Used Maruti Zen or Esteem?

[mumbaikar]

Hi,
one of my friend wants a used Esteem or Zen old gen, he owns 3 cars and wants to modify this one.
i went to maruti true value with him and i was surprised to find a same year manufactured zen selling at higher rate than esteem. both were vxi models.
how is that possible?
any specific reason that ht e zen is better? please help.

 

[mastersquall]

Zen is better any day compare to esteem . i have driven it . Its fun to drive compare to esteem not so fun + low seat

 

[amiti]

Mumbaikar, you own a zen. So drive back to back both cars and you will have the answer.

 

[mumbaikar]

but esteem is 85BHP in a 860 kg car.
so the power to weight ratio in esteem is much higher than zen which is 60BHP in 780kg! so accleration of the esteem would definitely be better.
also esteem is 1.3 vs 993cc in a zen.
may be low slung seating and not so good looks works against it!
wow now i realise the value of having an old gen mpfi zen

 

[mastersquall]

if i was given choice then ZEN any day i have driven it for 2years still love it then esteem

 

[Surfer]

Exactly what modifications your friend is doing ? performance ? showoff ?
Technically Esteem is much better than Zen.
100 + kmph on Zen its quite peppy and vibrates more.
Just check this very nicely modified Esteem
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/ownership-reviews/3763-my-modified-maruti-esteem.html

 

[P3T3R]

Instead of modifying why not just buy a Palio GTX? You get them dirt cheap. Another option would be the Ikon 1.6.

 

[mumbaikar]

Palios are known petrol guzzlers, may be tats the reason they sell cheap!

 

[P3T3R]

Palios are known petrol guzzlers, may be tats the reason they sell cheap!

They sell cheap because people think they are guzzlers. I have owned a Siena 1.6 (same specs as the GTX) and it gave me 12-13 with AC.

 

[drivetech4]

If one is looking for modifications, then I would prefer Esteem. Best car to install CNG- Huge boot space even after fitting CNG tank. Excellent mileage, as good as Zen . My brother is using a 2005 Esteem VXI (No CNG converted, running on only petrol), till today no problems and an excellent FE, I have driven Esteem for more than 2 years, IMO It is much better feeling than Zen specially on highways, it has got Overdrive for 5th Gear, and suspension is also better than zen. For city use Zen is a winner.

 

[powerpacked]

Right said by P3T3R
Palio’s are one of the best car in its class.
If at all asked I will never compare Zen ,Esteem with Palio.
If it is 1.6 GTX then ice on the cake. They are dirt cheap because of image of car and bad mouth publicity.
Like said before Mumbaikar immediately said that palios are fuel guzzler.
That’s the image we all are carrying about Palio.

Normal driving conditions Palio 1.6 returns around 12- 13
Palio 1.2 NV ans Stile returns 15-16
Zen is around 17-18

So it’s the engine size that determine the FE inverse proportion. Smaller the engine higher the FE.
Fun to drive part is directly proportional to engine size. Higher the engine size more the fun to drive factor.

Anyways I have used both cars Palio and Zen .
Given a choice I will choose Palio right first if not then Zen but for sure no for Esteem,
Not to go off topic here Zen is right choice
@Mumbaikar let us know the modifications your friend planned.

 

[350Z]

Can you throw some light on the budget, particular requirements and nature of modifications your friend is planning to perform? It will help us to assist better. Though Zen is a good car but he has choice of other modification friendly car options as well like Mitsubishi Lancer and of course the Palio 1.6. (We’ve plenty of Lancer reviews on forum but here’s a short ownership review of used Palio: http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...hase-experience-italian-beast-fiat-palio.html)

i went to maruti true value with him and i was surprised to find a same year manufactured zen selling at higher rate than esteem. both were vxi models.how is that possible?

This is quite possible depending upon the mileage done and condition of the car.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[jalex]

Hi,
one of my friend wants a used Esteem or Zen old gen, he owns 3 cars and wants to modify this one.
i went to maruti true value with him and i was surprised to find a same year manufactured zen selling at higher rate than esteem. both were vxi models.
how is that possible?
any specific reason that ht e zen is better? please help.

Both the Esteem and Zen are two great cars for modifications. They are also worth keeping as spares are easy to come by and its cheap to maintain either. If it were me I would go for the Zen as I'm a hatch person.

Also I would say to stay away from cars that are long dead and for which sourcing spares might be a real issue.

 

[mumbaikar]

well my friend has a Skoda Laura TDi and he wants a zen just as a spare.
he likes the zen a lot. he wants to paint the car yellow and may be convert it into a 3 door like a zen carbon. remove the back seats and may be put on a roll cage. he definitely doesn't want to go rallying but likes that look for weekend trips.
for engine mods he doesn't want an engine swap. just may be a CAI, iridium plugs and some porting and polishing.
for ice he wants a good system with boombox and subs with an amp..
am sure he wil end up spending twice of what he buys the car for
even i gave him the option of a palio but he doesn want one. btw whats the difference between 1.6 and GTX???
btw how feasible is it to convert a routine 5 door zen into 3 door?

 

[powerpacked]

IMO converting from five to three doors will not feasible. I would suggest to search for ZEN carbon or steel Couple of months back I saw few Zen carbons listed on car used car web site.