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-   -   Driven: Zen Estilo (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/20061-driven-zen-estilo.html)

Drove the Estilo for a few hundred kilometres. Here are my observations.

Exteriors

Looks like the logical step up from the Wagon R. Being built on the same platform as the Wagon R, it has inherited the bad qualities as well. But looks quite good in my opinion. Much better than the Wagon R. The side profile looks the best. The front end is not to my liking.

Interiors

Well executed, loads of headroom, but seats uncomfortable and you are likely to experience back pain after a long drive. Good choice of colours, but in all probabilty, rattles will set in like most marutis.

Driving Experience

The engine feels woefully out of breadth on the highway. Good for the city only. Maxes out at 155 kmph. The stability at these speeds is anything but nice. The EPS has no feedback from the road and the wheels tend to follow the irregularites on the tarmac. Also the car rolls quite a bit. The ride isn't great either but acceptable.

Summary

Has lost the charm of the old zen. Really good in the city due to its size. Competent city car, but not for the highway!

Drifter

Exteriors

In the showroom i went to, the new zen was parked next to the wagon r and frankly speaking, it is smaller and it shows too much. yeah lines are cute but it doesnt look like a 4.05 lakh rupee car (OTR VXi in delhi)

Interiors

for people like me, ie big, the new zen is quite narrow, narrower than the wagon r too. but better interiors no doubt

Driving Experience
it felt more refined and silent than the wagon r for sure and the gear box is way way better

Summary

Has lost the charm of the old zen. Really good in the city due to its size. Competent city car, but not for the highway! yep, but.... time will see.. i somehow really felt bad that we cudnt take it just coz of one reason - its small from inside. a tight fit for even four big adults

You are right about it being better refined than the Wagon R. The gearshift although slightly better than the wagon r, still leaves a lot to be desired...there's just too much play even when engaged.

Drifter

did you notice one more thing - the amount of space above the dash, extending all the way upto the windscreen. In delhi, there are no discounts and LXi sells for 3,77,000 , the Vxi for 4,05,000 (otr delhi)

Yeah but its pretty useless....anything that you put on it slides towards the windscreen and you really have to stretch to get them. Also the VXI comes with driver's airbag and ABS which is really good.

Drifter

@drifter : So if given a choice, which one do you prefer WagonR or Estilo taking into consideration the pros & cons of both the cars ?

I would go for the estilo, the shift quality is just slightly better and the interiors are better as well. Plus its a newer look...

Drifter

I had a look at the new Zen at a showroom when i went to get my wagonR serviced.
It definitely looks better in exteriors specially the side profile with skirting. However, the front and rear didn't impress me that much. Looks very feminine. On the other hand the new wagonR with Cadillac like front has a slightly macho look. Interior wise, the seats are no better than the wagonR, being narrow and unsupportive. However, the quality of plastic seemed to be slightly better. Rear looks surprisingly cramped even compared to the Santro. I dont think anyone with height around 5'11 ~ 6 can sit comfortably at the rear even with the front seats pulled all the way. The front seat travel is also lesser than the wagonR, in which the front seats can pull all the way back almost touching the rear seats. The boot is smaller than both wagonR and Santro.

However what i did notice that there was a lot of people thronging the showroom for test ride. Even Maruti claims it has made more than 15,000 bookings so far!
Unfortunately i didn't get to test drive the car, but whatever i have heard is it isn't too different from the wagonR as far as performance is concerned.

So, it seems the 1.1L A+/B segment is hotting up,which had hitherto only two tall boy cars, with cars like:

1. WagonR 1.1
2. Santro 1.1
3. Estilo 1.1
4. Palio 1.1 (to be launched soon)

Looks like customers have a lot of choices now!

I too happened to drive the Estilo a week back when i was in India.In my opinion

Exteriors :
It's just about OK.Its definitely not as cheeky as the Old Zen nor its ugly looking, but Yes, it does look cross breed of an Innova with Wagon-R/matiz.It has simple lines and curves but definitely not a head turner.Infact i missed to notice it in traffic thinking it was the new Wagon-R.I am not sure about the liking of our people but i suspect the speculation of maruti on this.

Interiors :
Cabin is a nice place to be in as a driver or a co passenger.Dash is huge and engine intrudes half of the dash.If u want to see the bonnet, please come out of the car :), but it should not be a problem as its same as the santro or the old matiz.
Beige trim is a good thought and gives you a Expensive car feel at Dawn or dusk, but in broad day light, the tacky plastic quality might nag you a bit.Overall, its a nice effort at this cost.
Switch gears are probably from the wagon-R and the swift.They fulfill the purpose of a 4 lac car.
Seating is good for the driver and co passenger.Tall view is likeable for short driver.It better not to talk about the rear seat.They are again a cross breed of Child seats of a Reva and a Bajaj auto rikshaw.3 mediu built adults can seat comfortably and shoulder room is better than santro.Leg room is ok.
Boot is huge(for a hatch) but they could have spared it for the rear seat space.
Engine :
Not much difference for those who drive the wagon-R, but it somehow feels much coarse than the Wagon-R.response and performace at city levels is good.Not much noticeble difference with AC On but take her to the highway and you will beg for more.She catches speed but not like the santro Erlx.Torque is not so feelable above 3k RPM and top end is somehow not like wagon-R.
I will not discuss about the gear shift as its nothing to mention about.People who crip about Indica/Go, pls take a spin in Estilo.I bet, your opinions will change.Its well above pathetic and rubbery.I would prefer an AT if available as in santro.Maruti... Wake up.....
Ride & Handling :
City performace is good.Its infact above expections.But on speeds above 80 noticeble body rol is there.But she glides well over the potholes.
Efficiency:
I drove the car for around 85 Kms with 50:50 in city/Highway.She gave me around 14.5Kmpl.This is before the first service.

Now that is a very bold statement, may I say. I should visit Maruti showroom for test drive.

It comes as no surprise as it's the same as the WagonR. The shift quality is bad.
Some people dont mind as the shift is fairly effortless.

I test drove the Zen Estilo over the weekend. The gearshift was as good or as bad as my Indica. Or vice versa. Think about it.

(With due apologies to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull)

I was at Pratham today to just have a look at it. I was looking for rear seat leg space(one of my requirement) and surprisingly the Estilo's rear leg space is much much more than WagonR and Alto and even Swifts'. Is the space really more than WagonR and alto or were the front seats pulled front? I don't know! and the boot space was huge compared to Alto or Swift.
Didn't take any test drives but i think the utilities in Estilo aren't their as much as the WagonRs'. They could have provided with more utility stuff on dashboard...and such...

As a matter of fact, I shifted to 3rd after 4th (twice out of 5 times) instead of 5th.The longish gear lever is to be pulled tooo much towards the driver to shift into 5th.I had my seat pulled considerably forward to accomodate a friend who is 6.2 tall.So the gear lever wasnt falling into the proper slot due to seat cushion.

I think i should go back to a driving school to practice in a trekker for being able to shift in an estilosorry: (just kidding)

Now that is surprising. Whoever i talked to, and my own personal opinion was that rear legroom was lesser than wagonR/Santro.