Maruti Suzuki Esteem User Reviews

Maruti esteem, is one of the most well designed vehicles India has ever seen. Having used it for the past 15 years, I findd it difficult to identify a new vehicle that can give the same driver seat comfort, confidence, and road visibility. New vehicles are designed with greater focus on the dashboard design and layout, that  encroaches on driver's road visibility. Among the new vehicles, only Volswagen Polo offers this kind of driver comfort..

Esteem is also one of the few vehicles that offer better rear side visibility while you reverse the vehicle. In the case of new vehicles that come with larger and boxy boot spaces, the need for performing convenient reversing manoeuvres is ignored.

The esteem has sleek straight lines without unwwanted fussy curves and blging headlights. The most sensible design of headlights is seen only in the case of Volswagen Polo.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) The interiors of the Esteem are well laid out. However, a more plushy cushion for the seats would be a better bargain.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Although the 75Bhp engine of the esteem is rather not that impressive, the esteem scores on faster acceleration due to its lighter weight. However, it is suggested if its power could be improved to 90Bhp.

Ride Quality & Handling Superb - unmatched driving esperience. Never seen or handled such a "drivers vehicle" in India other than perhaps Mitsubishi Lancer and Ford Classic. However, the passenger comfort may have to be improved with better and improved rear sspensions to handle potholes and bumps. 

Areas of improvement The following areas need attention:

Braking reliability

Bump/ pot hole handling

Better quality cabin lighting with slow dimming lights.

LED headlights

Wipers with more speed ranges for operation

Effective air circulation for the rear passenger section.

Sleek straight lines, well crafted rear design and trailblaser, low maint., good accelerationReqd. slightly morepower for todays improved roads

Exterior

SUPERIOR BOLD STYLING WITH A STRONG BODY, SIMPLE YET ELEGANT DESIGN, LOOKS OLD THOUGH BUT CANT NEVER BE OUTDATED

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

LARGEST LEGROOM FOR FRONT PASSENGERS IN ITS CLASS.....Ummm LAGERST LEGROOM AND NOT EVEN THE CARS IN THE 2 SEGMENTS ABOVE THIS SPORT SUCH A LEGROOM....ITS NYS BUCKET SEATS GIVE U TIRELESS TRAVELLING AND A SPORTY FEEL...ITS A.C PROVIDES ADEQUATE COOLING,  ITS DRIVING POSTION IS JUST PERFECT ONLY CAR THAT COULD MATCH ITS DRIVER POSTION AND VISIBILITY IS THE SKODA OCTAVIA, ITS MUSIC PLAYER CAN BE CUSTOMISED AND YOU NEED NOT STICK WITH THE COMPANY FIXED MUSIC SYSTEMS AS NOWADAYS CARS COME WITH A BUILT IN MUSIC SYSTEM IN THE DASH WHICH YOU CANT CHANGE,

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

I NEED NOT SAY NETHING ABOUT THE ENGINE,PERFORMANCE FUEL ECONOMY AND GEARS... EVERY PERSON BORN IN INDIA KNOWS HOW ESTEEM PERFORMS...ITS THE "LUXURY CAR" THAT INDIA GREW UP WITH ITS THE "SPORTS CAR" WE RACED WITH ITS THE "TOUGH CAR" WE USED TO RALLY WITH ITS THE "FAMILY CAR" WE ALL ENJOYED IN ITS THE "TOURER" IN WHICH WE SCALED OUR COUNTRY ROADS.....ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS ITS FUEL ECONOMY HAS VARIED FROM 8KM/L TO 19KM/L

Ride Quality & Handling

DECENT RIDE QUALITY BUT UNMATCHABLE HANDLING AGAIN ONLY A SKODA HAS BEEN ABLE TO BEAT THIS CAR IN THE MATTER OF HANDLING NO1 ELSE HAS BUT A SKODA COSTS MORE THAN 2 TIMES ITS COST....

Final Words

"CONCLUDING ITS THE INDIAN MUSTANG, THE INDIAN MERC, THE INDIAN LANCER, THE INDIANPEOPLES CAR.....AND ALL THOSE BIG CAR BRANDS AND CARS THAT ARE SELLING IN INDIA TODAY ITS BECAUSE OF THIS CAR "ESTEEM" MADE A MARKET FOR ALL THOSE CUSTOMERS. IT MADE A WAY FOR EVERYONE TO COME HERE AND SELL THEIR CARS....WHICH IS NOW ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAR MARKETS IN THE WORLD...INDEED ITS THE MEASURING STICK FOR CARS IN INDIA

Areas of improvement  

IT CAME IN IN 1990's AND WAS STOPPED IN 2007 WHIC UPSETED THE PEOPLE A LOT STILL IT RULED THE INDIAN MARKET FOR OVER A DECADE AND A HALF WHICH IS QUITE COMMENDABLE.....

IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT IT BECAME OLD AND WAS HARD TO CARRY ON ITS PRODUCTION AND INSTEAD OF UPGRADING IT THEY REPLACED IT.....BUT WITH WHAT A SWIFT DESIRE!!!!!!! I MEAN THAT CAR JUST HAS ONE ADVANTAGE ITS DISEL OPTION....AND I WASNT ABLE TO FIND A SINGLE REASON TO BUY THAT CAR OVER THE ESTEEM.....WITH TIME ESTEEMS 65bhp ENGINE WAS BEING OUTPERFORMED BY ITS OTHER CAR MAKERS...SO I WOULD SUGGEST MARUTI SUZUKI TO RELAUNCH THE ESTEEM WITH A NEW EMISSION NORMS AND A SAME CC TURBOCHARGED ENGINE AND I BET IT WILL RULE THE INDIAN MARKETS ONCE AGAIN

 

"HANDLING", DRIVING POSITION, ROAD GRIP, MARUTIS SERVICE AND ASSURANCE, EASY REPAIR, "STRONG BUILT"THE MORE YOU DRIVE IT THE MORE YOU LOVE IT.....THATS THE ONLY BAD THING ABOUT THIS CAR

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)  Stylish interior, enough space inside and the boot also.  Normally I am driving around 5000 KM in a month in highways. Very very good in driving comfort.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Not very powerfull engine, but in this class it is good. Fuel economy is very good. Cannot compair with another vehicle in this class.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Excellent in driving, Low maintencace.  We purchased this brand new car in 2004. on road it costs 5,60,000.00 rupees. now my vehicle is around 72000 Km.  I am very happy on this car.  Very low on maintenace.  Once I met an accident in a remote area of Tamil Nadu state.  After all the formalities in the Police I called Maruthi's toll free number to get a help. With in five minutes I received calls from three authorises service centers.  Finally with in one hour they showed up with a towing truck and took my car.  I believe only Maruthi has this type of service.  I strongly recomend this vehicle.

 

Very good in milage (on highway with airconditioner 16.5 Km/litter) very driving comfert.Airconditioner is not very good. In very hot weather really very bad

Riding experience is amazing I have driven my dad's car maruti esteem around 1.5lac km in 14 years till this date engine is excellent clutch plate we changed only once I sold that car yesterday just because of validity. superb car I dnt know why maruti Suzuki has discontinued maruti Suzuki esteem if they launch again I will be the first person to buy it again. ANANT ANGURALA.

NANA

Exterior

 The esteem may be dated but it is still very propotionate especially with the spoiler and it make the compact sedans of today look like boxes with headlights. The desigh that was once striking is now common and not given a second glance. But although not striking, eye-widening or jaw dropping, it is pretty and you'll still be pleased everytime you look at it.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

 The interior is dated as well but like the exteriors, not dissatisfying. There is still good legroom and adequate headroom but shoulder space is tight and three will struggle to fit in the back. Equipment is decent though; you still get luxuries like air-con, a stereo that can play mp3, height adustable driver's seat, power windows on all four doors and a rear armrest. A large glass area helps give better perceived space and reduces claustrophobia. Ergonomics are decent as well. Overall a contemporary and comfortable interior - for upto four people.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 The Engine is Fantastic. It is punchy and responsive. It may come from a time when dinosaurs walked on the Earth but it is by no means inferior to the engines of today. Thanks to its astonishingly light kerb weight and the power of the engine, it has a power to weight ratio of almost 100 Ps per ton. That makes it faster than its successor: the swift dzire. The power delivery is amazing. Torque is well spread throughout the rev range so whenever you put your foot down it has pulling power and a strong surge. It is not that loud too... when you drive normally. But when you drive it hard it becomes louder and more sporty. It is overall an epic engine. The gearbox is great too. It is slick and has well chosen ratios. Despite all the performance though, it remains frugal, doing an impressive 15 kmpl overall.

Ride Quality & Handling

 The ride is supple and comfortable. High speed stability is spot-on and it is planted. The suspension absorbs almost all of the bump and you fell very little. You hear a lot though. The suspension noise creeps in over very sharp bumps. But overall it is very comforatble. But the handling is simply epic. The Swift Dzire handles brilliantly but this is better. The chassis is sublime the, hydraulic steering is delightful to use and the driving position is perfect. It grips well too. It handles better than the Dzire mostly due to its lighter weight and its independent suspension. It is joyous, mesmerising, brilliant and wonderful to drive and you will look forward to driving it in a great driving road.

Final Words

 The Esteem overall is a staggering car. It has all you'll ever want and need from a small sedan. It is an epic car and a more than worthy predecessor for the Swift Dzire.

Areas of improvement  

 

 

Engine, Drive train, Handling, ride, smart looksNot comfortable for 3 in the back, suspension noise can be heard over very sharp bumps

It gives a maximum of 11kmpl of milage It has problem in first and reverse gear, u hav to give excess acceleration or else the engine will stall to off. Its comfortable in seating and long routes can go smooth but it’s trembling problem over 120km/h slows u on highway. Sexy pick up. A lil modification will make it an excellent beauty.

Exterior Same old dyes used to create body parts. They start getting rusted pretty soon. I saw the same problems in Esteem as it was with my first vehicle Maruti 800 over a period of time. Body is very light. Dents are pretty bad if got hit by an Auto also.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Interiors are quite old but still pleasant. could  have been improved. Fan speed is very low in the compartment. Mostly seen people installed secondary fan.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox All Aluminium Engine is very good but having an average of 11 KMPL only, Gearbox is not good, I have had and am having Clutch issues.

Ride Quality & Handling Frequent Knocking at lower speeds. Need to increase race when starting the vehicle on first gear. But Road handling is very nice.

Final Words Still value for money.

Areas of improvement Exterior body needs to improve. Body got rusted very soon. I can very bad on that part. overall quality of parts needs to improve.

One of the nice models from Maruti brand, comfortableLow fuel efficiency, interiors are still the old fashioned, knocking at low speeds

Exterior

A good looking car - it was a premium car of its time. The styling was ahead of its time with its long dropping nose/bonnet and narrow/sweeping headlight. It have one of the best boot space - making the rare heavy if loaded. The door close with nice "thud" giving confidence on safety aspect. It was built to last - I just sold my 15 year old Esteem (in good/running condition) and the buyer was impressed with its build quality. The sheet metal used was heavy and added to the weight of the car - it was supposed to keep the passengers safe. Overall it was a Fantastic car to live with in 1998-2007s

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

It was decent for 4 persons as the width was less compared to other in the segment. Headroom could be an issue for taller person. The most pathetic AC that I have ever seen on any car - even after monthly refills, it failed to cool the cabin everytime. Had to replace the compressor and still it did not deliver satisfactory results. It has decent legroom in front but cramped for rare passengers.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

The most exciting part was its Engine (1.3 L Vxi) was a delight to drive. It still had the might to take on most of the day-to-day cars and can beat them in drag race. The rev happy engine never shows signs of retiring - once I pushed it till 140 km/h (Hyd Bng highway) and it performed just fine. With a light foot you can expect 14 kmpl within city and 20kmpl on highways. The headlights were bit washed out as the clear glass lights were new launched.

Ride Quality & Handling

The suspension was tuned for comfort and was soft. The ride on highways is just breeze - floor the pedal and it will almost fly. As a result there was a lot of body roll when cornering. At low speeds the suspension could soak in all of bumps and pot holes but due to its low ground clearance, it would scrap the bottom frequently (when fully loaded).  

Final Words

Fantastic car of its time and keen drivers still use it (along with M Lancer) in rallys. 

Areas of improvement  

Design was old school and very poor Aircon. 

 

Solid performance, Super pickup, Comfortable ride, Fuel economyDated design, Unavailability of spares, Poor AC, Body roll

This is my first car and I am using since two years. I think the person who used it before me, took so much care that, after 12 years also this car is giving me amazingly 18 kms milage on highway. Spacious, poweful, good shock absorbs and what not. I love this car and unable to decide which new car should I buy that can match this car.