Maruti Suzuki SX4 User Reviews

This is a first cut owner's feedback. I own this ZXI for almost 2 months now. I have carefully choosen this car after test driving all possible alternatives number of times. Though Honda city has a refined engine, I felt SX4 has better power on tap, and superb drivability. I drove it at 145 kmph on highway, it was absolutely flawless,inspiring,quiet (you get slight road noise on roads- not so great,but that again is a feeling, few drivers like me seek to enjoy driving),no body roll (unlike Aveo). The protruding middle rear seat problem was solved,when I fitted a good seat cover. The engine grunt at higher rpm gives you a sense of power. Though Honda City has been upgraded with safety features & alloys (its a very good car to own with this upgrades, if you are not so adventurer type), I feel SX4 has got a different attitude and appeal with its high ground clearance (16 inch alloy) and stance blended with performance. Please don't take performance test data of diff. Magzns. too seriously as, in real life, you will not be able figure out minor differences while driving. Most important is your own feeling, when you take a test drive. Fuel economy is just about ok, I am getting about 9 kmpl (normally I drive way beyond the recommended 45 to 65 kph level for best fuel efficiency,or I drive below the reco. Limit in congested roads). I am told efficiency would increase beyond 5000 km. Maruti has got excellent service support, my car was recalled and clutch assmbly was replaced, as they anticipated technical prob in future. The instrument cluster with steering mounted controls Is quite upmarket and gives you a feeling of a mordern highend cocpt. The interiors are dual colored, and by no means cheap. Its really a good value for money carComfortable,exciting to drive,good handling,excellent performance,strong stanceFuel economy is marginally satisfactory, Stereo is difficult to upgrade to DVD

Hi, I took the test drive of SX4 today and completely bowled on the spot. This car is really Awesome or I would say incomparable in this segment “C”. Let me go a step back and explain you why I was completely flatted: Well I WAS looking for C segment car from last 2-3 months and I was researching on Web, visiting dealers and taking test drives etc. I took the test drive of Ford Fiesta, Verna, City etc and finally started the process of making my mind that there is no other option then Honda City. The parameters I took in consideration Price, Mileage, Luxury, Comfort, Brand and Resale value. I was planning to materialize my decision soon BUT Suddenly I heard that Maruti is planning to launch a new car and I decided to hold my decision for few more days. And very soon Maruti rolled out SX4. I was swimming on web to find out more and more details and I did get it. I found a comparison chart where SX4 was compared with Fiesta, City / i-Vtech, Verna, and Corolla, and SX4 was leading the chart with best height, width and road clearance 190 MM, better then any other big size car including SUV Scorpio which is min 180 MM (visit it’s site for detail). And finally today I visited Maruti showroom at New Delhi and took test drive of SX4 twice, and spontaneously decided to buy new Maruti SX4 Zxi top model. Below are some minor highlights: 1. It has a fresh jazzy sporty look 2. Extreme comfort for passenger and driver. Adjustable driver’s seat Height. 3. Full of sensors like – If you miss to wear seat belt, car will indicate you before traffic police J 4. ABS 5. Tubeless tyres with alloy wheels 6. Automatic climate control. It also tell you the temperature in out side the cars 7. Joystick control for Outside rear view mirror 8. Audio control at steering wheel 9. Airbags with releasing seatbelts 10. Euro – 4 compliance engine And many more…! Only hidden item which has not been declared by Maruti yet is Mileage. It is a strategic move by Maruti to capture the market but I discussed with dealers and user it will be some where around 12-16 KML, which seems not bad for a luxury segment car. Hope this information will help you, in case of more information visit nearest Maruti dealer only in rare case I would like to answer any query…! Open for feedback, if you feel this information is helpful, do not forget to drop a one liner at pushpendratiwari@gmail.com. Best Regards, Pushpendra Tiwari New Delhi, IndiaFresh jazzy sporty look, comfortable, Automatic climate control, ABSMileage Unknown

MY NEW REVIEW AFTER 15 MONTHS:

With my complaints, DD Motors, did get back to me and got the issues fixed. Maruti just needs to understand that if they are selling Premium Cars, they need to give Premium Service. And, I think they are getting there.

I JUST WANT TO SAY AFTER 15 MONTHS OF DRIVING SX4, THIS IS THE BEST ONE I HAVE EVER DRIVEN!!!

High Seating, Enjoyable Drive, Pleasures of all cars in its segmentMaruti Service

I had purchased a New Maruti SX4 ZXI version about a month and a half ago. Recently I had been on long journey - 800 odd km.

It is stable and handles good at high speed - I had done upto 150 kmph on the speedo and found it to be very stable.

I had read in the review that someone had got an average milage of 16 km / lit. I would like to tell you that I had got 12 km / lit on highways during my journey. I had mostly driven at 100 - 110 kmph.

Also the ride is bumpy and not smooth especially at the back on rough roads, unlike Dewoo Ceilo, which I had earlier.

Ofcourse the back seat could accomodate only two comfortably.

Good styling, stable ride, comfy handlinghas bit of bumpy ride at the rear, OK milage - average only 12

Got my ZXi(non Lthr) in Aug, have done 2799 kms on date, avg fuel eco in city so far is 9.8kmpl (they will need to wrk onthis if they want avg Indian to buy it in thousands), on highway (@120+kmph avg speed & AC on)over 700+ Kms ride(s) 13.6kmpl,which is good for its capacity & load. What dissapoint me most is its rear visibility, who told MUL to go for a boot-height that can almost take-in a child in a kneel-down position!! Its grill design between the headlamps made my neighbor confuse it with Indigo(!- heavens bless me!!). Rear Visibility specifically in city ride is aweful to say the least, pl ask MUL to work on it! Ride quality is awesome in the front, good for nuclear families but when you hv numbers to carry, boss the rear middle's a mess with the axle shaft way too potruding "into" the passenger compartment, mking it uncmfrtbl2sit. The rear headrests should have been lowerd fr the driver's visibility. The car does WOW on highways at 100++ speeds. I'v peaked 155kmph so far for over 50 kms, it holds superbly fine. The best in its class. Overall, I recomend people to buy but 5W30 engine should be available at all Maruti authorzd service stns. its not still.

Rejoinder on Nov 30 2007:
The mileage looks stabilising @9kmpl in city, (4000Km so far on the clock) which may not go well wz avg Indian consumer (is MUL reading this, Carwale?) Honda City VTec will still score over. My brother who has one, kps joking on tht (12+kmpl!!!). I stuck wz MUL SX4 coz of thr Service (CAMAC Servc Stn, Kolkata), Honda's servc is notorious pan India. But will MUL smarten up thmselves, in getting thr spares made avlbl in the service stations??? Chk the frnt wheel bearings if U r doing 125KMPH often. Rest OK & still value fr Money.

Stability@120+kmph, Seruti features, Mid-range engn response, Clearance, BootSpace,Wheel DiaRearside Visibility, RearMiddl seat,Fuel Ecnmy in city, Parkin lghts, availability of 5W30 mobil oil

After a lot of time pondering over “should I? or shouldn’t I?” I finally took the plunge and decide to indulge myself by buying a new car in 2008. Armed with a stack of the latest Car magazines & websites, I read through a ton of material and finally short listed a few cars that passed muster, viz: the Maruti SX4, Tata Indigo XL Classic and Honda City. Next thing was to visit the dealer showrooms and line up test drives.

 

I first took the Tata Indigo XL Classic for a spin. This was the petrol version and I found the car to have a cavernous interior. Rear legroom is fantastic and seen to be believed. Besides the car has numerous features that will appeal to a potential buyer such as height adjustable driver seats, twin Aircons, capable engine and overall great value for money pricing. On the downside the driving experience was a bit vague and the engine a tad noisy.

 

My next visit was to the Honda showroom and I saw the new “Anniversary” versions of the Honda City on display. The City remains a popular choice despite an onslaught of new cars in that category and holds its value very well. Interior quality is easily the best in class as is fuel efficiency. However, the driving experience is a less than desirable and I found myself shifting gears a lot more frequently due to the lower power. The steering is also extremely light making the car skittish during high speeds. The new “Anniversary” badges look good. Only two major drawbacks that I see in the Honda City is price and lack of features. Honda really needs to re-look at the India pricing especially since there are newer cars in the same category that are priced much much more compellingly. And the Honda City offers safety features such as ABS, Air Bags only in the high-end version that is priced even more steeply, practically taking the price to the next segment of Cars such as Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic, et al.

 

My final stop was at the Maruti showroom to check out the SX4. The car is slightly bigger than the Honda City and definitely much taller. In fact ground clearance is awesome and that should work well for Indian roads. Styling is bold and the car does live up to the tag line “Men are Back”. Being a Maruti, support and dealer network is vast and spares should become more inexpensive over time. The car is simply loaded with features (Honda better watch out) and comes with ABS, Air Bags, in-built music system, immobilizer, steering mounted music controls, etc. Driving is great with the new M series engine though fuel efficiency could have been better. Steering has a tendency to become hard at high speeds but overall the car feels firmly planted and gives the feeling of driving a much bigger car. The instrument console looks great with red needles. The often quoted issues with this car, viz: poor rear visibility and uncomfortable rear middle seat are over exaggerated in my humble opinion. I got some great seat covers that have largely addressed the problem of the uncomfortable rear middle seat. As for rear visibility, I have installed a reversing camera. Besides the overall value proposition of this car far outweigh these minor issues. Pricing is fantastic and some of the features are not present even in the cars in the next segment (read Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia, Honda Civic, etc).

 

Almost immediately after returning the keys of the demo Maruti SX4 car back to the dealer, I made up my mind and booked the ZXi variant. While each of the other cars that I evaluated have their own merits, I found the Maruti Suzuki SX4 value proposition and overall driving experience to be definitely superior and hence my decision. I’ve taken delivery of my car and driven it for over 200 Kms already and have absolutely no reason to regret my decision. Cheers

 

Great Styling, Awesome features, SafetyLimited rear visibility

I am publishing this review with only one reason that ,when I planned to buy a SX4 and install CNG and wanted to know about the mileage,Pick up,Performance etc I did nt got any review.I suppose this review will be very helpful for any one eho wants to buy/install CNG on his SX4.

Recently I have purchased an SX4 ZXI 2009 model ehich had done 15000kms  and installed CNG( Landi Renzo).

After the installation the pick up is superb and the mileage in city condition is around 16-17.Till now I have driven it for around 2500 kilometrs and steadily getting this mileage.Though there is a negiligible impact on pick  up viz a viz petrol but its worth the money to spend on CNG.EWhen you are saving around 40% verytime you fill in then its worth the buy.

I would storongly recemmend people to go for SX4 and installation of CNG.Best option is buy a SX4 which has done 10k-20Kand then install a CNG kit so in that case you get a big car with an investment of somethning around 5.5-6.0lacs all inclusive.

Pick up,SpaceSide view

 

I purchased SX4 VXI CNG and performance seems to be excellent, No difference between petrol & CNG pick up, but only draw back is it takes 3 to 5 Kms. to switch over from Petrol to CNG after start.(No Manual option provided)means in city ride for short distance it wont comes to CNG(Only petrol version inspite of spending 75000/-more ) mode, while in retro type CNG kit it goes to CNG as soon as you start your car.It will give you benefit for Highway and long distance travel only.This information will be useful who are opting for CNG version.I have also contacted company for criteria for the same but yet no feedback has been received so far.If any body is having same version may please be share this draw back for fruitful result.What is the logic for petrol to CNG mode ( Temp.)?.how to reduce switchover timings ?More over low fuel alarm for Petrol is not incorporated in this version.

MOHIT PARIKH

AHMEDABAD

09428330184

Space,Power,Value for moneyTakes 3 to 5 Kms. to switch over from Petrol to CNG

Well the wait is over I now own the ZXi Variant of Maruti SX4. I've been waiting for this launch for over 3-4 months if not more. I had a Baleno earlier and I enjoyed driving the car for almost 3 years. I am a car buff and I enjoy driving, I was one of the AUTOCAR DRAG race winners in Hyderabad (2005). I have spent my first 3 days understanding the car and its response and then I shifted my attention to its performance and other factors that would be of great interest to the Indian customers. I have mixed feelings about this car and in my review I’ll not compare SX4 with another car in this segment simply because I am not here to prove anything. ? Lets talk about the good things first…most interesting…Fuel Economy. I drove this on a variety of roads and traffic conditions in and around Hyderabad. It gave me an average of about 12.8 – 13.6 Kmpl, which was very impressive considering the size of the car. Now this might also mean that the car is not all that heavy and possibly as sturdy as it looks (didn’t really test this aspect? ). I didn’t trust the mileage for the first 7 days so made it a point to test it again and again. As mentioned earlier I drove it on highways too and touched 160 KMPH and SX4 was perfect no noise and no vibrations, I didn’t speed it up further for my own safety reasons (this being a new car I didn’t want to take a chance). But will certainly beat this in my next run on the highway. SX4 height gives the driver an edge in terms of vision and control over the car, breaks & ABS has been very responsive and comfortable. One can pretty confidently drive this car and touch new speeds very easily. Interiors are decent and are comfortable, AC/ Auto Climate Control is impressive, I liked the front seating; however rear seating and the music system could have been better. The adjustable head lamps are advantageous on the city roads where we don’t use high beams. Now there are certainly some points that I didn’t like especially the front pillar of the car which interferes with the driver’s road vision during steep turns or U turns. I didn’t know if anyone observed this. I feel uncomfortable. Rear leg room for this spacious SX4 could have been certainly better even the rear seat height is uncomfortable since the rare passengers can almost see everything on the road. (Which they need not) Well to conclude I personally liked this car and finally bought it with almost no second thoughts. I am certainly not promoting it for it would add no bonus points to me from Maruti Suzuki ? Good luck to all those who are in the look out for a new car!Power, Fuel, Looks, WheelsRear Seating, Front Pillar & Outside Rear View Mirror