Maruti Eeco - Comprehensive review

Buy Eeco and you will regret it

India's car major Maruti Suzuki launched a new family car named 'Eeco' at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi. Notwithstanding, soon it was abuzz around the auto circles but soon it fizzled out let us know why. Eeco was launched as the MPV and was launched as compensation to the failure and dissatisfying Maruti Versa in terms of affordability, looks and comfort, simply put it's a Versa replacement.

Along with the Maruti Eeco the Maruti also launched an electric variant of Eeco the Eeco Charge which served as taxi at the Commonwealth Games 2010 New Delhi. The car (or call it taxi) runs on standard 5 kilowatt Li-ion battery which achieves top speed of 100kmph and was a result of 60-crores research spent by the Maruti Suzuki. There are rumors too that should Eeco be a success they might give superannuation to their block buster Omni. But Maruti will have to rethink about their strategy.

Design, styling, looks and interiors of the Maruti Eeco
As for the design, styling looks and interiors of the MPV Maruti Eeco no wonder it offers few upgrades as compared to the Versa, that include flat loading, spacious bay (for 7-seater though it will be 3 rows and you will note that the interiors get a lot congested), clear-lens headlamps, new design tail lamps and fog lamps with dual-tone interiors (beige and grey). Its digital meter cluster adds to the convenience and sophisticated feel for driver. Eeco comes equipped with sliding doors and integrated headrests for the front seats to give good comfort and space for personal and business purposes. The foldable rear seats option makes it a decent MPV though still all said it has very basic kind of looks and even the bold graphics on the body would claim second glance from kids on the road. But with a bigger hood than the current Omni it certainly looks a better and a safer proposition.

Engine, performance and fuel economy of the Maruti Eeco
Eeco uses a 5-speed manual transmission and runs on 1196cc petrol engine (now imagine the power the tonga can deliver to pull 7 people) which is placed under the driver's seat. This produces maximum power of 73 Bhp @ 6000 rpm and maximum torque of 101 Nm @ 3000 rpm. Eeco scores with mileage giving 15kmpl upon ARAI testing report. The real road test gives it an efficiency of 9-10 with full capacity.

The car comes with DSA (Diagonal Shift Assistance) technology which would lessen the noise upon gear change (heck why a gear change should witness any noise in the first place) and improves continuity gear shift. The new engine is Bharat Stage IV and complies with the emission norms that will be effective from April, 2011 in the 11 cities across India.

Powerful Air-conditioning - With air conditioning offered in only 5-seater Eeco your trip will be comfortable in any weather.

Variants and Prices of the Maruti Eeco
Ecco is available in six colours, which are Metallic Glistening Grey, Metallic Silky Silver, Metallic Midnight Black, Metallic Blue Blaze, Bright Red, and Superior White. Besides, Maruti Eeco comes with a 3-row and 2-row seating with seating capacity of 5 and 7 passengers, respectively.

- Maruti Eeco 5 Seater Standard - Rs. 259,000
- Maruti Eeco 5 Seater AC - Rs. 289,000
- Maruti Eeco 7 Seater Standard - Rs. 275,000
All the above prices are Ex-Showroom.

Final verdict:
With a 1.2 Liter petrol engine and under-Rs 4 lakh segment, it should have been a winner even if the MPV was specifically designed for domestic market.

But it looks that the Maruti Suzuki engineers under delivered their efforts; three years of research time and the engineers have given a crap called Eeco stripping down the Versa's power steering, reducing the frontal safety cage, reducing size of side impact beams, having thin sheet platform welded at luggage space to accommodate the last row of seats, ripping off the rpm meter the analog trip meter and installing instead a flimsy digital tripmeter, reducing the size of the MPV to under 4 meters and having it mated to 1.2 liter engine to bring it in the small car bracket and have the government excise duty deductions. with no power steering and no central locking and power windows, with engine under the driver's seat expect the bums to develop heat sores on long drives, hard steering (none as harder as that of Eeco), hazardous body roll after 90 kmph speed, mileage of 9-10 kmpl without the AC on (there is no such option for the 7 seater anyway), badly designed headlights (it's a pain to drive it in the nights), roomy like with no usable space (who's going to use the vertical space). With all this even the Maruti showrooms don't house the accessories. I am sorry for being so rude but even if price is a constraint, this re-badged Versa is not the vehicle for a family.

Way to go Maruti for fooling the Indian auto enthusiasts.


Written by .
Last updated on 11-02-2011. Published on 11-02-2011.
Published by Carz4Sale in category Reviews
Latest Comments. Share Your Opinion
I just love the look and feel of the new Maruti Eeco. It is just stylish and grand too.I just hope it is fuel efficient too and even then who would not want to own a Maruti Eeco. Hope to buy one soon myself. Thanks a lot for sharing.
By Maruti Eeco on 24-05-2011
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