic (Mumbai) with AC it gives me an average of 13-14 kms/ltr and on highway 16-17 kms/ltr. Amazing na..??
The front seats have a good free space but the rear seats are a little bit cramped... But zen does accomodate 3 regular sized ppl at the back which the Wagon R and the latest Swift doesn’t offer. You can easily drive the ZEN for hours and hours on highway without much hustle. The suspension is good too. And the AC... pretty much strong. It cools the entire cabin within 10 minutes with the fan blower on top speed & after that u can switch it on to the first or second level speed. Without the AC on, Zen can be the best car to race in Mumbai traffic. Very easy to maneuver and the power steering adds much comfort to it. But the radius is a bit larger than the Maruti800, Wagon R and even the Fiat UNO... But thats fine... who cares...!!!
One can easily drive Zen on the petrol saving mode. Whats that? I ll tell u. u can drive Zen on almost any speed in any gears... (but dont go for harsh experiments!!!) 1st gear till 10kms/hr , 2nd gear till 15 -17kms/hr, then 3rd till the speed of 25 - 30 kms/hr, 4th gear till 40kms/hr and then the over drive option - 5th gear can come into play at the speedzz of just beyond 40... and let me tell u, the engine dosen’t nock. Its very smooooth....!!!
The body parts I feel are better than Santro, Wagon R and the Alto but not as tough as the UNO.... Anyways, who wants a mini truck...!!! The ZEN is elegant... it can be driven by anyone. A college student (after getting 18), an office going uncle, a retired grand father and most importantly any ’’SENSIBLE FEMALE’’ driver...!!!
The gear shift is smooth. For me, it does get into the slots properly. For many others, fifth gear may be mistaken by the thrid. Speeding up in all gears is good.
Not so good stuff
The wheels are very small 12’’. The earlier and the latest new look ZEN comes with a 13’’ wheels. 12’’ wheels are not that good on off road condtions... Hence they rectified this problem in the newer model.
The boot space is almost nil. At the most, u can have 2 bags of medium size fit into the boot. The car comes with a parcel tray at the rear wich is detachable. There is hardly any space for the music speakers to fit in at the back. If fitted on the parcel tray then on dirty Mumbai roads, it might give out some extra rattling noise.
The braking isn’t that good too as compared to its high speed capabilities. It does feel the lack of efficient brakes when braking down from high speedzzz...!!!
After few years of good driving, the car gives a wheel balancing problem and does pull towards one side at moderate speedzzz. This is one prob with all the ZENs and maybe we need to live with it... Thts fine with me atleast...!!! After some years, the car starts givin some or the other noise from somewhere or the other... but that can be rectified every now and then.
The engine (MPFi engines) does give some noise when kept ideal at the signals or during the starts, but when in flow (running - moving) the noise just vanishes away till the next signal hault... With 5 persons (heavy duty) on board, the car tends to sit low and it touches some of the speed breakers on the roads.
There isnt much of storage space. Just one glove box, that too isnt a big one. No door pockets for Maps & other chota mota stuffs.
Summary: All in all. Its a beautiful car to own. Very economical (best average in its class) low maintanence vehicle... real low maintanence car. I hardly spend around 6k-8k including its regular service charges annually. Plus it comes with a homely-feel Maruti tag on it. The best service stations around and can get anywhere in the country... ANYWHERE...!!!
(TIP: Go for the annual maintanence contract- AMC, and they will take care of the rest)
When the car is new, get teflon coat done. It seriously protects the shine of the color.
Get it treated with Denitrol. it really protects the car from rusting. it comes with 3 years warranty. And it does increase the life of the under body of the car.
Regular service keeps the car move as quick as a new one... trust me on this.
So, I hope this is all that u guys needed from a ZEN owner himself.
Cheers... Drive Safe and always wear ur Seat Belts...