India Cars

The much-awaited Swift from Maruti Suzuki is on the roads. The Swift in its present design was showcased at the Paris Motor Show in September last year, and is the first model to be introduced in India within six months of its international launch.

The Suzuki’s Swift competes with premium hatchbacks like the Hyundai Getz, Ford Fusion, Fiat Palio, the GM Sail and Fiat Petra. Currently manufactured at the Magyar Suzuki plant in Hungary and likely to be manufactured in India and China later, the Swift is a departure from the Suzuki design and is more targeted at European buyers. Suzuki has worked with a team of designers and engineers of which at least a quarter are said to be Indian in collaboration with European automotive professional and ordinary motoring enthusiasts.

The Swift’s 1,300cc direct injection diesel engine has been co-developed with Fiat and is expected to offer premium performance and greater fuel efficiency. The Swift is shorter at 3,695 mm than the Esteem’s 4095mm, and at 1,690 mm it is wider than the Zen, Alto and Wagon R, which are 1495 cms wide or the Esteem’s 1575 mm. Swift also promises greater stability with its wider 2,390 mm-wheelbase compared to Maruti Esteem’s 2365 mm. It has been offered with four variants LXi, VXi, ZXi, VXi.

The dashboard houses the instrument cluster, the glove box and central console, with slots for the music system, aircon controls, and so on. The centrally-located instrumentation display includes a tachometer, speedometer and digital odometer, as well as a clearly visible digital clock. The climate control system has an easily-operable large circular dial. The material and textures used for the dashboard and car interior are of good quality and make the ride feel opulent. The door trims and other consoles, too, are nicely designed. The driving posture is excellent as the driver’s seat has a height adjuster and a slide range that ensures driving comfort. Leg room is sufficient at the back too. Relax in the back seat: the bench-like seat allows three passengers to sit together comfortably. Or else, it can be folded down to create additional boot space. Shifting gears is quite quick in the Swift, due to Maruti’s newly-designed short stroke shift linkage. The instrument console is clean and well textured, the three-spoke steering really sporty and there is adequate room for five passengers and their elbows. The top-end ZXi version should have been given adjustable steering, electric rear-view mirrors and a quality jukebox along with the automatic climatiser which it gets. Rear seats offer decent legroom but could have been better padded.

The Swift comes with Electric Power Steering (EPS), with motor located on the steering rack. It offers good feel and feels precise unlike the lifeless steering-column EPS systems in the Alto, Zen and Wagon R. The ride was on the soft side, and the Swift did wallow and roll through corners but the overall body control was superb.

The new generation VVT (variable valve timing) engines on offer in the European Swift would have pushed up the list price by almost a lakh of rupees – hence.  The familiar 1298cc motor breathes through 16 vales and develops a not-so-anemic 87 bhp at 6000 rpm and 11.7 kgm of torque at 4500 rpm. What it lacks is the kind of refinement a decade of engineering advancements have brought in. So it feels a bit stressed as it accelerates from standstill and a bit coarse as the revs build up. The gearbox though, is new, and the new imported ‘gears’ are an important couldn’t help in this power train equation. Going by the Speedo, the first gear is good for 58 kph, second 98 kph, and third, a bloody brilliant 150 kph.

All Maruti vehicles are economically priced vehicles that are certainly fuel efficient, and the Swift is no exception. After clocking almost 500km through both highway and inner city traffic, we figured 11.3kpl in start-stop city traffic, and 13.4kpl on the expressway. In mixed conditions it returned 12.4.

The base LXi gets power steering and air-conditioning, but has manual controls for doors and locking. Even this model gets colour-coded bumpers. The VXi is fairly well appointed, and gets ABS with electronic brake distribution (EBD) as an option – brilliant move, something we have been urging car makers to offer for a long time. The top-of-the-line ZXi gets airbags, ABS with EBD and 14-inch alloys plus lots of bells and whistles. You can see that Maruti Suzuki have done their homework well with the Indian Swift. It is arguably one of the safest, newest small cars to come to India. More importantly, it is an extremely desirable Suzuki at last.

Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) is launched its most powerful sports utility vehicle (SUV) in India — an upgraded Grand Vitara XL-7. The new Grand Vitara XL-7, which will be bought in as a completely built-up unit from Japan, is equipped with a 2.7-litre V6 engine, which gives an output of 166 bhp making it more powerful than all other SUVs in the Indian market. Grand Vitara is being imported in the completely built unit form its parent company, Japan-based Suzuki Motor Corporation, in limited numbers.

The Grand Vitara XL-7, as the name indicates, is a stretched out version of the biggest car Suzuki has ever produced. It looks bulbous and featureless from some angles and far too long for comfort from some others. The bits like a moulded bull bar, chrome side runners and chrome alloy wheels are going to be on the expensive side, but they do make the Vitara look contemporary.

The Grand Vitara is a genuine seven-seater. The deluxe model gets leather upholstery and there is ample legroom in the first two rows. The instrument console is aimed to appeal to a very large audience over a long period of time - while the back-lit instruments are passable, the round knobs for climate control are awful and better suited for OTGs. Even the deluxe version does not try anything special to pamper the passengers and make them feel that they are traveling in a fairly expensive automobile.

The 154 bhp on tap means the Vitara is more powerful than almost all of its D-segment competitors. The Speedo rockets to 60 kph in 4.79 seconds and that means the Vitara is set to win a few traffic light races. The overall weight and slightly off gearing comes into play as the car continues its rapid run to 100 kph (11.20 seconds). But if you can keep the tacho needle hovering around the 2500-3000 rpm mark, there are few cars on our roads that will even come close, let alone pass, the Vitara. A decent stretch would take the Vitara to 175 kph, and as the Speedo climbs to that, the otherwise numb steering gets sharper. Cars’s ABS and EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) come standard, and that means sure-footed braking performance helps you squeeze out every bit of performance from the power train.

Fuel efficiency on the highway at a steady 80kmph with the air-con switched off has improved by 1.3kmpl to 12.5kmpl while the overall figure is now up to a respectable 8.2kmpl even though the worst figures that we got remain nearly the same. With a fuel tank capacity of 65 liters, the Grand Vitara has a range of 533km.

The unfortunate thing is since it is dependent on a chassis; it cannot beat the on-road handling of the Forester, for instance. Going around fast sweepers at a notch below 100 kph is fine, but at higher speeds, it is better to shift to 4WH mode (thus providing traction to all wheels). In case you are wondering, the gearbox also features a lower ratio for those extremely tough situations and it works brilliantly.

Maruti launched its new Zen. The new bonnet, grille, bumpers and front fenders make the Zen look bigger. The rear, with its wimpy looking tail-lights looks like it belongs on a Maruti 800, and the front looks too sober for its own good. Fit and finish are pretty good, especially paint quality, and the new body parts line up well with the old ones. Dimensionally the Zen is largely unchanged, the new bumpers adding a bit of length.

Inside the car almost everything remains the same. The dashboard continues unchanged with the only revision being to the white-faced Speedo and oil and temperature gauges. The seats are the same old units that lack any support whatsoever though the front headrests have been made smaller while tacky-looking headrests have been sewed into the rear bench.

The ZEN LXi is a vehicle especially meant to provide Superior Control at all speeds through its special electronic power steering. The electronic power steering vis a vis the ordinary hydraulic power steering available in other small cars has a computer controlled mechanism which provides low maintenance costs, less load on engine (2%) as well as no oil leakage’s. Its greatest strength though lies on the fact that it provides virtually no power assistance at high speeds (unlike the other ordinary power steering) and hence provides safety.

All the original rounded themes have been junked in the new Zen, instead replaced by a sharp-ish front end, all straight lines and creases. Viewed from some angles the headlamp and grille look like they’ve been inspired by the Volkswagen Golf but scaling it down to smaller proportion hasn’t been easy. Industry-standard clear lens headlights incorporating the turn signal Indicators are mated to an over-large grille with horizontal slats. The bumper has been redesigned to incorporate the fog lamps in recesses though the air dam is a bit too fussy.

Maruti has worked hard to make it as interesting and practical as possible, adding some aluminium-look trim and brighter upholstery for a sporty feel, and fiddling with the seats to make them more comfortable, especially at the rear. Now, there is also a partial centre console, making the cabin a bit more practical, and it is now more airy than before, with lighter upholstery. Luggage space is dismal though, and there is space only for a couple of squashy bags. Equipment levels are also not particularly high in the Zen, with power windows only for front seats, no tachometer and no options of ABS, airbags or any other safety equipment.

Out on the acceleration runs, the Zen turned in a 0-60kmph time of 6.12s while 100kmph came up in 15.58s. Referring to our road test of the Zen VXi the 0-100kmph time has decreased by half a second which probably has to do with the increased drag that our earlier Datron optical sensors hanging outside the car used to generate. The quarter mile sprint came up in 19.76s (at 111.7kmph) while the standing kilometer run look 37.07s (at 134.5kmph). The top speed registered by the Racelogic VBOX timing gear was 147.2kmph in fourth gear with the Speedo registering over 160kmph. Among the small cars these figures are bested only by the Maruti Alto VX.

The extremely efficient engine and ultra-light weight results in some of the best fuel efficiency figures in the small car category. On the highway run she delivered 24.21km to the litre, the figure going down to 12kmpl in the city. The worst figure she returned was 10.9kmpl that on our testing and flat-out highway runs.

The Zen’s 1.0-litre 60bhp all-aluminium engine is central to the car’s sporty character. It’s as quick as the Wagon R but feels a lot more swift, thanks to its rev-happy engine, which fizzes and sparkles all the way to a 6000rpm red line. At low revs, it isn’t as responsive as the Wagon R but once you get the revs up, it feels urgent and eager, which makes it a delight to drive. Acceleration through the gears is very good, especially because of the car’s lightweight, and performance at the top is similarly sharp.

The other engine is a 1.5-litre diesel borrowed from Peugeot, which totally changes the car’s character. The fuel economy is otherworldly, at 15.4kpl in the city and a whopping 20.9kpl on the highway, but the engine is just too coarse. It makes the car a good highway cruiser, but performance is hardly exceptional. It is torquey though, and has a good turn of speed, but in a car this small, it makes little sense.

The petrol one makes the most sense really, as the diesel is simply not practical enough to be a workhorse. Add the legendary reliability, Maruti’s widespread service and dealer network and the car’s superb fuel economy, and you still have a pretty good car. The Zen means reliability and cheap, hassle-free service, and the car is available pretty much off the shelf.

Maruti launched its new Zen. The new bonnet, grille, bumpers and front fenders make the Zen look bigger. The rear, with its wimpy looking tail-lights looks like it belongs on a Maruti 800, and the front looks too sober for its own good. Fit and finish are pretty good, especially paint quality, and the new body parts line up well with the old ones. Dimensionally the Zen is largely unchanged, the new bumpers adding a bit of length.

Inside the car almost everything remains the same. The dashboard continues unchanged with the only revision being to the white-faced Speedo and oil and temperature gauges. The seats are the same old units that lack any support whatsoever though the front headrests have been made smaller while tacky-looking headrests have been sewed into the rear bench.

The Zen LX has great New clear head lamps and New clear tail lamps. It has the New improved lumber and thigh support seating to give you that extra comfort and plush new fabric upholstery. The front console new dial colour instrument cluster.

All the original rounded themes have been junked in the new Zen, instead replaced by a sharp-ish front end, all straight lines and creases. Viewed from some angles the headlamp and grille look like they’ve been inspired by the Volkswagen Golf but scaling it down to smaller proportion hasn’t been easy. Industry-standard clear lens headlights incorporating the turn signal Indicators are mated to an over-large grille with horizontal slats. The bumper has been redesigned to incorporate the fog lamps in recesses though the air dam is a bit too fussy.

Maruti has worked hard to make it as interesting and practical as possible, adding some aluminium-look trim and brighter upholstery for a sporty feel, and fiddling with the seats to make them more comfortable, especially at the rear. Now, there is also a partial centre console, making the cabin a bit more practical, and it is now more airy than before, with lighter upholstery. Luggage space is dismal though, and there is space only for a couple of squashy bags. Equipment levels are also not particularly high in the Zen, with power windows only for front seats, no tachometer and no options of ABS, airbags or any other safety equipment.

Out on the acceleration runs, the Zen turned in a 0-60kmph time of 6.12s while 100kmph came up in 15.58s. Referring to our road test of the Zen VXi the 0-100kmph time has decreased by half a second which probably has to do with the increased drag that our earlier Datron optical sensors hanging outside the car used to generate. The quarter mile sprint came up in 19.76s (at 111.7kmph) while the standing kilometer run look 37.07s (at 134.5kmph). The top speed registered by the Racelogic VBOX timing gear was 147.2kmph in fourth gear with the Speedo registering over 160kmph. Among the small cars these figures are bested only by the Maruti Alto VX.

The extremely efficient engine and ultra-light weight results in some of the best fuel efficiency figures in the small car category. On the highway run she delivered 24.21km to the litre, the figure going down to 12kmpl in the city. The worst figure she returned was 10.9kmpl that on our testing and flat-out highway runs.

The Zen’s 1.0-litre 60bhp all-aluminium engine is central to the car’s sporty character. It’s as quick as the Wagon R but feels a lot more swift, thanks to its rev-happy engine, which fizzes and sparkles all the way to a 6000rpm red line. At low revs, it isn’t as responsive as the Wagon R but once you get the revs up, it feels urgent and eager, which makes it a delight to drive. Acceleration through the gears is very good, especially because of the car’s lightweight, and performance at the top is similarly sharp.

The other engine is a 1.5-litre diesel borrowed from Peugeot, which totally changes the car’s character. The fuel economy is otherworldly, at 15.4kpl in the city and a whopping 20.9kpl on the highway, but the engine is just too coarse. It makes the car a good highway cruiser, but performance is hardly exceptional. It is torquey though, and has a good turn of speed, but in a car this small, it makes little sense.

The petrol one makes the most sense really, as the diesel is simply not practical enough to be a workhorse. Add the legendary reliability, Maruti’s widespread service and dealer network and the car’s superb fuel economy, and you still have a pretty good car. The Zen means reliability and cheap, hassle-free service, and the car is available pretty much off the shelf.

Maruti launched its new Zen. The new bonnet, grille, bumpers and front fenders make the Zen look bigger. The rear, with its wimpy looking tail-lights looks like it belongs on a Maruti 800, and the front looks too sober for its own good. Fit and finish are pretty good, especially paint quality, and the new body parts line up well with the old ones. Dimensionally the Zen is largely unchanged, the new bumpers adding a bit of length.

Inside the car almost everything remains the same. The dashboard continues unchanged with the only revision being to the white-faced Speedo and oil and temperature gauges. The seats are the same old units that lack any support whatsoever though the front headrests have been made smaller while tacky-looking headrests have been sewed into the rear bench.

The ZEN VXi is a top-of-the-line variant of the ZEN World Car. This car is equipped with an electronic power steering as opposed to the conventional hydraulic power steering thus improving maneuverability at both low and high speeds. The ZEN VXi comes with multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) which generates a maximum output of 60 bhp for better pickup and power. The ZEN VXi is equipped with stylish body coloured bumpers, power windows, central locking and a rear windshield demister for improved visibility during the monsoons and winters, as also side body moldings for improved aesthetics and prevention of scratches on the sides.

All the original rounded themes have been junked in the new Zen, instead replaced by a sharp-ish front end, all straight lines and creases. Viewed from some angles the headlamp and grille look like they’ve been inspired by the Volkswagen Golf but scaling it down to smaller proportion hasn’t been easy. Industry-standard clear lens headlights incorporating the turn signal Indicators are mated to an over-large grille with horizontal slats. The bumper has been redesigned to incorporate the fog lamps in recesses though the air dam is a bit too fussy.

Maruti has worked hard to make it as interesting and practical as possible, adding some aluminium-look trim and brighter upholstery for a sporty feel, and fiddling with the seats to make them more comfortable, especially at the rear. Now, there is also a partial centre console, making the cabin a bit more practical, and it is now more airy than before, with lighter upholstery. Luggage space is dismal though, and there is space only for a couple of squashy bags. Equipment levels are also not particularly high in the Zen, with power windows only for front seats, no tachometer and no options of ABS, airbags or any other safety equipment.

Out on the acceleration runs, the Zen turned in a 0-60kmph time of 6.12s while 100kmph came up in 15.58s. Referring to our road test of the Zen VXi the 0-100kmph time has decreased by half a second which probably has to do with the increased drag that our earlier Datron optical sensors hanging outside the car used to generate. The quarter mile sprint came up in 19.76s (at 111.7kmph) while the standing kilometer run look 37.07s (at 134.5kmph). The top speed registered by the Racelogic VBOX timing gear was 147.2kmph in fourth gear with the Speedo registering over 160kmph. Among the small cars these figures are bested only by the Maruti Alto VX.

The extremely efficient engine and ultra-light weight results in some of the best fuel efficiency figures in the small car category. On the highway run she delivered 24.21km to the litre, the figure going down to 12kmpl in the city. The worst figure she returned was 10.9kmpl that on our testing and flat-out highway runs.

The Zen’s 1.0-litre 60bhp all-aluminium engine is central to the car’s sporty character. It’s as quick as the Wagon R but feels a lot more swift, thanks to its rev-happy engine, which fizzes and sparkles all the way to a 6000rpm red line. At low revs, it isn’t as responsive as the Wagon R but once you get the revs up, it feels urgent and eager, which makes it a delight to drive. Acceleration through the gears is very good, especially because of the car’s lightweight, and performance at the top is similarly sharp.

The other engine is a 1.5-litre diesel borrowed from Peugeot, which totally changes the car’s character. The fuel economy is otherworldly, at 15.4kpl in the city and a whopping 20.9kpl on the highway, but the engine is just too coarse. It makes the car a good highway cruiser, but performance is hardly exceptional. It is torquey though, and has a good turn of speed, but in a car this small, it makes little sense.

The petrol one makes the most sense really, as the diesel is simply not practical enough to be a workhorse. Add the legendary reliability, Maruti’s widespread service and dealer network and the car’s superb fuel economy, and you still have a pretty good car. The Zen means reliability and cheap, hassle-free service, and the car is available pretty much off the shelf.

Maruti launched its Wagon R comes with an automatic gearbox. The AX version has tick marks against every conceivable detail, except one. And that is Maruti Suzuki’s much vaunted electronic power steering. Wagon-R comes with variants AX, LXi, VXi and LXi with Bharat III norms.

Amongst small cars, the Wagon R raison its engine, which with the manual transmission, makes it very quick indeed. The 1061 CC 16 valve unit offers 62 bhp at 6000 revs and 8.2 kgm at 3500 revs. The crib with the Wagon R was the rather stretched out manual gear lever, which makes shifting a chore. But wait a second, with the three-speed automatic, that’s taken care of. So there’s no cause to complain. 

Put it in D and the perky engine is all set to go. At 2800 revs, it shifts once and before the 4000 rpm mark, you get another thrust.  And the impression is reinforced till the Wagon R AX reaches 80 kph effortlessly. By now you have collected enough revs to keep pushing it, thinking highways can be brushed off easily sitting in it. But no, beyond 80 kph, the engine is actually strained and noisy.  At higher speeds, the AX begs for another gear which will do justice to the power plant.

The Wagon R has a 1061cc inline 4 cylinder cast iron engine which is basically the engine from the Maruti 800 with an extra cylinder. It uses fuel injection, controlled by a 32 bit ECU. Like all other marutis, even this car runs 4 valves per cylinder and 16 valves in total. 4 Valve engines have a high revving trait and rather low bottom end grunt. This engine is no exception. It generates 62bhp at 6200rpm which is pretty much the red line. But, low down the engine seems very underpowered especially with the air conditioner on.

The car uses a 5-speed gearbox with one reverse gear. Gears 2 and 3 are great for city use and the car is able to slot into 5th by the time you reach around 50kph. That means very reasonable fuel efficiency. Efficiency thus get compromised due to the fact that you need to rev just that wee bit more when compared to say the santro, but the efficiency figures on the highway of 19+ kmpl is excellent. Within city limits though, 13kmpl is easily achieved. The reason for the significant difference is the tall 5th gear, which keeps the engine revving very low, as a result the top speed of 155kmph is achieved in 4th. One grouse about the gearbox is its play, its just too much and can get irritating at times; the gearbox is also a bit notchy. At times, engaging reverse gear could involve double clutching.

This experience is surprising actually, considering that the Wagon R is an all-time best-seller in the Japanese market, where auto transmissions are more the rule rather than the exception. For the Indian market and for this specific engine, Maruti did not make any major changes in the basic design in the gearbox, and it comes as a fully assembled unit from Hamamatsu. The changes that have been done are restricted to the gear ratios to suit the engine.

Actually, the automatic Wagon R suits a very specific purpose to the hilt, and that is the home-to-office- and-back commute. But don’t expect more than 10 kpl in the urban run, even with sober, staid driving. With its small dimensions, the Wagon R is good as a city vehicle, and with the auto box doing justice to the low speeds one normally manages in urban traffic, it’s quite all right. And one wouldn’t recommend doing anything more than 80 kph in any Wagon R, anyway. The 8 inch booster assisted brakes are very efficient indeed. With McPherson struts at front and coil springs with a three-link rigid axle at the rear, the car’s suspension set-up does an adequate job, albeit dishing out a mildly harsher ride.

Maruti launched Wagon-R on Indian Road. The Wagon R is a styled car. It certainly looks weird to many, but the recent face-lift has improved the detailing considerably, improving the lamps, bumpers and grille, and giving it almost a mini-SUV look. Wagon-R comes with variants AX, LXi, VXi and LXi with Bharat III norms.

It is built on the same platform as the Alto. The external proportions suddenly start to make sense when you get inside the Wagon R, whose height and erect, slim pillars make for an extremely spacious, airy interior. It is well built, but feels quite tinny and Oriental, with a distinctly light, flimsy feel.

Headroom is exceptional and legroom is decent but the lack of width is very apparent in the tall-but-narrow cabin. The Wagon R’s airy insides will seat four comfortably, on airline-style seats that recline and fold to create a very flexible interior, but try seating five and the split-line at the rear is uncomfortable. Boot space is best in class and with the split rear seats folding forwards.

The dull grey plastics aren’t of the best quality —they look shiny and cheap. The dials are clear and easy to read, and the high-set driver’s seat is comfortable, with good under-thigh support and offers superb all-round visibility. There are plenty of useful cubby-holes and hooks in the vertically stacked dashboard, designed to hold everything from cans to cell-phones and plastic bags.

The car uses a 5-speed gearbox with one reverse gear. Gears 2 and 3 are great for city use and the car is able to slot into 5th by the time you reach around 50kph. That means very reasonable fuel efficiency. Efficiency thus get compromised due to the fact that you need to rev just that wee bit more when compared to say the santro, but the efficiency figures on the highway of 19+ kmpl is excellent. Within city limits though, 13kmpl is easily achieved. The reason for the significant difference is the tall 5th gear, which keeps the engine revving very low, as a result the top speed of 155kmph is achieved in 4th. The Wagon R is very easy to drive in the city, thanks to its electronic power steering (EPS), which is light and accurate. Though it lacks the precision and nicely weighted feel of a hydraulic system, the EPS is quite responsive. Moreover the gearbox is rubbery and this engine is quite noisy when extended and less refined than you would expect. One grouse about the gearbox is its play, its just too much and can get irritating at times; the gearbox is also a bit notchy. At times, engaging reverse gear could involve double clutching.

The Wagon R has a 1061cc inline 4 cylinder cast iron engine which is basically the engine from the Maruti 800 with an extra cylinder. It uses fuel injection, controlled by a 32 bit ECU. Like all other marutis, even this car runs 4 valves per cylinder and 16 valves in total. 4 Valve engines have a high revving trait and rather low bottom end grunt. This engine is no exception. It generates 62bhp at 6200rpm which is pretty much the red line. But, low down the engine seems very underpowered especially with the air conditioner on.

Equipment levels are reasonable on the Vxi model and include roof rails and fog lamps, but exclude essentials like internally adjustable mirrors, and no safety equipment is available at all. A fair amount of wind and tyre noise filters through, and refinement in general is acceptable but not great. The ride quality of the Wagon R is pretty good, but at low speeds you can feel sharp protrusions filtering through. As speed builds up, the Wagon R’s body control is impressive and it’s pretty stable on the highway. The Wagon R is a practical town car, very roomy and easy to drive, and frugal to top it off.

Maruti Udyog launched Versa is its first Multi Purpose Vehicle to hit Indian Road. It comes with two variants DX and DX2. The Versa was expected to provide an alternative to the long running but highly compromised Omni, offering more comfort, better safety and an all-round, more modern feel. To provide seven-passenger seating in a tiny footprint, the Versa has had to go vertical and melt into a one-and-a-quarter box shape, which clearly marks it out as an MPV.

The pout of a bonnet ahead instantly ensures better occupant safety during a frontal collision, while in terms of styling and fit and finish, the difference is perceptible too. And, no, you haven’t been short-changed if you pop the bonnet and find only a radiator, a few essential-fluids flaps and the car jack inside – the Versa’s Esteem-derived, four cylinder, 1298 CC, fuel injected mill cosies itself beneath driver and co-passenger front seats. With 82 peak horses and 10.4 kgm of maximum hauling power, that’s liberal juice for lugging up to eight passengers, or about 600 kg, in payload terms.

Indicator lamps are integrated into the wraparound headlamps below which the broad bumper accommodating an air vent flows down to a matte black chin spoiler. Provision is made on the bumper in both DX and SDX versions for aftermarket fitment of fog lamps which should have been offered as OE, at least in the up market SDX version.

The front suspension is independent, with MacPherson struts, with modifications to control body roll; the rear uses a non-independent, three-link set-up with a live axle and coil springs. The Versa is largely designed around the interior, which Maruti has tried to make as car-like as possible; it looks rather like the Wagon R’s dashboard, but there’s no getting away from the unfamiliar, high seating position. Visibility is great, and the short bonnet gives you a far greater sense of security than the bonnet-less Omni.

A skirt below the rear bumper would help matters a lot by lending the vehicle a better-grounded appearance. Helped by the fact that the rubber is mounted on smart alloys, the SDX version looks a lot more purposeful than its other two siblings, though its roof-mounted spoiler with an integrated stop lamp doesn’t still lend that essential and missing character to the rear-end.

The power-assisted steering system makes light work of hauling the Versa around corners and combined with its 4.5 metre turning radius, is a boon while parking. The downside of this over-servoed system is that road feedback progressively gives out past 80 kph, combined with a degree of steering play that eases into the equation. So don’t expect responsive crispness of steering when you hustle this MPV towards and into three-digit speeds. The vehicle feels very stable at straight-line speeds, and this is aided to quite an extent by the matte-black air dam incorporated under the front bumper.

The DX version accommodates eight. The front seats are fairly comfy, but could have done with lower back support; ergonomics are fine, with all controls logically laid out and falling easily to hand. The steering wheel and driver’s seat are also height-adjustable. The second row of seats includes a bench seat for two with a collapsible third seat lending access to the third seat bank. The last seat row in all versions is collapsible and increases luggage capacity substantially. The seats lack lumbar support and the seat and backrest relation proves uncomfortable over long hauls. The dashboard with its oddities is another exercise in dipping into existing parts’ inventory. No brownie points for marking similarities of the facia to that of the Wagon R, though a metallic finish instrument panel bezel is a refreshing addition. Steering is power assisted electronically and the steering column is tilt-adjustable on all the versions while the steering wheel is wrapped in leather on the SDX version. Central locking is standard on all five doors along with front power windows. Since the driver seat cannot be adjusted for height, the tilt steering is an indispensable feature.

The Versa comes in a few different versions, from the stripped-out five-seater DX standard, through the eight-seater DX and DX2 to the seven-seater SDX; these seats flip and fold in a number of combinations, making for a pretty flexible cabin. The middle seat in the SDX is comfy, but passengers in the two, third-row seats would be stuck for legroom.

The Versa uses the same 1.3-litre petrol engine as in the Esteem and Gypsy, but tuned to give 82bhp instead of the Esteem’s 85.  It is enthusiastic, revvy and refined, and gives the Versa surprisingly good performance, allowing this horribly un-aerodynamic car to do 0-60kph in 5.21sec, and hit a maximum of 150kph. Fuel economy, as always, is very good, especially in the city, at 10.1kpl; however, the poor aerodynamics means it only manages 13.6kpl on the highway. A high point is the gearbox with its stubby, punchy lever, which is slick and easy to use.

The Versa also boasts of a twin A/c in the SDX and DX2 models that essentially employ twin sets of blowers to circulate the freeze to both forward and rear sections of the passenger compartment. Other than the vents on the dashboard, a couple more cooling vents with blower controls placed overhead surround the rear compartment. This not only improves cooling efficiency but also reduces the load added by the 130cc A/c compressor on the engine thus improving engine efficiency as well. A triad of suction vents at the end of the roof improves recirculation. The controls are light and easy to use in the city, especially given the tight turning circle and narrow width.

The Versa employs 198mm ventilated discs up front and 220mm drums at the rear. In addition the Load Sensing Proportioning Valve (LSPV) enhances braking performance. The proportional valve senses differences in load applied to the rear axle and accordingly controls pressure applied by the calipers on the brake shoe on the rear wheels. The system prevents wheel lockup.

The cabin may not be really high quality and it can’t really compare with a car, but given the priorities of van buyers, it really excels. Now, especially that the price has come down, the Versa is a superb and unfairly overlooked alternative to an MUV, especially if you’re going to be city-bound. The Versa, especially the base version, is pretty good value, but equipment levels aren’t very good.

Maruti-Omni is the poor man’s family car, with not much in the way of comfort, refinement or finesse, but plenty of utility and practicality for a very low price. The incorporation of the Bharat Stage III emissions norms has seen many manufacturers taking advantage to slightly upgrade their models, and Maruti is no exception. After the recent face-lift for the 800, it is now the Omni’s turn. The Omni is nearly as old as the 800; in fact, it’s one of the oldest cars in Maruti’s stable.

The Omni is a people-mover. Space for five or eight people depending on the version you buy, an LPG version and cheap and easy repairs that are in the DNA of all Marutis translates to minimum ownership costs and a hassle-free ownership experience. The only area of concern with the Omni is with its safety. With no engine ahead of the cab, and thin sheet metal the only protection in front of the driver and passenger, even minor accidents can have dire consequences.

It’s a van, from its mono-box shape to its flat, easy-to-make panels, and from its engine, mounted under the front seats, to the rear-wheel-drive set-up, sliding doors and crude leaf springs at the rear. It uses 12-inch wheels, with cross-ply tyres and drums all round. There’s no pretence of sound-deadening apparatus or any real effort towards making it car-like.

Build quality is really flimsy, with tissue-thin sheet metal; with this and the fact that there are only a few inches of metal and plastic between the front passengers and a head-on collision, safety is a real issue.

Fit and finish of the interiors is still shabby and the centre console resembles that of the Wagon R, minus the vents and the air-con knobs of course. A headlamp beam adjuster has also been added following the new laws governing cars sold from April 2005. The Omni finally gets radial tyres as standard mounted on the M800/Alto’s 12-inch wheels, which should improve ride comfort. Four new body colours add the finishing touch.

However, the driver suffers, but there’s decent legroom in the rear, in the five-seater version. For a car this size, it can easily take five passengers and their luggage. This practicality is a major reason for its success, both as cheap rural transport and a tourist taxi, accentuated in the eight-seater.

Getting in and out through the sliding rear doors is easy, but once inside, you have to contend with flat, shapeless seats, vinyl upholstery and plenty of vibrations. There’s no air-con, and the sliding windows are a pain to use. The seatbelts are also the old static type, a safety concern.

The boot is fairly large, considering the Omni’s size, but the angle of the rear seats means luggage leans against the hatch; open it up and everything tumbles out. This space is best used for a CNG cylinder.

The Omni uses the same engine as the 800, turned by 90 degrees to fit longitudinally, and drives the rear wheels instead of the front pair. This engine has MPFi and the same two-valve-per-cylinder head. It also uses the same four-speed gearbox as its hatchback cousin, but with different ratios, to offer drivability instead of top-end performance, which is necessary in a van.

The tiny, 796cc, 37bhp engine works well enough in town, with good drivability through slow traffic. However, it feels woefully under-powered on the highway, especially with a full complement of passengers. The breadbox-like aerodynamics doesn’t help and the large frontal area severely limits top speed — in fact, any speeds you manage over 100kph are a bonus.

The engine is noisy and harsh, and the gearbox is rubbery, and the shift is not as smooth as you would find in a car. Fuel efficiency is pretty good: it’s not as good as the super-frugal 800, but double-digits are possible in the city, which is pretty good.

The Omni is amazingly nimble: the unassisted steering is light and it has the smallest turning circle of all. However, the good news ends there: the ride is really bouncy, the 12-inch wheels unsuitable for travel in the hinterland, where it will spend most of its time, and the steering has no feel, and is vaguer than a politician asked to tell the truth.

Maruti Gypsy is one of the most remarkable cars of India. The Gypsy has been sidelined by the arrival of more sophisticated SUV’s, and is now almost unseen on our roads. However, the armed forces’ demand for this capable off-roader has kept it alive, and Maruti has been quietly upgrading it, first with the 1.3 Esteem engine in 1996, then with an MPFi version in 2000.

The Gypsy, introduced in 1987, is based on the Suzuki SJ series. In 1993, it gained a wider track, to aid stability, and in 1996, though the all-round leaf spring suspension stayed. The practicality-limiting three-door layout hasn’t changed, and remains one of the Gypsy’s biggest weaknesses.

The Gypsy is offered in soft-top and hard-top variants. The soft-top is well made and easy to remove, but a pain to take off. It doesn’t leak, but it does tend to collect water, which will flow off as soon as you open a door. The hard-top is considerably more practical and secure, but the thick C-pillars wreck visibility.

The Gypsy is a simple, useful off-road workhorse, and that is reflected in the basic, functional interior. It is very clear and rough, with a handy grab-rail, and a clever lockable glove box, with the engine release hidden inside. The front seats are high-set, giving you a commanding view of the road, but they are absolutely basic and flat, offering no support for thighs, back or shoulders. At the rear, the soft-top offers two centre-facing benches, the hard-top a single conventional bench. The soft-top’s benches are all right for rural transport or the military, but have too little comfort and legroom to make sense for family use. The hard-top’s bench is considerably better, but even here, legroom and seat comfort are not great, a problem being the high floor.

Safety equipment is lacking, and the Gypsy doesn’t even have proper reel-type seatbelts, forget things like airbags. The plastics used are hard wearing and easily washed, which makes sense for the Gypsy’s utilitarian needs. In 1996, the Gypsy gained the Esteem’s 1298cc petrol engine to replace the 1.0-litre that had underpowered it for a generation. In 2000, it was given 16 valves and fuel injection, boosting power to 81bhp. Although the motor is essentially the same as the Esteem’s, it has been tuned more for torque and drivability than top-end whack, which is better for off-roading.  In fact, between 20-80kph in third gear, the Gypsy is quicker than the Esteem. It does seem to run out of steam at the top end, but for an SUV, this performance is respectable.

The gearing is still quite tall, which is fine for a highway car, but the Gypsy, unfortunately, is not a high way. Fuel economy is pretty poor for a vehicle this light. With the torquey 1.3 engine, the Gypsy is more than ever the best off-roader in the country. On the road however, the Gypsy is a pain to drive, crude, rattly and noisy, with a bone-jarring ride. The heaving, pitching ride is the worst bit, but the handling and steering vie for top honours as well. It is very cumbersome in the city, with its 12- meter turning circle.

The Gypsy, although very capable and almost indestructible, has never been made much sense, being a three-door petrol UV with no road manners. It had some appeal as an SUV in its prime, but with the arrival of the Scorpio, Qualis and other, more civilized MUVs, it doesn’t make sense as a family car.