[VinsWagen]

Originally Posted by GTO

Maruti's "wow" factor is that, unlike a lot of the competition, it won't leave you stranded. The dealers will consistently deliver good after-sales service. And the FE (especially of the hybrid variants) will be astonishingly good. It will also be easy to maintain & relatively abuse-friendly. The tech will be old (NA petrol, torque-converter AT), yet it will be more robust than the newer tech (dual-clutch ATs, turbo-charged direct-injection engines).

Totally agree. The only other brand that can beat Maruti on reliability is far from the reach of an average car owner.
I may never own a Maruti but it has been a marvel for India and continues to do so, consistently over decades.
The company which brought us the first aam aadmi car is still the top choice of the masses and for sure, it serves them the best even today. Rarely produces a lemon, fails you on the road, or hits you on the pocket and this is true for each one of their 30 plus models launched so far. Such a trustworthy and befitting brand that the people of India deserves. I think even today, Maruti must be selling 70% of its cars without even a test drive.

[nibedk]

Originally Posted by VinsWagen

Totally agree. The only other brand that can beat Maruti on reliability is far from the reach of an average car owner.
I may never own a Maruti but it has been a marvel for India and continues to do so, consistently over decades.
The company which brought us the first aam aadmi car is still the top choice of the masses and for sure, it serves them the best even today. Rarely produces a lemon, fails you on the road, or hits you on the pocket and this is true for each one of their 30 plus models launched so far. Such a trustworthy and befitting brand that the people of India deserves. I think even today, Maruti must be selling 70% of its cars without even a test drive.

Well this is the very reason that we get mediocre cars at best. When the same Mango Man continues flocking the Maruti and Hyundai or Kia showrooms and doesn't demand the very best what else do we suppose the manufacturers to dump here. If a Skoda or a VW can get a 5 star safety rated car for the same price I see no reason for these leaders to shy away from providing safe cars.

The same Mango man continues to pull down Indian brands like Tata and Mahindra even though they are putting their best effort to give us options which are structurally safer. The safety ratings say so and the ones which are still not rated are at least structurally much safer than the market leaders.

Maruti had such a great opportunity to provide something unique in Grand Vitara. For a vehicle costing upwards of 2 million has a mosquito net to cover the so called panoramic sunroof. The less said about the drive train or the interiors the better it is.

I have been a Maruti loyalist for 2+ decades owning cars like the 800, Alto, Wagon R, Swift, Omni and Dezire either within family or extended family. Each one of them turned out to be rattle boxes within the first 5 years of ownership.

Having owned a Punto for close to a decade now I do understand the difference between a well engineered car and one which is not. In 9+ years of ownership I haven't had a single reason yet to look out for a replacement. All this while servicing the car at FCA dealerships and following the service intervals as suggested by the manufacturer. I have not spent a single additional penny for upkeep other than what mentioned in the manual. Yes I do get the preventive check ups done before any long road trip which costs less than 1 K. Its more for peace of mind than anything else. I have good enough relationships with dealerships and don't think have been fleeced ever. Besides I use my judgement on the spot to decide if any of the suggestions needs to be worked on.

I am in now way saying FCA has been great rather it has been just the opposite to leave its fanbase in lurch by not providing any upgrade options. Jeep really isn't a upgrade option as its almost 4 times the cost of what a Punto/Linea used to cost.

Maruti and Hyundai with their much superior service network fleece unsuspecting customers a lot more than any other manufacturer. Not talking about the auto-literates on the forum but rather the Mango Man.

I would rate Toyota and Ford to be much better. Ford anyway packed up and Toyota and stopped making cars for Mango man. They understood Maruti is best in fooling the Mango Man and have been sourcing few models to gain experience in fooling the Mango Man Rest all of their cars are beyond Mango Man affordability anyway.

[Apex1815]

Originally Posted by drsachin

I too agree maruti has almost become like punching bag where people have been criticising it for lot of things such as built quality, part sharing etc, but to a serious buyer who thinks logically this is the most practical car one can buy for daily commute.

Maruti cars may not excite us because we are born and brought up with Marutis especially 90s kids. We had only Marutis in our family during 1991 ~ 2010. When Myself or my cousins started earning none of us bought Maruti. We preferred to try something different i.e Hyundai , Mahindra or TATA, whereas my father/uncles always cherish their Swift/Dzire.

IMHO, I do not prefer Maruti because of their Safety reputation, Outdated looks (Yawning) especially interiors of the cars. But one thing I always appreciate is the reliability of Maruti. You would rarely hear about a Maruti breaking down or any horror story of their cars, whereas the internet is full of sad ownership tales of premium cars like Jeep Compass, Harriers, Skodas, Volkswagen etc.

[wbd8779]

Well , the next time you are stranded 200 kms from the nearest service station at 11pm with your family in tow with a broken DCT (wow brand ) someone forgot to tighten up a coolant hose (wannabe wow brand ) or I cant seem to get my ac working in the Indian summers (no wow in real only money charged is wow ) pls remember this thread and acknowledge why this country still trusts MS .

No car can be 100% reliable , but a MS one sure is better than the rest , wow or no wow.

[pannags]

Originally Posted by nibedk

Well this is the very reason that we get mediocre cars at best. When the same Mango Man continues flocking the Maruti and Hyundai or Kia showrooms and doesn't demand the very best what else do we suppose the manufacturers to dump here.

In a country where it is not uncommon to see four people on a two wheeler, safety assumes a different dimension when the same family of four migrate to a four wheeler. Coming to demanding the best from car makers, I see most other manufacturers guilty of not offering better products here. Obviously, a company's product portfolio is not determined by a small faction of it's potential buyer base.

Originally Posted by nibedk

Maruti had such a great opportunity to provide something unique in Grand Vitara. For a vehicle costing upwards of 2 million has a mosquito net to cover the so called panoramic sunroof. The less said about the drive train or the interiors the better it is.

I agree. They should have done better here. I'm specifically referring to the perceived build quality (not safety) and some of the the components used. However, both powertrains on offer will satisfy 80% of the buyers, in over 80% of driving conditions. How can that be labelled a mistake?

Originally Posted by nibedk

I have been a Maruti loyalist for 2+ decades .. Each one of them turned out to be rattle boxes within the first 5 years of ownership.

Coming from driving my dad's 800, my Esteem and S-cross, my experience has been very different. On the contrary, despite the great cars the Europeans have on offer here, we've heard umpteen cases of engine knocking, doors squeaking, AC turning off etc.

Originally Posted by nibedk

Maruti and Hyundai with their much superior service network fleece unsuspecting customers a lot more than any other manufacturer. Not talking about the auto-literates on the forum but rather the Mango Man.

I have heard friends and colleagues complain of atrocious service costs for cars from the the older Korean and German stable. In comparison, a MASS may charge you for windshield fluid or a coat of wax without your consent, but will refund charges if you prefer to ask.

I think what Maruti definitely needs to work on, is providing a clear differentiation in products positioned segments above their high volume zone. This includes having lesser part sharing, better fit and finish, and options for driver oriented powertrains. I'm sure they can afford the latter, but are they are obliged to do it? Not really.

Coming back to the subject of the thread, I believe the Grand Vitara will keep cash registers at the dealerships busy. Primarily because they've got a lot of things sorted, rather than not.

[drsachin]

I noted some very weird things at Nexa showrooms. There are two showrooms of Nexa in Noida
1. Both the showrooms didn't have any display vehicle of strong hybrid variant.
2. Both the showrooms didn't have any delivery vehicles of strong hybrid vehicles.
3. Didn't have any strong hybrid test drive vehicle.
4. Salesman didn't have any information about technicalities of strong hybrids. At one of the showroom the salesman was pushing the mild hybrid vehicle as the only hybrid vehicle they were selling. I specifically asked him about strong hybrid and later after too much argument he went back to his senior and confirmed that yes there is another grand vitara which comes with "Toyota engine" but his has little information about it. This conversation happened just a week before. It appeared that both the showrooms have never delivered any strong hybrid, even though deliveries were started around a month back.
5. Both Showrooms had ready deliveries of some mild hybrids in specific colours if I am interested.
6. At both Nexa and Toyota Showrooms they are providing 6-8 months of waiting but a large number of people have received cars either within a month or some managed to have ready deliveries. At Toyota showroom a senior employee actually confirmed that although each Toyota showroom has almost 600 bookings of Hyryder but the real reasons for delay in deliveries is poor production at Toyota plant. This is expected to continue till January end as Toyota factories have very low productivity in December and January.

So few things were very clear from above discussions.
Ist Nexa showrooms in Noida have not delivered any strong hybrid in last one month.
2nd Even for mild hybrids they might not have received many bookings. How can a newly launched vehicle has ready delivery stock at showrooms.
3rd People who are interested in strong vehicles were mainly booking at Toyota (Hyryder) only. The salesman at Toyota showrooms were very enthusiastic when it came to strong hybrids, there were display vehicles, test drive drive vehicles and the stockyard had atleast 5/6 delivery vehicles of strong hybrids in various colours for daily deliveries
4th both Toyota and Maruti are over exaggerating the number of bookings.

[FarPatel]

Originally Posted by Prakash Rao

• Apart from the heat (noticeably affects the AC's performance), I need to instal Tinted Film on the on the Sunroof as well as front windscreen, to cut down on heat and prevent harmful UVA and UVB rays.
• I understand that maximum 35% tint limit is legal. Any suggestions?
  
  
• Additionally, I am told that the Sunroof is tempered glass that will shatter in case of an accident, hence the tint-film will prevent this also. For the front wind-screen, I need a film that deflects UV rays without clouding my vision, keep off the sun’s rays, have aesthetic appeal, and is also affordable.
  
  
• When abroad, I had done Nano-Ceramic Sunroof Coating with tint. Is it available in India? Where in Bangalore?

Thanks.

To answer your first point, the visibility restrictions are only for the windshields and window glasses. The sunroof can be as dark as you want, since anyway all cars with this feature also have an opaque sliding sheet inside.
I had just spoken to my friendly neighbourhood accessories store about installing the sunfilm on my GV and he wasn't keen on doing it. His reasoning was that its not possible to reach all the way back to cover the entire glass and that it would start peeling off from there soon.
Has anyone got it done on his GV and if so, was it actually possible to cover the entire glass?

[tj123]

Originally Posted by drsachin

2nd Even for mild hybrids they might not have received many bookings. How can a newly launched vehicle has ready delivery stock at showrooms...
4th both Toyota and Maruti are over exaggerating the number of bookings.

You may be right these companies might be over exaggerating the booking figures to create an artificial hype. I was able to contact the Nexa dealership and I got my Zeta (AT) in just 4 days time, this was about 6 weeks ago.

[SAHIR.KITTUR]

Originally Posted by tj123

You may be right these companies might be over exaggerating the booking figures to create an artificial hype. I was able to contact the Nexa dealership and I got my Zeta (AT) in just 4 days time, this was about 6 weeks ago.

Banglore dealers might be getting the stock faster as Grand Vitara is manufactured in Toyota Bidadi ( Banglore ) Plant.

[tj123]

Originally Posted by SAHIR.KITTUR

Banglore dealers might be getting the stock faster as Grand Vitara is manufactured in Toyota Bidadi ( Banglore ) Plant.

Yes, you may right in Bangalore there is ready stock available with Nexa dealers, just spoke to one. Higher variants read higher margins are in ready stock.

[Cresterk]

Got the opportunity to drive a mid spec manual Grand Vitara today. Took it through the usual route I drive all the cars I test.

Initial impressions:

Car looks good. I like the design more than Toyota's especially at the rear. But it looks much smaller than I expected, especially when parked between a wagon-R and my i20.

Doors feel very light. Forget closing with a thud, I had to try to close it thrice because of how unexpectedly light it is. You need to close it with a bit more momentum than usual.

360 camera does not have good quality feed like a hyundai or a Jeep but it is still useful.

Decent leg room in the rear seats. Suspension is comfortable enough over moderately bad roads.

This was the 4 cyl mild hybrid. It had surprisingly good low end torque and you can get moving like a diesel. Possibly due to electric motor assist + the 5 speed manual having very low ratios. You can go over speedbreakers in 3rd just like people driving the old swift diesel would be used to. You can slot it into 5th at around 50kmph and the Vitara will just happily putter around town. Perfect for senior citizens looking for a retirement vehicle or people who just started driving.

There is no mid end nor top end. Floor the pedal and this car will put you to sleep.

Overall: It's decent but I felt more like it was a 12L car and was very surprised to learn it was a 20L car.

[giri1.8]

Took delivery of our Sigma smart hybrid, will update more details once I clock more miles.

[Cruzn]

Would appreciate on what the owners have to say about the battery charging on the hybrids. Been reading a lot about how it doesn’t go up more than 2 bars unless you’re on the highway. I even noticed the same when I test drove the Hyryder twice. It was always on 2 bars.

1) Is this normal?
2) Is there a better way to charge it up whilst in the city?
3) Does it even matter to have it charged all the way up since you end up getting the same mileage anyways?

[BoneCollector]

Bunny Punia has managed to extract a stupendous mileage of 35.7kmpl over a drive from Delhi to Mumbai in a single tank. This was mainly to check the capability of the car to extract maximum mileage. As per him, they've achieved this at speeds of 65-75kmph with short bursts of 80+.

Link

[itsmystyle07]

Originally Posted by fluidic_fan

After reading all the wonderful reviews, I have finally decided to take the plunge with Strong Hybrid Alpha Plus variant. But my dealer is saying that the Pristine accessories package is no longer available for new bookings.

No. It is available only for bookings till July 31. I booked on July 20 and got it delivered on November 8. Pristine pack includes extended warranty plus basic accessories. I have got extended warranty for free (invoiced and given). Accessories is yet to reach the showroom. They asked a month’s time. Some issue with Suzuki connect activation for hybrids. So that also is pending.

Without extended warranty and accessories being free, the strong hybrid costs almost 60k higher than Hyryder. If you are getting those for free, then its just 25k higher.

Originally Posted by Cruzn

Would appreciate on what the owners have to say about the battery charging on the hybrids. Been reading a lot about how it doesn’t go up more than 2 bars unless you’re on the highway. I even noticed the same when I test drove the Hyryder twice. It was always on 2 bars.

I have driven almost 700kms till now. All in city. Still yet to go on a long drive. The battery always stays in 2 bars except a few occasions. If it goes to 1, the engine kicks in and i can instantly see the mileage dropping. There is no point in charging more than 2 bars. Cos its 40% of battery. And optimal range is 20 to 80%. Unless you drive at a higher speed with the engine for a long time, it wont go beyond 2 bars. And no necessity. Cos my average mileage till now is 24.5kmpl lol.

Once alone, the bar went upto 4 even while in traffic. I was surprised because the engine kept on running even while standing in a signal to charge it to 4 bars. I don't know if they have set a cyclical way to charge upto 4 bars every now and then.