the tale of zen lx 2001....

[mehul_bhp 0]

In the year 2001 i bought zen lx as it was the only good choice at that time with the metallic moon blue colour......in d name of small cars there was only the old pathetic looking santro and matiz. so obviously chose zen because it looked the most handsome of those cars.this was the new model of zen which had bharat-2 emissions and a mpfi engine.. ok fast forward to the year 2008....

 

the car has now run exactly 1 lakh km....in the earlier years the average in city with ac was 13 and without ac 15 and highway 20 kmpl.......but now the city average is round about 10-11 kmpl and highway 16 kmpl...the top speed of 1 litre baby is 149 kmph !!!

 

here' the list of its repair history

1. twice had bonnets and once both front fenders changed,owing to two seprate incidents in city.

2.replaced the tyres at 60,000 km and put on the lasting mrf zvts steel radials.

3. after every 35,000 kms had the battery chaged.

4.after the car had run 84,000 km the ac compressor stopped working and hence got the new compressor fitted.

5.got the first clutch changed at 95,000 km

6.suspension overhaul at 99,000 km and twice had the shockers changed . once at 48,000 km and the second at 99,000 km.

 

the suzuki engine still feels lively and rev happy and sound free even after 1 lakh km......i think that the zen's engine and wagonr's engine is lot better than the santro's engine.the engine still has good refinement  and the pleasing acceleration....my only grouch with zen is that the engine lacks response at low speeds till 40 kmph and especially in the 1st and 2nd gears...the zen really starts pulling  from 2000 rpm and the 3rd, 4th,5th gears gives u good speed..the 0-100 figure comes up in 15.5 seconds...the zen has less torque that is why frequent gear changes are warranted...especially in city where u need to change from 4th to the 3rd and then back to 2nd....the fifth gear pulls only from 50 kmph otherwise if u engage it at low speeds  it doesnt pulls the car...though now the service and maintainance expenses have increased but the maruti service stations are really good and they service the car nicely and the people managing them are really good !!! overall a fiary tale !!!

 

 

 

[AdityaM 0]

You are in love with the car!!

[mehul_bhp 0]

absolutely aditya.......and infact people cant help falling in love with the zen !!!

[Rajeevraj 0]

Yup there is something special about a zen. Especially since its now discontinued.

[carispassion 0]

The zen's best part is the engine and the handling, which no other economy car can match..!!!! But battery change after 35,000km does not sound great. Think, he has not treated the battery well. If we are in the habit of checking the battery level within 2 months period, then, it can easily last for around 4-5 years.

[mehul_bhp 0]

ya unfortunately i never top up the water in the battery....everytime i fit the new battery i make a resolution to do so but they are quiet short lived ones and they can last longer if they are taken care off !!!!

[carispassion 0]

may be because, you know that, its not going to cost you so much..

carispassion2008-05-02 07:39:36

[AdityaM 0]

absolutely aditya.......and infact people cant help falling in love with the zen !!!

Especially the older one, before the styling changes!!

[RKNG 0]

as an owner of a zen1998 model, alto vxi, santro and indica , i can say that the zens engine is good.. but not to the extent that you have written and the santros engine is every bit as refined if not more because zens block is aluminium and it transmits sound faster... and on the reliability front my santro has done 85k and still only the tyres have been changed apart from regular service...zen has done only 35k and is troublefree till now..

[AdityaM 0]

1998?

That would mean that the engine is a Carb?

Might explain the difference.

[adi1991 0]

well since zen has so many models change lets see which were the best and worst

 

1. zen international (my fav.)

2. zen (first ever)

3. zen carbon and steel

4. zen estilo (current)

5. zen classic (the worst ever..... thank good they discountinued it real quick
)

 

 

[bluesapphire 1]

Which was zen international ...do u hav some pic

[adi1991 0]

ahh..... the one before estilo............. with crushed lights......

[adi1991 0]

here is the pic

 

[bluesapphire 1]

Oh yes i loved that especially in red color with black glass...i thought u put it generation wise so u might be talking about the 1st model of zen

[adi1991 0]

no no....... its according to what i liked most

 

international was the only model i bought of zen

[bluesapphire 1]

Even that 1st one with black bumper looked cool ...in that even violet color looked good n i can see till now that color on older zen which has still not fade ..good thing..

[AdityaM 0]

Loved the 3 door variants (Carbon and Steel, which they had come out with in limited numbers) of the original shape Zen.

Did not like the "International".

Puked on the "Classic".

and so-so about the Estilo.

[mehul_bhp 0]

all i can say is that maruti must be repenting it big time that how stupidly they replaced the zen international which was selling in good no's with estilo which is selling nothing !!! u have currently all year a near 40-50 k discount on estilo !!!

[AdityaM 0]

You can't win them all!!

[carispassion 0]

but i would like to disagree...

maruti have tried hard to extend the life of old zen with the zen international. even then, it was not selling very well, after an intial surge in sales.. (only less than 1500 afterwards.) So, they have replaced it with Estilo, targeting the old people, and the ladies. And about 4000nos are selling steadily per month now; also about 1000 is being exported.

As of now, i think they are trying to sell max no of wagon R, before being phased out, and there after, may be planning to facelift Estilo( I heard the rumour that, maruti will be Facelifting the Estilo in 2009.)

[thermalpaste 0]

I had a zen which clocked 1.6 lakh kilometers. Pretty reliable, just that the suspension sucks and the air conditioner keeps conking off.

[AdityaM 0]

but i would like to disagree...maruti have tried hard to extend the life of old zen with the zen international. even then' date=' it was not selling very well, after an intial surge in sales.. (only less than 1500 afterwards.) So, they have replaced it with Estilo, targeting the old people, and the ladies. And about 4000nos are selling steadily per month now; also about 1000 is being exported. As of now, i think they are trying to sell max no of wagon R, before being phased out, and there after, may be planning to facelift Estilo( I heard the rumour that, maruti will be Facelifting the Estilo in 2009.)

[/quote']

The export news did come as a surprise. I saw the car in the Suzuki Indonesia site, and it does not have any Maruti badging.

[AdityaM 0]

I had a zen which clocked 1.6 lakh kilometers. Pretty reliable' date=' just that the suspension sucks and the air conditioner keeps conking off.

[/quote']

1.6 lac km is real high on a car. How much would you get if you were to put it up for sale today?

[thermalpaste 0]

I gave it to my cousin I think I should get 70-80K for it. The interiors are still pretty good. I also have an esteem which has clocked 113,000 kms, but the esteem is way more reliable.