[musicmanaman]

Hi All,

I did a small test drive of the Eeco today, and below are my observations. I drove the version with 5 eats and AC.

Positives.

1. Fantastic Price, as we all know. Brillent VFM.
2. Tall Seating position, I like this, I don't know if other's do.
3. Huge Boot space.
4. Has the biggest window in the middle seat, that I have come across, that can be rolled down. Cabin feels nice and bright.
5. AC felt powerfull, but then again it's winters, so can't actually judge the same.
6. Straignt forward concole, and very short gear level.
7. Seats are OK.


Negatives

1. No Power steering, should have a varient with one.
2. Engine, according to me is not that powerful, feels strained.
3. Lack of rear AC vents.
4. The back seats should have been placed a little more back, there is room for about 5-6 inches more where the seat can be placed, this would have given the middle row passengers more leg room, and there would still be a huge boot area available.
5. Only the driver seats can be slided back, even the front pasenger seat can't be slid back, the passenger front seat is screwd to the base, this is something I really don't like, there is very little leg room for some one like me who os about 5-11.
6. By the body design by default, one will not feel too safe above 70-80 Kmph. I feel it should have been a little broder.
7. On the car I drove, which by the way had only 185 Km's on the odo, the breaks were not confidence inspiring.

Buttom line is, Maruti should come out with a varient, which has PS and rear AC vents, and the front passenger seat should slid back, and the middle row seat should be placed about 6-8 inches back. If this was the case and Eeco was priced maybel 20k more, I may have gone for one.

[vigsom]

Babuji,Nice to see you have an Amby.I simply love the Isuzu1.8 liter

Originally Posted by musicmanaman

Tall Seating position, I like this, I don't know if other's do. - I do I do very much

Engine, according to me is not that powerful, feels strained - that is unusual;the Versa's does the duty very well

the front pasenger seat can't be slid back, the passenger front seat is screwd to the base, -Omni ishtyle

By the body design by default, one will not feel too safe above 70-80 Kmph. I feel it should have been a little broder - 100% true;this is a very competent city car and can also be used to cruise comfortably at 80

the breaks were not confidence inspiring - agreed;this could be because there is hardly any weight up front ;the pads are in the 3O'Clock position while in most cars they are in the 9 O'Clock position.I don't know if this has an influence on braking

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by musicmanaman

Buttom line is, Maruti should come out with a varient, which has PS and rear AC vents, and the front passenger seat should slid back, and the middle row seat should be placed about 6-8 inches back. If this was the case and Eeco was priced maybel 20k more, I may have gone for one.

wasn't that called the Versa? the one that nobody wanted.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by Mpower

wasn't that called the Versa? the one that nobody wanted.

The Versa that almost nobody wanted was priced at nearly Rs 5 L (onroad) for the PS+AC version. The non-PS+non-AC version was a little over Rs 4 L (onroad).

On the other hand, the Eeco (non-PS+non-AC version) is priced at about Rs 2.65L (ex-showroom), which is over a Rs 1 L cheaper than the Versa. Agreed, the Versa may have had 10 BHP more, better seats, a different instrument console, but almost everyone would gladly sacrifice these "extras" in the Eeco if they are getting it for over Rs 1 lakh less than the Versa.

If the Eeco had PS, the PS+AC version could have been priced at about Rs 3.25L (ex-showroom) and it would still have been cheaper than the Versa by a big margin.

[recshenoy]

MSIL might come up with one after checking the market response. but lack of seat adjust for front passenger is pathetic!

has delivary already begun. i saw one driving past me in Mangalore!

[rpmx1000]

Hi Folks,

The Eeko had arrived in showrooms last saturday in Bangalore.
Was a wee-bit too curious to see it so checked it on the way to work in Pratham Motors.
Here is a short but hopefully useful review.

1) Interiors:

The van is really spacious. The front seats are imitation A-Star seats but very functional. The display vehicle had a loose drivers seat (bad!) but the test drive vehicle was better put together.More on the test in the test drive.Headroom is still good given that the Versa top has been hacked off.
Legroom is excellent but three people in the rear seats is an effort.
No headrests in the back and integrated ones in the front. Super cost savings but most of the customers will fit them anyways.The feel is a bit on the tinny side but you see how much this costs and think, WTH?
The rear seat is a proper bench seat. Nothing like what is seen in the venture.I looked at the 5 seater only , there were no seven -seaters on display.The interiors are a tad better than an omni but that is expected given the evolutions in the market and probably being 4-5 years after the last facelift.Headroom is not an issue and the seats are comfortable for a short drive, well supported but could be a little uncomfortable on long drives. The shaking drivers seat was not a good sign but that can be fixed fast I suppose.I did give them that feedback for their benefit.

The switchgear is standard maruti and parts do look cheap but don't thankfully feel so (important). The TD vehicle's AC was pretty functional and seems to have been carried over from the versa (The unit, not the controls). I'm sure I've seen the parts used in other Maruti models. Not sure which one . But it makes sense all right from a cost-of-production perspective.The front and the rear seats did'nt have any cubby holes whatsoever. This is so bare-bones it begs for aftermarket fitments.On the whole very very very basic but functional.Quality of parts overall is too basic and even the floor pads felt super el- cheapo.

2) Drive, Ride and Handling:

The feeling of driving a utility vehicle is pretty much there. Ground clearance is excellent. A couple of wild swings with the steering left and right kept the vehicle planted and me impressed. Body roll was noticeable but expected. The acceleration is good but did'nt time it. The engine is definitely _not_ rev-happy and growls loudly when tried out. It FEELS tuned for mileage rather than drivability - very understandable given the target market.Very pleasant for light footed driving.The vehicle I drove had 204 km on the odo. The small nice thing is that the fuel gauge as well as odo are digital displays.Nice touch but not too different from the usability perspective.The acceleration is good and, important to note, much better than Maruti's KB-series engine as well as the one that runs on the Wagon-R/Old Estilo. Did not run it beyond 95 kmph or rather could not given bangalore's morning traffic on the ORR. It was easy to zip in and out of traffic gaps and power was good for overtaking.Very suited for zip-zup driving if you get what I mean. The cabbies will love it! The driving experience was a touch above my wife's 2009 older-looking Zen Estilo.Not bad at all for this bread-box on wheels.Won't be surprised if many alto/old wagon-r owners switch over to this if they can live with the basic interiors. This does look like a good highway vehicle too unless you want to compete with the sedans. I would say cruising at 110-120 would be possible but that's about it. A pleasant cruise would be one at 90-100 speeds.

There is no power steering for any of the models but that is expected given the pricing. But to my surprise the steering is light, effort is minimal and feedback is good. Only time you really know there's no PS is when you turn the steering when the vehicle is at a standstill . But that is very "livable-with"!!

This car comes with coil springs at the rear (surprise!!). Very good ride even on bad roads but the car can be thrown off-balance at high speeds. Normal for a vehicle with a high stance.Nothing out of expectation but.

The DSA gearbox is the surprise package and allows for finger-shifting.
Nothing compared to the best in the business and miles away from the Swift gearbox of course. But very good VFM for the price. I drive a Fiesta and that gearbox is the gold standard so could'nt help comparing.Shifting from 1st to 2nd and back is very rough and can be improved. But forgiveable given its a new vehicle and probably will improve as it is driven. The 2nd-3rd (most important in city driving) swap and back is fantastic and I can make direct triangular shifts. 4-5 is also a breeze and better than most of maruti's current crop - including my wife's car which I don't find very easy to use. This part is very praiseworthy. I think this will be a major USP of this car.

I am a fan of any vehicle with good ground clearance. I found getting in easy but getting out will take some getting used to. That said the GC is impressive and will help when using in the rural markets and over bad roads.The coil-spring suspension will be a boon when compared to the Omni's leaf springs. I am all for the ride quality the eeco provides.


Summary :

A great product for India's car-aspirant folks . Safety is a question but Maruti claims they have anti-roll and side impact beams. That's an improvement on the Omni . Probably carried over from the Versa. Most of the G-series engines good points carried over but not very good at high revs so the car really dosen't encourage you to go beyond 100 kmph. Excellent VFM if the parts quality, particularly the seats, improve. Not for those looking for any sort of class (in particular, replace the 'l' after 'c' with 'r' and you will get what I mean). I felt the Omni seats were better. Good engine and better-than-average gearbox if the shift quality from 1-2 is worked upon. Good for quick shifters and very good in the city. MILs will be happy riding in this one.

Ranting (I can't help it!)

I would buy the A/C 5 seater, throw out the rear seats and fit some good aftermarket ones.

Price is the killer as is known of course. I don't remember the exact figures the salesperson quoted but here goes (OTR Bangalore)

1. 5 - seater std - 3.23 lakhs
2. 7 - seater std - 3.42 lakhs ( too much of a difference!)
3. 5 seater A/C - 3.58 lakhs ( A tad overpriced!? 35k for just an A/C ? Not sure how much aftermarket A/C fitments would cost though)

A short test drive, will post a better one later if I can eke out the time! A quick question about delivery time ( The boards prominently said in the showroom that the Swift VDi with ABS had a cool 3 month waiting period!) yielded answers like "1-2 weeks , sir!".I would'nt be surprised if this does meet the 40k/year sales target, but throw in some better parts ( don't you have enough of those, MSIL?) and the numbers could really zoom northwards.

What I hate is that I do see MSIL increasing the prices of this vehicle after
it becomes a success and that , IMHO is not welcome. Hope they show some concern for customers. Improving the interiors without raising the price is going to be a move from customer value to customer delight!

That's it folks! Hope this helps.
Cheers and happy revving,
rpmx1000

[xingamazon]

Thats a great review RPMX1000, thanks for the same.
I personally feel there is no reasoning behind comparing the Ace Venture with the EECO.
As the target customers are different.

[n.devdath]

Did you find the time/opportunity to click a few snaps of the same? It would be great if someone could post a few, unless they are somewhere else already.

[kannan666]

Here you go - Maruti Launched EECO At Auto Expo ? ECCO Pictures, Price, Specification And Features

[Sudan_NFS]

Nice review and thanks for this review.
I think this might yield some family buyers also but interior and rear seat might be an issue for many.
Hope they might launch a high end with ABS/Airbags with different interior when Venture is into the market or may be six months late.

[rupinder]

it will be a hit in the taxi and ambulance market .

[mooza]

Originally Posted by rpmx1000

Hi Folks,
What I hate is that I do see MSIL increasing the prices of this vehicle after
it becomes a success and that , IMHO is not welcome. Hope they show some concern for customers. Improving the interiors without raising the price is going to be a move from customer value to customer delight!
rpmx1000

With the Tata Venture around the corner, I am sure MSIL will hopefully not risk increasing the price, which as of now is the Eeco's major plus point! Competition should help keep price hikes in check, to the advantage of customers.

[recshenoy]

Hello GTO.

where are you! i am waitimg for a detailed report

[rr_zen]

Short and neat review. Can you throw more light on the triangular gear shift ? I read about it on the website but would like to know how superior it is over the regular one(if at all).

On the pricing, I am sure Maruti would wait to see the initial booking numbers before taking a call. If the response is overwhelming, there is a definite scope for a price increase.

[Mpower]

I am curious to know if the 1.2 engine can pull with 7 people and AC.

have they reduced the bore or the stroke of the G13?