Best Maruti Suzuki Small Car to Buy in India: Wagon R Vs Zen Estilo Vs A Star Comparison

Well, Maruti Suzuki sure leaves their customers in a confused state of mind. Of course, the narrow minded buyer with horse blinds may say, ‘No that’s not true. I go inside a showroom already knowing what car to buy after watching those weird car shows on cable TV!.’ But for the more inquisitive souls who wonder how best to spend their moneys on a new car, Indiancarsbikes (ICB) decided to do a comprehensive review and give you our verdict on the small cars that are in your friendly neighborhood Maruti Suzuki showroom.

The A-Star, Zen Estilo and the New Wagon R. These are 3 small cars in the same price bracket. They all range between 4-5 lakhs (on road) and are barely separated by a mere Rs 5000 margin in each class. Hmm… It’s like an ice cream company having 3 different vanilla flavors. Especially since all the three have the same specs with the same 1000cc K series engine, power at around 65hp and are separated by around +/- 1km in terms of fuel economy. Definitely sounds like a family feud inside the Maruti design studios. Let’s go ahead and find out which is the fairest of them all.

 

Compare Looks

 

Well, let’s face it. None of the 3 cars are good looking. Like one of my colleagues put it some time ago, mind numbing heights of boredom are achieved. But just take a moment and take a closer look. The A – star well looks like Jadoo with weird-ish headlamps and has a pimple filled butt with the tail lamps protruding out. There is no meaning of flow at all. I mean, if there weren’t too many protrusions, would’ve actually looked neat. The Wagon R has actually been improved upon in front with the grille and lamps getting a good trimming. The blue eyes don’t do anything great and looks like make up to cover scars. The rear, on the other hand is as flat as a snooker table! Seems like the designer forgot to do it and just used the drawing his 6 yr old son gave him. The bars on the roof look stupid. The chrome Wagon R inscription on the back is nice although it would’ve looked even better if the same was on the bonnet in front (like on a range rover!). All said and done its still Boxy. The Zen Estilo. Puberty screwed her over!  I mean, they took the good Zen name and smeared gobar all over it. And it horrible looks are accentuated in that bubble gum pink color! Let’s cut some slack though: the rear end is actually not all that bad in comparison to the other two. Round 1 and the Wagon R gets off to a good start

 

Car Interiors

First things first. Spaciousness. The A Star – has no space! Zilch. Even if you amputated your legs, there wouldn’t be room for you in the back and there wouldn’t be space in the boot for your amputated legs. The cheap bucket-like seats go well with the cockpit feel. Since they aren’t actual bucket seats, they are actually comfy for long drives! Negative marks for no cup holders, horrible plastic dents, no electrical mirror adjustment and steering mounted audio controls in the most expensive version. The tacho in the top end version just looks tacky. The Estilo looks like and feels like the late Maruti 800. Same door handles, same plastic feel, same clicky noises. No split seats in the rear. No essence of the Zen name features here. It just doesn’t feel right. The Electrical mirror adjustment knob is behind the steering wheel. How reachable is that. They just didn’t think things through with the Estilo. The Wagon R on the other hand scores big time here. It’s got space, space and then some more. You can fit your family, extended family and their entire luggage and still be comfortable. Cup holders in front are rightly placed. Everything is reachable, looks and feels like your money is well spent on plastic. The only thing I hated is the flaps on the A/C vents are so badly crafted it will take 3 years for them to open smoothly without making clicking noises. And this is true of all the three cars.

Driving & Handling of Small Cars

The engine and power in all 3 are the same so you’d expect them to be similar to drive. Wrong. The Zen is easily the worst… again. The steering is like a pencil stick, feels like it’s not screwed in properly. It’s unstable and EPS just makes the car worse and you get off thinking you’d be better off without it. Also feels a little sluggish to pull off the line. The worst part is its noisy inside. Next comes the Wagon R. I feel like a king inside, looking down on my subjects as I drive along. The space makes it airy and non stuffy. Everything feels great till we get on the highway.  Not the best for long drives and intercity transport I guess. Not as bad as the Estilo though. The car is ideal inside the city. Zips around, gets through traffic and has a good turning radius. Enough said. The topper in this segment is the A-Star. You know how 70kmph in a kart feels faster? Exactly the same with this baby. You feel nice, low and quick. The steering feels full and says, “Hold me”, somewhat reminding you of the Swift!  The 12” wheels make a huge diff and the feel is great. Retains the rest of the characteristics mentioned for the wagon R except feels great on a long winding open road. All three shift gears well though the Wagon R’s egg shaped gear knob puts you off. If you are a hyper-miler, then you can cheer as these cars can crawl at 10kmph without jerking you around. Good news for your tank then.

So the three cousins all drink around the same amount of fuel to get from pump to pump. The Wagon R wins this round as well. The guys docked 200cc from the old Wagon R’s engine to make this more efficient. And it’s paid off. It will give you anywhere from 18-21kmpl.

After this long and boring tirade, in a nutshell I’ll say:

The Ugly – The Zen Estilo

There was a wise man I know who said the Zen is like a virgin. Once you get in you don’t feel like getting out. Of course, he was referring to the old Zen. This one is well, beyond the scope of words I can write on a family viewed site. DO NOT BUY this car and encourage people to bring out more cars like this. Please….!

The Bad – A-Star

Not a bad car to drive, but bad in every other aspect. Looks drab inside. The top end version, though costlier than the others doesn’t come with any features that you would get in the Zen or Wagon R. They’re just fooling you with airbags and ABS. Not worth the Extra moolah.

The Good – Wagon R

Now this is a formula Maruti have got bang on target. Works great in the city and is Ideal for the office going person who loves to take the whole family to the mall during the weekends. One size fits all. Perfect for a family, city car. It’s like how I’ve heard people talking about women. “If she’s not good looking, she has a wonderful character and is a great person”. This car is exactly the same. It’s worth it.

And our top tip to buyers – While getting the Wagon R, go for the Lxi version. It’s available without a waiting period of around 1-2 months. Now you don’t get a stereo, power windows for the rear, no rear wipers and electrically adjustable mirrors. But it’s a whopping Rs. 30000 less for which amount you can add on a great stereo of your choice and the showroom guys will fix you electric mirrors, power windows and the lot for a nominal price. In the process, you will save Rs. 10-15000 at a minimum!

And a request to Maruti Suzuki – get rid of that Estilo please. And the A-star could do with a major plastic surgery. Needs to be refined in looks, inside and outside if it has to survive. Otherwise it’s going to have a sad demise.

Picture Courtesy: saultm

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