Took delivery of my Maruti Fronx; Had a few hiccups along the way

Love the fact that it gets R16 wheels which should be cheaper to replace than the R18s on my XUV700.

BHPian wadewilson recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hi all, so I finally went ahead and purchased the car. Took delivery on 23-01-2025. When I went to check the car, I found the plastic covering the seats to be manufactured on 22-10-24 which probably meant that the car arrived in the city by 20-11-24 considering it takes two to three weeks for cars to arrive in the North-East. So the car was sitting idle for two months only which isn't too bad. Paid Rs. 13,7X,XXX.00/- on road.

Regarding the bird droppings, while the car was cleaned before delivery; the bird stains definitely left a mark. However, I was sure it was nothing a detailing session couldn't fix so I went ahead with the purchase - after checking out the car in detail of course. They also did polishing and teflon coating (do people still do that?) for the car before delivering it to me. Here are the pictures:

The exterior of the car had no visible dents, dings or scratches other than the bird droppings. Also, in their earnestness to clean the car, there were faint swirl marks which one could make out if one looked at the car closely from an angle. The headlights, tail lights, DRL's were tested and they worked without a hitch. I also inspected the rubber beadings, checked the tire manufacture date, checked the spare tire among other things, and found them to be in good condition.

The interior was what surprised me. For a car that was this dirty on the outside, the inside was almost in pristine condition. When we went to take delivery of our Seltos (Facelift), we didn't notice the scratches on the gear console (it is piano black), it was only in the morning the next day that we noticed that. I therefore made sure to inspect the piano black elements in the car and found that they had no visible or faint scratches on them - thankfully the overzealous cleaning guy had not laid their hands on the interior. Tested the sound system, 360-degree camera, HUD, interior lights, power windows, etc., and found them to be okay.

After the all clear from my end, I instructed the salesperson to proceed with the paperworks. However, one thing I did notice during delivery was whiteish smoke coming from the exhaust of the Fronx. The same, my brother pointed out was coming from a Baleno and Brezza (both of which were to be delivered on the day). Since I had read earlier that Maruti provides only 2 years / 40,000 km warranty, I made up my mind to go for the extended warranty which would bump the kms up to 1,60,000 kms. It was only later that I realised that Maruti finally increased the warranty period for their cars and now it stands at 3 years / 1,00,000 kms. Anyway, I had waited too long to purchase extended warranty for my XUV700 which led to its price increasing twofold later on so I'm glad I got the extended warranty during delivery itself for the Fronx.

I had gone with a 50-50 mind with regards to purchasing the car and I had informed the salesperson beforehand that if I am not satisfied with the car, I would walk away without taking delivery. So the paperwork had not been started from their end, and the car inspection by me, my younger brother and my cousin brother took time. Eventually, the car was delivered around 7:30 PM and I was able to finally drive home the Fronx. Posting a short summary of what I like and dislike about the car after having driven it for 1050 kms.

What I like about the car:

1. Suspension: Did not expect Suzuki to have such a good suspension, it absorbed bad roads and small potholes with ease. A welcome change from the very audible suspension of my XUV700.
2. ICE Sound Quality - I had very low expectations with Maruti's ICE. However, the sound quality was quite superb and in some areas matched my XUV700, in my opinion. The separation, clarity, etc. was really good - something I did not expect from Maruti
3. Steering - Lightweight at low speeds and weighs up at speed. It did feel somewhat vague, but overall, considering it is a budget hatchback, I quite like it.
4. Engine - When I TD the 1.0L Alpha which was brought to my home by another dealer, I felt that the car was sluggish and did not pick up speed at all. I had zero expectations for the 1.0L Turbo Petrol engine in the Fronx, but the moment we left the showroom and I put my foot on the accelerator, I was pushed back. Did not expect that a Maruti engine would give this type of feedback.
5. Paddle Shifters: While the engine is good, the gearbox is tuned more towards efficiency which means it upshifts to a higher gear faster, which isn't ideal in some scenarios. In that case, the paddle shifters help solve that problem to an extent.
6. Seats - Did not expect the seats to be this cushy and comfortable. Love the bolstering, however, miss the lumbar support of my XUV700 on long drives.
7. Wireless Charger - Can be turned on and off from the touchscreen which means I don't have to worry about keeping my phones on the wireless charging pad. I hate wireless charging to the core since it heats up the phone quite a bit and the battery health also takes a beating due to the heat, so ever since the day of delivery, the wireless charging pad has been turned off, and I instead charge using the car inverter that I bought.
8. Illuminated Glovebox and Vanity Mirrors - Missed these on my Seltos (Facelift), but thankfully they are there on the Fronx which is a big help, especially the illuminated glovebox which makes it very easy to find stuff in the glovebox.
9. R16 wheels - Love the fact that it gets R16 wheels which should be cheaper to replace than the R18s on my XUV700.
10. Fuel Economy - Returns an excellent FE of 17-18 km/l in the city which, even accounting for the MID's error should be around 14-15 km/l, which is satisfactory for me. On the highway, MID FE is around 20.8-21.5 km/l, which is much better than the MID FE of 13.5-15 km/l that I get on my XUV700. I'm planning to do a tank to tank FE run as well to check the actual FE.

What I don't like:

1. Floaty Feeling - When driven at 70-80 kmph and I have to change lanes, the car feels floaty to me and the steering also feels a bit disconnected.
2. Rear Seatbase - After reaching home from office, my bag bumped the rear seatbase and it came off. After trying to put it on multiple times and not staying put, I ended up turning the plastic lock 180 degrees and thankfully the rear seatbase finally locked in place.
3. Headlights - While better than my Seltos, it leaves me wanting for more, especially considering the awesome OEM lights of my XUV700.
4. Mild Hybrid Battery - which is under the front passenger seat, which reduces the rear passenger's ability to keep his feet under the seat.
5. No rear passenger arm-rest - Even the Renault Kwid has a rear passenger arm-rest, and I don't for the life of me understand why Maruti skipped this.
6. 360 degree camera quality - After using the 360 degree cameras on my XUV700 and Seltos, the 360 degree camera on the Fronx is pathetic at best. While the stitching is good and there is no lag, the quality is a letdown after paying over a million rupees.
7. IRVM & ICE Blindspot - The IRVM and ICE take up so much room that sometimes they create a blindspot for me. Learning to adjust with the same.

These are some of my observations after having driven the car for around 1050 kms now. Anyway, here are some pics and thank you to everyone who pitched in their advice, comments and thoughts.

Mandatory Delivery Pic - thankful to the Dealership for the good and hassle free experience

Took the car for polishing and graphene coating at CSI - a particular patch of the bird dropping is still there and I will be visiting them to get it fixed

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