There are people who own a car for sheer practicality and commuting from A to B and there are people who own it for Passion. Zen suits the latter.
When I say Zen I am talking about the Jelly bean shape Launched in India. The Zen estilo is no way near the original Zen. We can as well call it an Estilo.
Rather than talking about the technical points and numbers I would like to write about the real life practical experience on owning and driving a Zen.
Here are some points:
Zero maintenance car, all it has needed is regular service and replacement of regular wear and tear parts like the brakepads, oil filter etc.
universal engine mount:- This enables the enthusiast to fit in different kinds of Engines for Example: 1.3 Ltrs Esteem, Baleeno, you can even popin Hinda and Toyota engines with certain alterations.
Low Ground clearance:- This can have both pros and cons The Pros are: cornering ability at speeds higher than 80kmph( which you cant try in a santro or an Wagon R), Sporty driving position compared to other tall boy designs. Cons: speedhumps potholes will batter the underbody if not driven carefully.
Good Average: Recently When I had been out for a drive to Bangalore – shimoga- and back when calculated my MPFI 2000 Zen returned 22.5 Kmpl.
Cult status:- all the young kids around the block want this car to pimp and showoff. You cant miss a Zen in any of the drag meets its like a canvas for modifications.
Slick Gears:- box ride a brand new Wagon R and drive the old Zen and you can tell the difference. The former has a rubbery shift and the latter has a slick right on shift.
Good Suspension: sit in an alto and sit in a ZEN and you would find the difference. Very comfortable even at the back, so if you are driving after lunch or dinner be assured you wont throwup.
Less Space: This is one of the areas the cars lags behing, this can be called as a two person car as well, the legroom at the back is not sufficient by any means.
No boot space: I have a subwoofer and two JBL ovals and the space is gone. There is no boot.
Huge Turning radius: you better be sure when taking a u turn cause this doesn’t have the best turning radius of all cars.
Apart from the above points I would like to say that it’s a pure enthusiasts car a delight for the driver.
Please rate the review and comments welcome.