Maruti SX4 VXi
Maxabout Review
Value For Money Sedan
Thursday, February 14, 2008Update - New Maruti Suzuki SX4
Maruti SX4 has been very well recieved by indian customers, as it is a true value for money sedan which comes fully loaded with all the features at a very affordable price. And now Maruti Suzuki India has made the deal even better. They have plonked new 1.6 VVT engine in Maruti SX4 so that it complies with the strict emission norms which will be in effect from April, 2011 in 11 cities in India.
Click here for more details and photos of New Maruti SX4
About Last Gen Maruti SX4
Design and Style Of Maruti SX4
Maruti SX4 has a very unique and futuristic design; it is a crossover-based saloon. Designed by Guigiarro and ITAL Design, it was actually developed as a crossover whose platform is shared by Fiat and Suzuki. A lot of crossover is visible in the Maruti SX4's styling. The massive wheel wells built to accommodate 16 wheels with high-profile tires, tall upright windscreen, massive widescreen mirrors and the upright seating position of the passengers. Apart from the oversized wheels of Maruti SX4 which look out of proportion, the design is well balanced. The headlights wrap around onto the fenders, there are big front wheel arches and the integration of the rear of the car is well executed and in line with the design of the nose as well. A stylistic touch is the way the front quarter glass dips down into the beltline.
From the front, the sedan and the hatch Maruti SX4s are identical with Large, elongated wrap-around style, clear-lens headlamps, a muscular bonnet slab and a compact bumper that features matching design lines greet the onlooker at the front. An air dam, twin fog lamps and a two-slatted grille in the middle with chrome lipping and chrome Suzuki logo round-off the front side of the Maruti SX4. It sports an unconventional design and is built to offer the look and drive feel of a crossover vehicle.
Maruti SX4's extended wheelbase, the short overhangs, the mildly cab-forward design, the raised ground clearance, the large glass area, the oversized tail-lamp cluster and the lower wedge in the A-pillar quarter glass are reminiscent of Maruti's focus on offering practical features that will be able to better handle Indian usage pattern and road conditions. At the rear, the tail-lamps dominate the stubby, nearly notch-back style boot lid. Reflectors integrated into the rear bumper and a third stop lamp offer additional safety. Maruti SX4's overall fit and finish quality has been benchmarked to European standards and so its design is unaltered, panel gaps and shut lines are tight and the paint job is superb.
Interiors Of Maruti SX4
The interiors of Maruti SX4 feel a little bit cramped with less rear leg room and small rear windscreen. Front seat headrests are very big in size and the distance between the seats is also very less. The interior of Maruti SX4 has been a given dual-tone theme and though plastic panels abound but the overall quality of materials is not upto the mark. Leather seats are optional in the top-end ZXi variant; it also comes with a neatly integrated in-dash music system as part of the standard package.
Automatic air-conditioning with attractive matt-silver dials and steering-wheel-mounted controls for the music system are also part of standard fitment in the Maruti SX4 ZXi variant. The pair of brushed chrome strips that straddle the central console looks good and the chromed air con controls also look and function well. It is obvious there are a lot of bits carried over from the Swift on the insides as well, stuff like the steering wheel, power window buttons, air con vents, some switchgear and the gear stick. The electric mirror adjuster knob of Maruti SX4 feels particularly tacky. A nice touch, however, is the fact that there is space to store a bottle in all four door pockets and that this car can be bought with leather seats. In terms of equipment, the SX4 is really good.
Engine and performance Of Maruti SX4
Maruti SX4 is powered by 1586cc, 4 cylinder petrol engine with develops maximum power 102bhp at 5500rpm with maximum torque of 154Nm at 4200rpm. It takes a around 12 seconds to 100kph. Suzuki's all-new M16A motor doesn't exactly leap up to the red line, laboring up after around 5000rpm, the motor getting coarse and strained. There is no variable valve timing system in Maruti SX4 and as a result top-end performance suffers and this is why its not as fast as it could be. The strong mid-range however is a revelation. Performance is impressive here and the Maruti SX4 just leaps forward from 2500rpm to 5000rpm, the part of the powerband used when you want to get a move on in the real world. Maruti SX4's suspension setup is too stiff to be comfortable on low and high speeds. Low-speed ride is a touch lumpy over small undulations and you sometimes can feel the additional unsprung mass of those large tyres. Grip is fantastic from the wide tires and you can carry a fair amount of speed into corners, but the SX4 is nothing if not fidgety.
There is massive torque steer tugging at the steering wheel from left to right as you floor the throttle. The Maruti SX4's inconsistent steering feedback keeps the driver on alert as you have to constantly make little corrections. On safety front Maruti SX4 is very well equipped with the top-end ZXi variant having adjustable tilt steering, tubeless tires, alloys, Dual airbags, ABS, Disc brakes and automatic climate control system. It returns fuel economy of around 9.3kpl in the city and 14.5kpl on the highway which is very less in comparison to Honda City. Overall Maruti SX4 is a great car, is very well equipped, is good looking and fun to drive.