Maruti Suzuki is geared up to launch a new avatar of the Zen Estilo. This is the first major revamp the car has received since its launch in 2006, and our sources tell us it will be unveiled to the public on the 25th of August.
As you can tell from the picture above, the front of the car certainly looks more grown up with the large teardrop shaped headlamps flanking a more mature looking grille. The car sports a new bonnet, fenders, tail lamps and an aggressively styled front bumper – all adding up to a more grown-up look. And it does seem that the nose is now a tad longer.
The car also receives cosmetic changes to the interior, but the most significant improvement by far is what lies under the bonnet of this new car. Plucked straight out of the A-Star, which was the first car to sport Maruti Suzuki’s new KB series range of engines – the Estilo now gets the 3cylinder, 998cc DOHC mill that produces all of 67bhp. We hear that the Estilo will also sport a new gearbox in addition to the new powerful, yet efficient engine, which is Bharat Stage-IV compliant.
They are rumors that Maruti Suzuki may even drop the ‘Zen’ branding, now simply calling the car the ‘Estilo’. Maruti had chosen to keep the Zen branding alive with the Estilo when they launched the car in 2006 to keep maintain continuity from the original ‘Jellybean-design’ Zen which was launched way back in May 1993. Unfortunately the Zen Estilo never really sold in large numbers, owing to its unexciting styling and overall similarity in packaging to its sibling – the Wagon R, since they both share the same platform with the same 1061cc engine and drive-train. One look at the sales figures for 2008-09 and you’ll have a fair idea of why Maruti Suzuki really needed to give a boost to the Zen Estilo. The car clocked only 32,694 units whereas its sibling, the WagonR clocked a rather impressive 134,768 units. So it’s wait & watch time for Maruti Suzuki to see if the new Estilo can grab some of its lost marketshare.
Picture Source: Team-BHP
