Excellent car, unederestimated but of immense value

 

Exterior Excellent. Looks really imposing on the road, without losing the charm of a sedan.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Excellent. Quality of material cannot be termed in any way inferior. However, if the interiors are of dark grey colour, it will get a different feel. It is my personal opinion, though. One thing that can be improved is the cotton covering, though a small one, on the doors just above the hand rest. It looks good in a new vehicle but over a period, becomes a dampener from maintenance point of view.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Not being an expert on such matters, I had done extensive research for the last 6 months. Now I get the feeling that on certain aspects reviews can be misleading or incomplete. I was apprehensive that an engine of 1248 CC cannot be compared to Korean or German cars with supposedly more powerful engines. However, this came as Surprise package. I test drove another vehicle with a much greater engine displacement and to my surprise I could feel more power while driving SX4. With all 5 seats occupied and the boot fully crowded, I could drive the vehicle effrotlessly through plains as well as ghat areas. Rarely could I feel that the engine is not responding to the challenge.

Fue economy is another surprise package. My vehicle has done just 1500 kms, so it cannot be concluded as final. But to cover a distance of 1350 kms (500 kms on highways and the rest in Mumbai at peak hour) it consumed 88 litres of diesel. I have been given to understand that it will only get better, significantly too.

Gear box is highly responsive and effortless.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is simply superb. Suspension is very good. Bigger tyres also help. It negotiates bumps and potholes without complaining or giving a rattling sound. The rear passengers feel the comfort immediately.

Hnadling of the car is very encouraging. I realised having touched a speed of 120 kms only after my co-passenger warned me. Otherwise, I felt as if driving at a speed of 80-90 kms. 

Final Words  Overall, an excellent car. I bought this car after a lot of research and painstaking. Already owning a maruti, I thought of changing to a different brand. I knew that SX4 petrol was not a smash hit at any point of time. But once the diesel version was introduced, I felt like having a look at it. I had the usual apprehensions such as noisy engine, smelly cabin, high maintenance etc. The first two are toally misplaced, the third one only time will tell. But going by the company reputation and discussion with the agency people, I do not see any reason to worry. I must say that Maruti has not been able to market this car according to its potential. One thing that struck me and was one of the reasons behind my buying decision was its true sedan like built in this segment. If you see other sedans from VW / Hyundai / Tata, in this segment, you will realise the so called segment is hatchback + boot. Even dzire falls in this category. To my mind, SX4 qualifies to be a genuine sedan in this segment.

Whatever be our budget, maintenance can never be an issue to discard, if not from money point of view then at least from convenience point of view. And this is where one cannot compare Maruti with any other company, from customer friendliness as well as network points of view. People at the dealership may not be as flashy and sophisticated as those at foreign brands, but when it comes to service issues, they are always there for you. I formed this opinion when I bought my first Maruti 7 years before and continue with it ever since I bought it from Automotive, Nerul, navi Mumbai. Very friendly people, no wrong promises, no wrong commitments. I had been using their services for my old car and it was their conduct that helped me make an informed decision to buy SX4 from them only. One thing I liked about them is they never imposed their business pressure on me or never tried to unduly influence my decision, though I changed my choice from Dzire to Vento to Verna to Optra magnum and what not. Also, they never tried to close the deal in a hurry, though they were very quick in offering me a test drive. Only thing that went wrong was that instead of the wait period of 10 weeks suggested by them, the car arrived in 4 weeks and this put me to a lot of hassles in terms of arranging for finance. I expected them to be not so much off-mark.

Areas of improvement Only one tail light illuminets while reversing the vehicle. I do not know the rationale behind it but slightly discomforting to the mind.

Almost everythingRear bumper, which exposes the exhaust tank to public view.