If you have read my earlier review on Maruti 800 – you will be able to co-relate otherwise every day is a new day so no worries.
One fine Saturday my cousin again called me right in the morning and I was surprised when he asked “if I was going anywhere out of town for the weekend”. I was like Neki aur pooch pooch, I was like “Yeah I am planning to go but confused if our car will be ok to go to Mussorie and back?”. Immediately he proposed “Why don’t you take Mr. Walia’s New Zen? Test drive bhi ho jayegi and we have some business to finish here so he can stay with us for the weekend?”.
I zoomed to Mr. Walia’s house and drove off to Mussorie with my friends in the brand new Maruti Zen(White Lx). After driving a Padmini Premier 118 NE and a Maruti 800 for a while – this car felt like a perfect toast with butter on both sides.
Mr. Walia had hardly driven it till that time and we got to do almost close to 800 KMS in one go, I had a great time with the car, what I realized by the time we left Delhi and crossed about a 100 KM’s that the car is indeed powerful as doing 120 plus was a breeze in it and it was too damn stable in comparison to the earlier ones I had driven.
Steering wheel doesn’t needs a cover as its thick enough to give you that comfortable feeling while driving and door too was thick enough from inside that you can very well rest your elbow while driving with your right hand. For those who like driving by holding the steering right above the lap can keep the elbow on that curve coming from the top of the window to the mid of the door with the handle in between – what a great thinking Maruti designers had done in making this one, I really liked it.
Controls: Here too they had overtaken the basic model by miles, I mean look at the AC and Music System – how well they have placed them. No effort is required to turn them twist them and make them work. I specially loved the Ash tray location as it was great for me for so many years I used it, always used to keep my hand on the gear knob and a slight push will tickle the ash in the tray which now is full of either coins or parking slips as I don’t smoke anymore. Second that small space which is good enough to hold so many coins, fuses, hair pins etc right on top of the meter at the extreme right. Great use of the left over space. Also the width right in front of the meter and in between the steering rod – is good enough to hold my cell phone as well as my wallet so I need not move my a*ss while driving to pay the toll.
Power: With a synchronized gear and almost a 1000cc engine with 64 Horses pulling it was great enough for the kind of roads and traffic we have in our part of the world. That made the Air conditioning more effective then M800 and Alto’s for sure. Only at times in extreme summers I do feel that it needs a little more gas may be. To the best of my knowledge I had never touched above 130 during those days but now whenever I am on highways I always make it a point to check if it can still touch 150 at times or not and gladly it does without making any fuss that too when the AC is on. I don’t take any more risk now a days – age is after all catching fast with me. It does feels a slight lack of power while going through the mountains and all and you can surely not drive it with AC on during that time at least.
Mileage wise none of the Maruti cars are bad I guess It used to give me more than 20’s on the highways and around 15+ in city in Delhi / Noida – even today I get around 18+ on the highways and 14+ in city with AC always on as neither me nor my baby can live without it. Second thing – thanks to Mumbai weather – it’s like throughout the year AC’s and Geysers are on. LOL.
Space: Inside is fine although a little less when it comes to the back seat. As I remember none of my taller friends were able to sit comfortably on the back seat but the great thing was that the smaller of us two were on the front seats so it was kindda ok for them behind. I did once buy that over head carrier when I had to take so much of luggage belonging to my uncle from Delhi to Chandigarh to Meerut. After that I don’t remember if we ever ran out of space in it while going out of town or at times when I picked up anybody from Airport or Railway station as it was always kindda ok to stuff everything in and close the doors. Although I did eat up quite some space by fitting those boom boxes in the boot for my stereo without which I can’t live anyways. But that’s again something you need to compromise on when you go for a hatch back – isn’t it?
The first thing I did after returning from Mussorie was to get its JK Tyre’s replaced by Bridgestone Radials and I got a Wall Clock free with purchase of 5 tyres. As by the time we returned my cousin had settled the business with Mr. Walia in such a way that the cars ownership changed hands.
I remember once in my life that too during those earlier days of being a driver – I literally made it fly for a fraction of a second I guess – that too right in front of the Nirula’s hotel in Noida where they bloody made those huge speed breakers during late 90’s – me and my nephew as usual were going on some high speed excursions just like that and suddenly we bumped into that breaker and before I could hit the brakes the car was up in the air and crashed back on the road with a loud THUDD! And a couple of coins flew inside the car, I lost my ciggie in the hand – the poor kid banged his head on the roof and spilled his ice cream too. It did survive that crash and all I had to shell out was a little that too in the name of wheel alignment. Rest all was in its place.
The one thing I always liked about Zen is its simple looks, nothing flashy about it; you know Zen is like that kind of girl who is good to marry. You know “not those mistress types” whom you love to hang around with but can’t afford to marry them. Although it’s now an obsolete car from Maruti and if I am not wrong they have already stopped its further production too.
I can’t even tell you how many KMs I would have done on that car before we finally sold it off. We almost drove it across India on our business trips. Twice to my home town Bhopal(MP) from Delhi. Never even once I remember that it gave us any issues – apart from regular service and other stuff we do in the name of maintenance.
I remember when I proposed to my wife last year that I am going to buy a second hand car so she and my dad can learn it. The moment we landed in our dealers office cum showroom – my wifey just gave a casual look towards the cars and immediately walked fast and stood in front of a White Zen yet again. You will not agree but let me tell you that the first guy who tried opening the cars door right after she saw it – she told him “its sold – we just bought it”. The irony is that I have already settled a price for the old babe and she is yet to sit on the driver’s seat for the first time. I have yet again given her a notice for another two months before I go for my next car which up till now is going to be a Swift(Diesel).
It just happened to be that me and Adi bhai were chatting a couple of days back and he just said something like **“We can’t stop bragging about cars, can we?”