Maruti Udyog Limited has reinvented the Zen as the Zen Estilo to take on new competitors in the compact car segment.
Hyundai Motors, General Motors, Honda Siel and Volkswagen are gearing up to enter the compact car segment and analysts believe this has forced Maruti to reinvent its popular offering.
Priced between Rs 3.19 lakh and Rs 4.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) across its four variants — Lx, Lxi, Vxi and Vxi with the anti-lock breaking system (ABS) — the Estilo comes with a 1061-cc engine delivering a torque of 64 bhp. The earlier Zen had a 990-cc engine.
The car replaces the first-generation Zen, which Maruti withdrew about eight months ago.
Launched in 1993, the Zen became one of Maruti’s most popular models next only to its cheapest offering, the Maruti 800. The company sold 7,60,000 Zens, including exports of over 1,22,000.
The new car will be pitted against Hyundai’s Santro and Getz, Tata Motor’s Indica and may also eat into the sales of Maruti’s own popular models, the Swift and Wagon R.
The Zen Estilo — a Spanish term for style — is built on Suzuki’s popular hatchback MR Wagon. It has been put together to conform to the standards of a rigid ‘monoform’ design with smart interiors and distinctive aerodynamics.
“Young people in India today desire products with contemporary styling and international appeal. The new Zen will appeal to this new India, just as the original Zen appealed to the India of the mid-1990s. It incorporates features and attributes that are uniquely suited to the country,” said Maruti MD Jagdish Khattar.
The car will be available in purple fusion, champagne beige, virgin blue and olive green.
Source:- The telegraph
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