The forgotten middle class hero : Suzuki esteem
India's first entry level sedan
SYNOPSIS
The automobile industry is one of the most important drivers of economic growth of India and one could hardly forget the iconic cars and brands that laid the foundation of the Indian Automotive industry. One such name that comes to mind is ‘Maruti Esteem’ (Maruti 1000). The car was the first car in India to start the modern sedan trend. maruti 1000 ( pre facelift esteem) was maruti's fourth product in their portfolio after maruti 800 which was a hatchback, maruti omni a minivan, gypsy E and gypsy king both where offroad capable SUV's, so Maruti 1000 in 1990 was Maruti's first shot at sedan market for middle class buyers with affordable prices.The Maruti 1000 came with 970cc naturally aspirated motor producing 46hp of max power than in 1994 was the facelift of the Maruti 1000 named changed to Esteem having a considerable power upgrade. The later Esteem featured a 1.3-litre naturally aspirated engine producing 65hp of power and 90Nm of peak torque. generation of Esteem got even more powerful. Equipped with the same 1.3-litre petrol engine it produced more power of about 85hp. This is when the 1.3 G13B engine got upgraded to EFI over the carburettor.
Surprisingly car was equipped with front disc brakes in 1994 ahh..! Suzuki what has gone wrong now
With the starting price of 3,84,000 /- to 5,55,000/- INR (approx) for later 2001 models was still quite expensive at the time but Maruti Suzuki managed to heavily undercut the prices of Honda city and Mitsubishi lancer at the time
Recently I got the chance to spend a week behind the wheel of 2005 Maruti Suzuki Esteem and in an era where jacked-up hatchbacks and crossovers dominate, I must say Esteem was a breath of fresh air with that low driving position and amazing visibility
DESIGN
The car looks pretty dated for modern standards but back in the day I think it was quite popular or at least that's what I have been told
Well, looks are subjective and I think for the price and time it was a pretty good design
INTERIOR AND OVERALL BUILD QUALITY
The dashboard is pretty nicely laid out with all the necessary climate controls and stereo controls
Esteem`s interior has a pretty special feature of soft plastic nicely set on the dashboard which I guess adds a bit of upmarket feel to the interior
Built quality is decent for the time with minimum rattle noise and that's pretty impressive for a car that`s 15 years old
ENGINE PERFORMANCE
The engine is pretty tractable and loves to rev till the redline, has decent low-end torque but the high end of the power band is really good and the car pulls hard the only gripe I have is the gearbox gear ratios are too long car does 120km/h in 2nd gear that`s how long the gear ratios are and combined with lack of low-end torque I often found myself downshifting to get a move on but from a standstill 0-100 km/h happens under 15 seconds
RIDE AND HANDLING
Car rides decently, suspension is definitely on the stiffer side but does fare nicely against bad Indian roads
Handling is pretty good with really direct steering and lightweight of the car, the car tucks into the corner nice and quick with competent steering feedback which constantly lets you know what front wheels are up tot
As I have mentioned earlier the car is equipped with front disc brakes so braking is pretty adequate and inspires decent confidence while heavy braking
Definitely, esteem was a car to have back in the day with decent space for 5 passengers with adequate performance and handling
And currently, this generation esteem`s are going under 90,000/- INR and honestly with cheap maintenance bill which is less than 3000/-INR a year is a bargain for a car with this performance and space for the first time buyer .
And with acceleration numbers which match with modern-day alto 800 with less space Esteem is a bargain if you find one in a good condition.
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Comments (14)
Superb article. The esteem was and will always be the luxury car of the middle class man
thank you, really really appreciate it
If it’s good enough for Saul Goodman it’s good enough for me..
that's the same car??? 😯
Yep! USA version anyway.
Great TV show, and he drives a beat up Suzuki Esteem.
Great article.
Read moreHad the best driving comfort.
definitely
Wow just wow!! Israr you've nailed it. Perfect pictures too. Must have had been a tough thing to write and compile these all right?
thank you ,really appreciate it, your kind words means alot to me thank you
I remember my Uncle buying a white Esteem when I was a kid. Damn, was I fascinated by the electric windows up front!!
was really a package back then sad Suzuki isn't that great anymore would love to see more cars like esteem which offers practicality, features and performance to match with more expensive offerings from other manufacturers