[Turbohead]

If I'm looking for a car below 5 lakhs, I don't have a choice but to look at Maruti. Apart from that, S-Cross is a killer- a car which even the regular VAG fan wouldn't mind considering seriously except for the NA petrol engine.

Else Maruti has got a boring portfolio and I can only see first time buyers and old people considering a Maruti.

PS: the WagonR has a huge following with senior citizens. They sternly refuse to even test drive the competitors. The SAs know it and they have blast billing it without discounts.

[kiran_aithal]

Voted Yes...
Will buy Maruti (WagonR or Celerio or other smaller models) for city use as these are best city cars (and occasional/emergency highway runs)...

[Axe77]

Voted: NO

This is not a de facto rejection of Maruti as a brand but more of a thumbs down to their current product portfolio, in the context of what “I” would want.

My first requirement today in any car is that it should be a good quality automatic. For most part, the Maruti stable does not offer this. The only product that I would find acceptable in this context is perhaps the Baleno - and even there I can imagine preferring either an i20 A/T or a Polo A/T depending on which direction I take my decision is.

I would not rule them out per se if I had a requirement but honestly I simply do not see any products in their line up today that I would put my money on (in automatic guise) where I can’t see a better placed competitor. Even when we bought a super compact hatch in 2018, our money went to the grand i10 A/t instead of any comparable Maruti.

[arjab]

The most well rounded product that Maruti has today in its arsenal is the Maruti Ertiga. Particularly the mid variants with its sub Rupees 10-lakh ex showroom pricing.

Spacious, comfortable and reliable, it is a jack of all trades. It is reasonably economical as well and performance wise, while not a fireball, is no slouch either. The ride is acceptable, build quality a tad better than other Maruti models and styling-wise I feel it looks pleasing to the eye.

The other Maruti's just don't cut the mustard. The Alto has lived it's heydays and should be given a retirement at the earliest. The Espresso, while performance is spiffy, rolls like a yacht through corners and pogo's like nobody's business when it hits a patch of bumpy tarmac.
The Swift feels anodyne and clinical specially compared to the first generation model. That chutzpah is gone.
I always labelled the Wagon - R as a "motorised wardrobe". Now with a 1.2 Litre engine option it's a fast "motorised wardrobe"

The NEXA cars are not that different; and it shouldn't be because most shares underpinnings with the Wagon - R. As everyone knows, Wagon-R, Baleno, Swift, Ignis are all riding on Suzuki's "Heart-tect(or is it Heart-ache) platform. They need to be "Dil - se - strong" to console the enthusiast in us for not ladling out entertaining handling or an accurate, feelsome steering.

The Ciaz is like those good boys in school. Every day of the month it attends class. If the student is absent on the 30th day, no one even notices. Do you know what CIAZ stands for? Apparently it's "C-omfort, I-ntelligence,
A-ttitude and Z-eal" No comments.

The Brezza is nice to drive. Older platform(Gen-1 Swift), still comes with a rear anti-roll bar, better safety ratings, spacious if a bit drab interiors and excellent efficiency from the now discontinued diesel.

The S-Cross is good. It's the last remaining child of the GM-Suzuki-Fiat alliance. Developed by the trio with a focus on exports to Europe, (from Suzuki's Hungary plant), it has the basic ingredients in place. A well sorted chassis,compliant ride, average steering and pleasing brakes.

What Maruti needs to do now is to launch a cracker of a product. Remember 2005? The launch of Swift Type-1? Overnight it changed Maruti's image from a maker of humdrum econo-boxes to that of a company capable of offering snazzy, smart cars which were good to drive as well.

Till then we would have eat "Celer(io)y"s and drink (cold??) "S-presso"'s.

[paragsachania]

Voted No, but that's for me.

I have no reasons to buy a Maruti to replace both my cars as there is nothing that they have to offer to me that I can call upgrade. While the small car (and practical) needs are easily fulfilled by the frugal F10D, I am sure that the upgrade from Ertiga will certainly be beyond Maruti.

However, depending on the use case and requirements, if there are vehicles in their stable that fit such specific requirements, I would wholeheartedly recommend it even with the negatives that certain models carry. The most crucial gripe with most MSIL products today is their flimsy build quality and safety ratings that all of us aware very well aware of.

However, I have also seen a dismal yet negligent failures and breakdowns along with quality issues with cars from other manufacturers that I don't regularly see with the Japs. This is where they usually do not go wrong no matter how much you hate them for everything else.

To be honest, except for the S-Cross that shines are a good handler albeit all the feedback about it not getting a powerful engine, and the XL6 for offering the best bang for bucks in that range, and the WagonR for its usual customer base who would want to have a WagonR replaced with a WagonR only, the entire product line-up from MSIL is super boring now.

[Aniket Verma]

Yes, based on my requirements will certainly buy a Maruti today. Why? Because even today:

- One of the best Pre & Post sales service
- Some of the most refined & frugal engines on offer (My Ciaz-D gives 23 KMPL in NCR )
- Omni present network, FNG know in & out of the vehicles (Emergency)
- Body as strong as Hyundai, KIA (Maruti has more 4 star vehicles compared to both KIA & Hyundai combined)
- As reliable as Toyota, confidence of not being a Beta tester (First gen Manza owner)
- Still comes with a proper spare wheel and all basic amenities are covered

Yes, Maruti needs to work on Safety for their vehicles and has not launched a new product in last couple of years, but barring Tata & MG all other vehicle manufacturers are guilty of either both or one of these two points.

[A350XWB]

Voted No. As many have said, there is no car in their current portfolio that meet my requirements.
From my personal experience, reliability and cheap upkeep of Maruti has proven wrong (Maybe I'm just unlucky). That may also be one of the reasons that keep me away from Maruti for the time being. When scouting for a car for my parents in my hometown, I chose a Ritz due to availability of service centers and multiple dealerships. The EGR system packed up, just after the warranty was over. The struts that hold the boot lid have gone kaput, there are rattles which the service center is unable to set right etc. The car has run only about 29000km in 9 years. Actually, we have spent more for the services and parts on this car, than my 7 year old XUV 500 which has crossed 70K on the Odo (Talk about reliability and cheap to maintain). I also have a 2011 Ford Figo diesel, whose systems were intact (I somehow managed to destroy the injectors on this one by keeping the car standstill for 1.5 years, due to Covid).

[fiat_tarun]

Voted Yes, but only as a second city car. Even today, under 6-7 Lakh rupees on road, Suzuki still makes the best cars. Safety is compromised, but then the other options in this segment are no better(read Hyundai).

We have a Tiago at home and while it is a great car, I still think the Ignis would have been a better buy for that nice engine and MUCH better AMT.

No one will be able to challenge Maruti in this space and we will soon have crash legislations getting stricter which should force them to sort out the safety issues.

[sidewinder_sk]

While I cannot vote, I would say NO. The only Maruti owned in family was a Omni. Post that when I considered the Swift as an upgrade I compared it with the Ford Figo. While the Siwft was agile and fast, overall, I loved the drive ability, build quality and ergonomics of the Figo, hence went ahead with it.
Even now, when I am upgrading from Figo and with the knowledge of the safety aspect of Maruti cars, there is none that I could look forward to..
Having said that I do feel the Brezza and the SCross are better built and unlike a typical Maruti. Also, the after sales service, fuss free ownership and extensive network seems unbeatable with Hyundai coming in close..

[luvDriving]

Voted Yes. In fact I am looking to replace my current ride Vista D90 with either of Ertiga/XL6.

A proper 7/6 seater in my budget. Triber is not in that same category. It ticks most of my requirements. On the safety front, my current car has zero airbags so it will be an upgrade in that sense but on the build quality - well.

I also like the Ignis for all that it offers.

[clevermax]

I won't buy a Maruti today because I am getting older and paranoid inside me is getting more dominant - The thought "what if I crash?" keeps me away from considering Maruti as a potential option.

[rainmaster]

Yes, last month I bought a Maruti product in a different disguise – Urban Cruiser. I travel a lot (2500 – 3000 KM/Month) and in need of safe, reliable, no nonsense compact SUV. As of now, cannot trust Koreans on the safety, it might be reliable, have all cutting edge technology – Turbo Petrol / DCT, Diesel Automatic etc., if it cannot protect you in an unfortunate mishap, what’s the point of having all the features. Brezza/Urban Cruiser are still value for money in petrol Compact SUV’s segment, reasonably priced, smooth 4 cylinder petrol and fuel efficient.
S-CROSS is another good option in Maruti stable , if high seating position and higher ground clearance is not the priority , it’s the best all rounder under one million in petrol avatar.

[Aroy]

Voted YES.

The first new car that I bought was M800 way back in 1990. Ever since I have been a Maruti fan - 2 M800, Esteem MPFI and now Alto K10.

For city travel nothing beats the K10. It is fast, is small enough to squeze in tight parking spaces, and costs peanuts to service.

What I like about Maruti is a plethora of options for service. You have dealers, MASS and independent garages. Except a few independent garages, the QA is supervised by the company and materials used are factory recommended.

One thing that I like is the fastness of colours. My K10 has been standing in Delhi sun for 11 years and the colour has barely faded. In contrast I see our Honda City has faded, my neighbour's Ford and Tata and Hyundai faded.

Maruti has practically no competition in the lower end single driven cars for daily commute in crowded metros. And till Tata or Hyundai comes up with a viable alternative they will rule this segment.

Regarding highways I have reached an age where a hired Innova is way better than driving my own car - congestion, parking and sheer callousness has taken the joy of driving, though I may be tempted by Jimny for leisurely travel in the Himalayas.

One thing that I must say about European cars is their build and ruggedness as well as safety in case of accidents. Maruti can never compete there, but then as I said I am not in the market for Highway Travel.

[vinya_jag]

Voted No:
Even if I want to replace my 13 year old Alto, for my father, I would replace it with a Tiago or a Kwid.
If looking for a hatchback, Swift still draws attention, but can't look beyond the Polo, or the i20
If looking for a crosoover, Brezza is decent, but there is so much competition against it. Buyer would find something better elsewhere
If you are looking for a Sedan, Ciaz is not the place to be in. Terribly boring.
Ertiga is probably one segment where Maruti would ring the bell

I actually wanted to do another poll.
How many of us BHPIAN's last car was a Maruti. I am guessing that it would be less than 20%, compared to the Industry average of 44%

[Tapish]

Just yesterday, I suggested the Ignis to someone who was looking for a car in that segment. We have been absolutely happy with our Ignis ever since we bought it a couple of years ago.

When I was in the market for a larger car, the SCross was actually in contention and the only reason we did not go ahead was the TC gearbox. If Maruti is able to pair a semi-decent AT box to SCross, it becomes a good proposition again.

The answer may not be the same for other segments/ products, but some products of Maruti are actually good value for money and provide a great experience.

The service network and quality of Maruti is still leagues ahead of some of the competition, which I think is an important parameter for a bunch of us.