[Equus]

Firstly, a big kudos to Maruti for giving a micro SUV to the entry lever buyers! They understand the pulse of the Indian buyers better than most of their competitors! Alto owners will stay with MSIL & upgrade to this and not to the Venue! This is a huge installed base & enough to milk the upgrades for next 5 years!
Second, the product is near perfect in size, space & pricing! The name certainly is weird but I guess it connects with the millennials & the like!
Third, they do now have an SUV portfolio M&M would really be worried about!

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

- Last I checked, MSIL is the largest automobile manufacturer in the country with >50% of market share. They know how to run a business better than all of us here and I am sure they have their solid plans in place to make the S-Presso sell.

No doubt on that. But the question I have is, do you feel this is the BEST Maruti Suzuki can do for it’s LARGEST/MOST PROFITABLE market? Is this all they think Indians deserve?

Low cost doesn’t have to look and feel so cheap.

They don’t have to sell the JIMNY at 10L in India but they can do something similar.

What makes me sad is, Maruti has successfully made it acceptable to keep standards low in India.

Please remember that in the 1980s or 1990s Hindustan Motors and Premier Automobiles would have provided similar excuses as below. In fact much more than these. But Maruti came and changed everything. The Indian automobile scene that you see today wouldn’t have been possible without that.
1. Maruti meets all the Government regulations on safety, pollution etc.
2. India is a country with families travelling on two-wheelers. This Maruti is better than that.
3. This is what the market wants.

Today Maruti is in an indisputable position and has the power to make incremental changes across the board that can move the Indian automobile scene to its next level. Other Automakers will be forced to follow suit. But that’s not happening. I’m not saying they are complacent like HM. Maruti is actually the most aggressive and fiercely competitive. I just hope for the sake of everyone, Maruti is also innovative.

Originally Posted by Porschefire

- Lastly, in this day and age, there are no bad cars. Each one has its USPs and limitations. Let us disagree to agree on this.

Of course, there are bad cars. If a car cannot protect its occupants and the environment then it is a bad car. It’s a different topic to say that someone cannot make a safe car at 5L but that doesn’t mean I have to call it a good car.

There are many reasons why some of us think we are auto enthusiasts. One of the reasons is to not accept status-quo and demand the best. Mediocrity should be questioned. That's how we force progress.

[volkman10]

S Presso, the Vitara Brezza inspired 'Mini SUV'






Link

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by kiku007

There are many reasons why some of us think we are auto enthusiasts. One of the reasons is to not accept status-quo and demand the best. Mediocrity should be questioned. That's how we force progress.

Completely agree to your as well as Porschefire's point/s.

But the issue was different [for the flare up], issue is, Tata puts more thicker gauge steels and still doesn't sell.

Now, only if the thickness of steel decided the fate of the car.

[Jerryaj]

No matter what we say or ridicule the design, talk about safety and what not! this automobile is going to fly off Arena showroom like hot cake. Majority of us seem to agree Kwid is a better looking (and is a better package) car than this automobile, but, it has be accepted Kwid is not going to beat this automobile in sale number (my opinion). The testimony to it is we have 31 pages on S-presso thread, whereas we have only 7 on Kwid thread. So we can understand where the interest is more.

[damodar]

Originally Posted by Jerryaj

Majority of us seem to agree Kwid is a better looking (and is a better package) car than this automobile, but, it has be accepted Kwid is not going to beat this automobile in sale number (my opinion).

Another factor that this car will generate huge sales numbers is because of Maruti's massive distribution advantage. End of the month when most people will start comparing Kwid's sales with SPresso's, the difference will be so massive that one would stop raising that topic henceforth.
Just 5 units of SPresso's sold from their 3500 showrooms will give a monthly sales figures of 17500! And Renault even if it manages to sell double the number from its 400 odd dealers will be only able to push 4000 units.

[bf1983]

This car should sell a lot considering the pricing is good for a Maruti Suzuki car. Comparing it with the Kwid, the Kwid has the only real advantage of pricing.

I have driven the Kwid and the engine is not as nice as the 1 litre Suzuki engine IMO.

Both the cars should get a 1 star safety rating or max 2 stars. The Kwid got a 1 star rating for the single airbag version. The Spresso may get 2 stars since the top end version gets 2 airbags.

So safety wise and price wise the two are very similar but the Spresso pulls ahead in engine performance while the Kwid is much ahead on design.

What really sets the Spresso ahead is dealer coverage and service availability. If this is a city car only then that advantage reduces a lot but if people from rural areas buy this car, then for sure Suzuki will offer a massive advantage.

[DrCar]

Let us accept the fact that Maruti is playing according to the market demands.

We all love Tiago because of its build quality. But we disliked its 3 cylinder engine. Plonking a 4 cylinder engine will increase its price.

Maruti Suzuki on the other hand gives us a feature packed cars with competent engines. To make it a VFM, they need to compromise somewhere. Sadly, they compromised on build quality.

When we drive a car, we forget about the looks and build quality ; and concentrate only on ride, handling and engine capabilities. That's where Maruti triumphs compared to other manufacturers. Let us accept the fact that even they tried hard to give us a better quality vehicles like Scross, but sales figures paints a different story.

Tatas, Fords, Mahindras, Volkswagens, etc. believes in making a quality structure first. They think about engine configuration later. Prices won't be a factor when other manufacturers start giving us great engines with better build quality. Buyers will lap it up. Success of XUV300, Nexon and Ecosport are few examples that comes to my mind.

Other manufacturers have to improve their after sales services. What is the point of having a great looking car if manufacturers don't bother to take care of it once they sell it. The buyers will hate the same good looking cars stranded in the middle of nowhere or parked indefinitely in the garage waiting for parts to arrive.
Toyota never made a great looking car but will make sure that they care them like a baby once owner brings it to them. Look where it stands now

Looks impresses you for first few months, but after sales experience impresses you throughout your life. Let other manufacturers take a note of it. I will be more than happy if all of them become successful, which will be good for our market in the long run.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by volkman10

S Presso, the Vitara Brezza inspired 'Mini SUV'

The previous generation WagonR (blue eyed boy) looks taller than Nexon, Venue, Brezza in some angles. Especially the rearmost top edge of the hatch which is quite high. Overall it seems the S-Presso will be shorter than that due to its squat stance other than the raised high hood & face. I still feel the S-Presso will actually make people buy more WagonRs by spending a bit more.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

Well, Maruti calls S-Presso as an SUV while Renault transparently says that Kwid is a hatchback in SUV style. There is a whole lot of difference between calling a car SUV, and SUV styled hatchback!

The term 'SUV' has been abused and beaten to death in the Indian market. The cheapest, affordable SUV available in India, as someone has mentioned elsewhere, is the Duster AWD. Period. Be it the S-Presso or the XUV3OO and everything between, all of them are hatchbacks glorified as SUVs.

Originally Posted by shortbread

Is the S-Presso a bad attempt by Maruti?

Oh yes it is, in fact it's a terrible attempt. I understand production cars diverging from their concepts, but for a concept that looked sporty and cute(ish), the production version had no dimensional similarities or the design details. The proportions, front end, all the garish plastic, the rear.....one can go on.


Is the S-Presso an ugly car? 'Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.'

For a majority of beholders whose eyes function, Yes, the S-Presso is ugly.

I have similar views on the Santro.

Originally Posted by kiku007

No doubt on that. But the question I have is, do you feel this is the BEST Maruti Suzuki can do for it’s LARGEST/MOST PROFITABLE market? Is this all they think Indians deserve?

This has always been my biggest qualm with MSIL. If we look at the last decade, most of their products barring a few, have been mediocre at best.

Low cost doesn’t have to look and feel so cheap.

I agree but I reiterate, 'quality' is relative.

What makes me sad is, Maruti has successfully made it acceptable to keep standards low in India.

Today Maruti is in an indisputable position and has the power to make incremental changes across the board that can move the Indian automobile scene to its next level. Other Automakers will be forced to follow suit. But that’s not happening. I’m not saying they are complacent like HM. Maruti is actually the most aggressive and fiercely competitive. I just hope for the sake of everyone, Maruti is also innovative.

Quoting my own statement elsewhere on the thread -

And this is exactly the reason why I would probably never buy a Maruti. Design, power, luxury, value be damned, I do not like the way they think they 'know it all' about what an average Indian customer wants. I understand that no automobile manufacturer is a saint but I truly believe that at Maruti, a "lot" goes on behind closed doors with the sole intention being capitalizing market share and that in my view, makes them an unethical company.

Of course, there are bad cars. If a car cannot protect its occupants and the environment then it is a bad car. It’s a different topic to say that someone cannot make a safe car at 5L but that doesn’t mean I have to call it a good car.

How did you conclude that the S-Presso is unsafe, may I ask? If it is because of the sheet metal thickness then none of the cars in the Maruti stable qualify to be safe. Also, can you tell me if the Kwid/Go/Santro are any safer?

There are many reasons why some of us think we are auto enthusiasts. One of the reasons is to not accept status-quo and demand the best. Mediocrity should be questioned. That's how we force progress.

Mediocrity has to be questioned, yes. We have to criticize the abomination the S-Presso is but being auto-enthusiasts, we have to lap up a >10yr old model with an unreliable, problematic gearbox and questionable after sales, right?

Originally Posted by Jerryaj

The testimony to it is we have 31 pages on S-presso thread, whereas we have only 7 on Kwid thread. So we can understand where the interest is more.

This is what I mean by negative publicity. Very soon, the Kwid thread will be lost under the bundle not because it is a bad car but a good car which not many of us will buy or will have to buy.

[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki loses no time. Launch-->Bookings-->Media Drive

Media drive begins at Jodhpur - Rajasthan.

[desertfox]

Ideal thing to buy. My wife wanted a small car to drive my daughter to school which is 500 M from my parking. At 9 AM and 12.30 PM return trip. 2 KM a day. A tank full will do the job for 3-4 months. Will buy one a red one or electric blue.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by desertfox

Ideal thing to buy. My wife wanted a small car to drive my daughter to school which is 500 M from my parking. At 9 AM and 12.30 PM return trip. 2 KM a day. A tank full will do the job for 3-4 months. Will buy one a red one or electric blue.

Now that's a post that will suddenly cause this thread to quieten down for some time as we take stalk of whether you are buying one or are being supremely sarcastic! The S-Presso can surely be a good alternative to an umbrella / rain-coat though. Certainly safer.

On a serious note - not just the S-Presso, a lot of cars (Altos, Celerio, Old WagonR, RediGo, Kwid) are primarily city-run abouts. For purposes like the one you mentioned (although with slightly higher travel distances ). Good for errands and shopping in city. If they are marketed and used in that manner - its really a good thing. Certainly safer than hauling shopping bags and kids on 2 wheelers. Just that the customers should also recognize this & not take these "SUVs" at 120 kmph on our infamous highways.

[purohitanuj]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

The term 'SUV' has been abused and beaten to death in the Indian market. The cheapest, affordable SUV available in India, as someone has mentioned elsewhere, is the Duster AWD. Period. Be it the S-Presso or the XUV3OO and everything between, all of them are hatchbacks glorified as SUVs.

Absolutely. Can't agree more.

Originally Posted by purohitanuj

Well, Maruti is wrong in calling this as SUV. But I don’t blame MS when every Manufacturer is doing it? Is it right to call XUV300, Brezza, Seltos, Creta, Ecosport, etc as SUVs? I think the term “SUV” should not be abused.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

On a serious note - not just the S-Presso, a lot of cars (Altos, Celerio, Old WagonR, RediGo, Kwid) are primarily city-run abouts.

If so, please add the following too in the list:

Nano, Eon, Santro, i10s, Tiago, Go, Go+, Brio, Micra... I don't think they will fare any better than the above.