For me , the Zen has always been a pleasure to drive , especially having learnt my driving on a Maruti 800.
My father bought ZEN because it was a class above the 800s. We had no hesitation in going for ZEN because of its Maruti tag..Frankly my father cared a pittance for the inner details. Though a little (ok, more than a little) costlier than the 800 , I recommend ZEN coz it really offers performance , comfort , style that is streets ahead of the 800. A really worthy product!
The low height (clearance) of the Zen is one thing I really like about it. It is probably similar to driving a racing car. All the other features of the ZEN like the gear box, the seating, the steering etc., are top notch. The ZEN is really smooth to handle.
The low clearance has one disadvantage though , on sharp humps , if you don’t slow down your vehicle , then you might hit the base , especially so when the car is loaded. Though the leg space is very much adequate, the boot space is a little less. 5 people can easily fit into the ZEN. The mileage is good. Our car gives around 14-15 kmpl for the city rides and on the highways, it gives around 18Kmpl.The AC is OK though not brilliant.The strongest point about buying the ZEN would be the maruti service.They do a brilliant job , and the frequent free checkups are a great add-on.
Though this is not to deride other cars (esp Santro), I would like to mention that one of the greatest features of the Zen is its design. The look is so cool . It would be one car of this segment you can take to the colleges/parties without hesitation. I would not pause one moment in saying that the ZEN is the best looking car of its segment.
This is for all the people who say that the Zen is a car of the past
The difference between Santro and the Zen in sales for the last 2 years have been very negligent, probably one or two thousand and add to this the number of Zens sold before even Hyundai thought of coming to India.This proves that even though the more supposedly fashionable cars arrived, the Zen has retained its loyalty among customers.
Infact , the recent sales of Zen has been more than that of the santro. I even know of a friend of my father who bought a 2nd! Zen, the classic look one.
I would suggest you to just go for it!