Great car to own and drive

Exterior The exterior is decent, should appeal to everyone. Front end is better than the rear. The rear is little bland because of the ordinary tail lamp design. But overall, from the sides it looks great and you cant make out that it is vehicle which can accomodate 7-8 people from the front. I liked the alloy wheels, though the older alloys on SX4 would have been better.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) The fit and finish of the interiors is good considering the price. There is ample amount of space if the seating is adjusted intelligently and it can easily accomodate 7 - 8 adults who are reasonably built. All those people who complain of third row space speak without really experiencing the vehicle for long time are really not correct. Surely you can ask for the best leg room for all seats but not at this price point. Even innova does not have great leg room in the third row considering that it is easily a bigger vehicle in all the three dimensions. The beauty of this vehicle is the intelligent management of space which allows a wheel base which is just 10 mm less than innova and >6 lakhs lower price point. Yes, when the third row is folded fully, the leg room in the second row is slightly reduced (if the head rest of third row is removed it would help). Fabric color, interior colors, dashboard is great, i think enough has been written in reviews and i dont think i can add anything new.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox The engine is quite smooth and the NVH is very low thanks to good sound deadening material used especially considering how close the front of the car is to the engine. The pick is ok with turbo lag till the rpm reaches 2000, but is still manageable considering that i drive in the bumper to bumper traffick of Bangalore. I have noted a FE of 12 - 14 Kms in the city and 17 - 19 Kms on the high way after completing nearly 8000 kms. The FE has improved from the initial days and assume it would improve further after 10000kms. The dashboard Avg mileage information however is vague, probably captures the best mileage recorded till then, not sure how it works as it never correlates with the  full tank to full tank calculations. Gearbox is surely better than some of the older maruti vehicles (eg my old swift 2005 VXI) but can be improved when it is compared to other competitors in this price point, including sedans.

Ride Quality & Handling I really love the high seating position, and the great ground clearance. Till now i can remember only once the chasis touching a monstrous road hump, slightly stiff suspension and the ground clearance have been really the saviours. They have really prevented  multiple daily heart aches which would surely happen with a honda city or honda civic or hyundai cars with soft suspension and low ground clearance. I dont find any difficulty in manovering the vehicle considering that i graduated from a small hatch (swift) to this vehicle. The road grip is good even in high speeds over 100 and the body roll is not bad either when compared to other SUVs/ MUVs.

Final Words Great car to own and drive, suitable for both regular office commute and weekend getaways. The price of this car is a real killer of competition and the reliable Maruti service and time tested engine are the icing on the cake. I booked the car on the day of its launch without even a test drive and dont regret my decision till date. Surely loved the attention on the road during the initial months of ownership when people used to ogle, tap on the window and ask typical Indian phrase 'mileage yeshtu' (what's the mileage in Kannada).  

Areas of improvement Driver seat arm rest can be easily provided in the current space and the wheel size could be increased to 16 inch. Roof rails for luggage also should be standard for all the models. Some improvement on the pick up and reduction in turbo lag would be great but considering the size of the engine it is fine, hope if they can get the 1.6 litre diseal it would change. Bluetooth with steering mounted call control can be great addition to this already good vehicle. The rear view camera and reverse parking sensors can also be a standard feature for top end atleast.

Great value for money, reliability, loads of space and comfortInitial pick up could be better, turbo lag should reduced a bit, clutch on the stiffer side