I would like to begin this review that I am a Sri Lankan and henceforth write in a Sri Lankan’s perspective. The car was born in 1993 and eversince it had been a topic of controversy. So here it goes:
STYLE AND LOOKS:
The New Zen has its own styling and still carries the air of being unique. The front looks good in a direct point of view and appears to be a big car. But in some side angles the car looks out of proportion. One might think the headlights are bigger and too big for a small car of this sort. But the clear headlights add glamour and makes the car unique. But it is very important to strongly remark THAT THE CAR’S STYLING IS NOT UPTO EVERY BODY’S STANDARD. THEREFORE HAVE A GOOD LOOK AT THE CAR IN ALL ANGLES BEFORE GOING FOR IT.
The rear styling is quite nice and delicate and makes the car look absolutely sporty. The rear end styling is perfect and portrays the ideal picture of atruly spirited sports car.
Modifications:Add sun shades along the windows, have some nice alloy wheels installed, bumper guards, stickers etc.
INTERIORS:
Interiors are the same old plastics but anyway they are decent. Not the most flamboyant interior out of all cars but is very very decent. A touch of oak-sticker here and there would make the car unique.
ACCESSORIES:
The front fog lamps are extremely useful in the needy hour, and serves for its purpose. The rear fog lamps add more for the styling of the car than for whatever it is its purpose. The head lamp levelling device is quite handy.
AIR CONDITIONER:
The a\c is a very decent performer. In a hot summer day, when the car is parked for more than an hour under direct sunlight where the inside temperature would be close to 60c sets the ideal setting for the a/c. You enter the car sweating and crank up the engine and switch on the a/c in desperation, with the underlying presumption in your head that this temperature could never be dealt with. And for the first two minutes you would not feel the ac nor any cool at all. But hold on by the end of the fourth minute you would be put out of your misery and will feel the cool air blowing and all of your sweat driven off and by this time the inside would be completely de humidified. Wait for another three minutes and you will fell the cool sensations going through your spinal cord. By this time the car is completely cooled down and the cabin temperature would be around 28c and the air vent temperature around 14c.
Conclusion:The airconditioner is not the most efiicient of all but is completely sufficent for the small car, and take my word for it. The air circulation is excellent and incomparable, and cools the cabin evenly. But the a/c may not be as powerful as it is in an alto and therefore does not compromise on engine power and fuel efficiency. But take my word, the ac is very effective.
TIPs:1. When the inside temperatures are exremely high as mentioned in the above scenario, briefly open the windows and let fresh air flow in. Then after shutting the windows, put the lever on re -circulation mode and briefly switch to fresh air mode whenever you feel you lack Oxygen inside.
Want evidence to prove my point. Refer to the overdrive mega air-con test(available on the internet) and see why the ZEN became the 3rd in the small car segment.
ENGINE:
The rngine is a wondeful masterpeice and I sincerely feel that the engine has not been given the adoration that it deserves. The engine is all Aluminnium meaning no over heating problems at all at the same time dispersing heat effectively and creating the ideal working temperatures for the engine to work happily in the hi-rev band. The engine is rev- happy, providing unbelievable power and accleleration at the upper end of the rev band, close to 4500rpm. The car redlines at a comfortable 6000rpm which undoubtedly makes it a undoubted racing car like performer. But it is noteworthy to say that the car lacks in torque, and if not shifted at proper speeds you will not get any power at all, but on the other hand if shifted at proper speeds(tip:shift at higher or maximum rev limits and do n ot shift before reaching the proper rev limits) and you will get unbelievable power and acceleration. Want evidence once again? Well the ZEN reaches to 60kmph from a stanstill in just 4.8 seconds. Couldnt have had it better.
Technology:
The ZEN IS EQUIPPED with a state of the art MPFI technology, and whats more the engine is fail safe meaning that no more desperation in the middle of the road with a stalled engine. Anybody would tell you what an mpfi engine is so ?I would enlighten you on what fail safe means.
The engine is equipped witha fail safe strategy, meaning that other than the cam angle sensor , a failure of any other sensor does not necessarily stall the engine. Instead the engine writes an error code in the memory and observes engine behaviour. If the error does not get corrected by itself, then the engine enters into fail safe mode, with the ckeck engine indicator on the dashboard indicating engine porblem(s). The engine is now in limp-home mode and and you can limp home or to your garage whereas in a conventional you will have to have your car towed. Then the mechanic would plug his computer and read the error code;
eg:E102 meaning problem in the fuel metering system(E102 is not an actual code and is only for learning purposes but anyway resemple an actual code).
Or else you can connect the two points under the dash and determine where the error is from the blinking pattern of the engine check light.
ELECTRONIC POWERSTEERING: The Zen is equipped with a fail safe self diagnosing electronic power steering system. There are many advantages of an electronic power steering system in contrast to a hydraullic system. Here they are:
EPS is speed sensitive, meaning the power steering stiifens or in more specifis terms the power assistance is reduced or cut off at high speeds, enabling better grip and handling characteristics.
Less on maintenance, since eps is powered by an electric motor, there is no need to top up the power steering oil
Minimized possibilities of failure: Due to the simplicity and the reduced number of mechanicals(compared to a hydraullic system) an eps is more unlikely to fail.
Less engine load: In a conventional hydraullic system, power is derived from the engine and there is a significant power loss comnpormising on fuel efficiency and power.
More intelligent, the system observes driver demand, road conditions, and cruising sppeds and adjusts assistance accrodingly
BRAKING:THE BRAKES are extremely effective. A stop from 100-0 takes only 3.8 second running for 52m. These figures are quite impressive although braking stability is an issue.
cons:Does not have ventillated discs. meaning braking efficieny reduces along with when the discs get hot, and the feel of the pedal is sometimes absent.
SUSPENSION:Excellent , and cornering even at high speeds is extremely stable and eps is a breeze.
Overall braking rating:
PROVEN:In Sri Lanka there are three famous race tracks namely Radella, Katugastota and Radella. And the Zen became second in all tracks beating stiff competition of mini 1000s, sephias and prides.(SUNDAY LEADER 7TH OF MAY).
SO GO AHEAD AND MAKE YOUR DECISION