New SX4 launched

It was in the news for many months that SX4  was going for upgradation so it was not selling in large numbers for the last few months.This car is capable of selling huge numbers now that this factor is taken care of.In a comparison with NHC,SX4 has equally good performance,ride,and  handling and its fuel economy is only very marginally lower than NHC.SX4 has best ground clearance which will sail over speed breakers and bad roads ,it is fully loaded and is priced much much more sensibl than NHC.

Also,NHC suffers from long wheel base, soft suspension and small ground clearance which force  speed breakers to hit  in its belly.NHC interior space is meant for shorties (Japanese).It has small head room and highly inclined back seat back so forcing you to sit like a old man.In comparison,SX4 interiors are much more spacious and ergonomically better designed

SX4 is really very good sedan ( best till date from Maruti ) but somehow it has failed to creat its own space. May be this time they can achieve  it . Also i feel that SX4 should come with 1.4 lit petrol engine to cater mass market as it will give better FE & also price reduction. Biggest drawback of present SX4 is FE.

I have SX4 ZXI myself for close to two yrs and I find that its fuel economy is highly misquoted and

misunderstood.I get 14.2 to 14.8 kmpl in city with ac and traffic.When I checked it for the first

time,Iwas amazed and then rechecked.I now have a habit of checking it on each refuelling (top

up)which Ido twice a week in my case.This car has so much power that it allows you to change

gears quickly sothat by the time you are at 50 km you are in 5th gear.Now if I run the same car

purely for performance,I get 11 to 12 kmpl in city with traffic and ac which is very very reasonable

for a large andpowerful car.This car is the best package of performance,fuel economy,value and

servicing ease.The spares cost little and Maruti dealers do not have stiff upper lip like the Honda

guys.I do not think that a smaller engine (1400) if introduced will improve fuel economy as it will load

the smaller engine more .I am also  clear that underpowered cars are a hazard themselves for you on

fast highways.

The smaller engine might well not work, more so because of the pricing that will take it into the 'deadly' Dzire range.

I hope Maruti has worked on the NVH, refinement, suspension and that absolutely rubbish EPS. Also, the car is practically dead till 2200-2500rpm, I hope VVT solves that issue too.

I own and have driven the SX4 for over 40,000kms.

- Engine mountings, driveshafts and clutch were changed under recall. It took me 20,000kms to convince Maruti that there is a jerking issue in my car. This was ultimately solved by changing the clutch but at 40,000kms the jerking is back. Looks like Maruti has started making clutches that last for only 20,000kms. In comparisio, I sold my Palio S10 with 75,000kms on the odo with the original clutch.

- Refinement is zero. There is too much of road, wind , suspension noise. At 120kmph it feels like I am sitting in a helicopter without doors!

- High speed stablitiy is very poor. At 120 and beyond I have to grab onto the steering hard to stop it from darting all over the road. Odd considering the hard suspension!

- Seems like Maruti forgot about suspension. It's bone jarringly hard. The car shakes up passengers like crazy!

- EPS is absolutely rubbish. As soon as I leave the steering, the car sometimes pulls to the right and sometimes to the left. Also, the power assistance is very weird. It sometimes gets hard at high speeds and sometimes hardens up on turns and curves. I complained about this to Maruti and they say that's how EPS is. I drove 2 wagon R's, 1 demo SX4 and 1 Zen estilo and all car exhibited the same behavior.

- Rattles appeared at 2500kms. Door panels vibrate at all speeds.

- Stereo speakers are crap. I need to crank upto 30 to hear anything!

- Boot refuses to close unless it's banged hard a few times. Maruti dealers say that's how all cars are!

Needless to add, this is the last Maruti I have bought. I also never recommend a Maruti to anyone.

You must be one unlucky customer.I havent faced any of your problems highlighted.I have completed 20,000 on ODO and car is as good as new.

No clutch or gear problem nor is there any minor rattle.

Boot problem is just an adjustment issue and no design fault.

Probably you have a disliking for the company or its products![Dont mind it,but from your statements i think you are comparing it to BMW or MERC]

Reason because SX4 is one of the most stable cars as far as the handling and road grips are concerned in the segment and above.

I have driven uptill 170 KMPH without any hassle or steering or Manuveaurability issues.Rather i felt safe secure and confident about the engine and the road grip at any speed.

Probably you need to get alignment and balancing sorted out,Noise on speeds is due to bad rubber from JK vectra-change them to Michelin or fill your existing tyres with nitrogen for reducing that noise.

DOHC engines are known to produce More sound at higher RPMs than their Vtec/VVT counterparts.

I knew I would be accused of hating Maruti. Funny thing is if it was Ford, GM, Tata or Fiat that I would be talking about, everyone would immediately ask me to take the car to the nearest ASC and get it checked out!

I have never owned BMW's and Merc's (driven a Z4 and M class SUV for some distance)so I have no idea how good they are. I have owned a VW though.

The NVH, high speed stability comparo is being done with my earlier S10 and current Grande Punto. To put it simply, the SX4 feels like it's doing 120 when it's doing 80. Both the Palio and GP felt the other way round. The part about NVH, poor high speed stability was even observed by female passengers. I am not saying that the high speed stability is poor and crap. For most purposes it's okay. Upto 120 the car is stable though noise is very high. Beyond that it's scary! I have driven it at about 145kmph and it felt really dangerous.

Lastly, you may not have faced any issue but there was a recall on SX4 engine mountings, drive shafts and clutches. Yes, it was an official recall from Maruti.

Noise on speed is not due to JK vectra's. It's due to Maruti squeezing JK for giving them cheaper tyres. If these noisy tyres were approved, I blame Maruti for it not JK.

Avoid quoting directly preceding posts-MODS

SX4 is a good VFM car.

But, if you're fond of  Ride Qualities, Handling, Manuevering abilities, Steering Feedback (HPS), you'll get disappointed big time. Also refinement is a question mark. Maruti had a great chance to set all these right. But it seems they've not done major changes apart from VVT

Well i am not an expert to comment to great details.I am more than satisfied with the car and i still reserve my vote for it against any car in that segment.

Clutch and other issues that made a recall by them were not now or even in last one year,that was 8 months post its launch.

And the way you have put up the "scary" part while driving at 120kmph makes me feel we are talking about Wagon r! Yes as a reader that is the impression i get when i am unbiased.

Because waving left and right at such speeds,a car of such mammoth proportions need lot of efforts to drive in your case and rather becomes difficult to manuever.

That makes it more of a biased statement but i am not sure whether its that bad with your car or just a technical error.

Because when i say i disagree i disagree with generalised assumptions of any sort regarding any vehicle,not just SX4 but anyone in the game [Punto,ANHC,Linea,Fiesta,Verna] that all maruti tagged cars be shunned.

I respect your views but only because your statements are overrated,hence i responded.

I am sure not anyone on this forum and others who are real enthusiasts would love to hear or respond with such affirmation about any brand unless we have an exception.

Also i have the temperament to accept what you have pointed out only to the level as we all know.

In other words a car with your so called design failure would not have survived this long and no way maruti could have created a blunder out of it ,by relaunching it.

The errors as i all know were minor and i expect them to have been rectified to some extent.

For me its a clear winner even with its flaws what i know,keeping aside even the VFM tag.

Just an honest verdict from myside without any bias and ofcourse because those are my views,

I cant change yours and so cant you.

Hi Amit. Welcome to CW

To put things into perspective, I really believe that the SX4 was a great oppurtunity for Maruti but they thoroughly messed it up. Now in any other country, a tall boy proportioned sedan would be scarlige but in India it was pure genius! Considering our roads, the SX4 should have simply rocked. But Maruti messed up with the refinement and suspension part. I agree that the suspension has to be hard to keep the tall boy dimensions under control , body roll is very easy in a car as tall as the SX4 but surely Maruti could have struck a better level of ride quality then what's on offer currently.

Maruti's website claims that suspension has been reworked to offer a better ride quality. I hope it's true. Apart from that, they should have worked to get the refinement and NVH better also. A person buying a 8 lakh rupee car is looking for more then just getting from point A to B.

As for the EPS. I have said it before and I say it again. It's easily the worst EPS I have expereinced in my entire driving life.