The Zen and I

Some cars stick with you and in my case, it has been the Maruti Zen. Here is one car that has been around since I became a motoring journalist and now, ten years since, has been re-launched with full fanfare.

I have also been driving a brand-new example of the new Zen, made famous by an advertisement campaign that hurts the sensibilities of Indian women, for the last two weeks. I feel humbled "" ten years is ample for a cheeky assassin to become a full-fledged Saddam Hussein, and here I was, driving the car that was news a decade back.

I distinctly remember the first-ever issue of Auto India in 1993, a Zen on its cover. It was not a great picture by today's standards, but back then, the all-colour Auto India was a breath of fresh air to motoring journalism and the laminated cover with that early morning shot of the Zen was totally arresting to car-starved enthusiasts.

The Zen was a slow starter in India. Trust me, we were a sceptical community even in the early nineties and most prospective owners found no reason to spend so much more on a car that was not much bigger than the Maruti 800.

But those who bought it were real stars in my eyes "" just because they refused to buy yet another Maruti 800. As for Suzuki, the rules in Japan for Kei cars (small cars that get a tax advantage) had changed and the replacement for the first-generation Alto (the M-800) had to ride, handle, run and crash better.

Yup, the new Alto was a safer car overall. Unfortunately, to our government, it didn't make sense. The soaring Yen also didn't make localising the car any easier. The result "" they refused to replace the M-800. Instead, the new car was called the Zen and advertisements spoke of a 'luxury' car that would glide over rough roads.

In reality, it was a well built car that handled well and rode better than the 'other' small car. My first impression after driving the Zen (stolen from a friend who had just bought one) was, 'wow, we have our very own Mini.' Like Sir Alec Issigonis' British legend, the Zen had a transverse engine that powered the front wheels, generous space inside and a penchant for curvy asphalt.

The Zen also looked correct from most angles "" the word 'jellybean' came first in the glossary of automotive design terminology that would bombard unsuspecting Indians in the decade to come.

As I would learn later, 'jellybean' was as Japanese as McDonalds was "" it was the Americans who gave the world this soft-porn equivalent of automotive design. Remember the Ford Probe? This jellybean coupe was heralded as the next best thing to the space shuttle. Macho American men who drove Mustangs despised it and the Probe quickly became a girly sports coupe, dying quietly a few years down. Not so our favourite M-800 replacement "" it has been soldiering on.

The Zen was also the car that made 'Passion Yellow' the colour of dreams. Maybe it was lack of things to write about, but I remember penning 500 words in this paper about how magical the colour is and how the youth in India would queue up to own one.

As Maruti and I would realise quickly, the youth in India were busy learning Cobol and C ++. They didn't have the money to buy cars, while their parents preferred cars in white or grey. Later, history was repeated when Hyundai and Opel tried the same hue on the Santro and the Corsa Swing "" bright yellows just don't work here.

Three years after its launch, i.e., mid-life for most cars around the world, the Zen started to sell. The biggest mass-communication means man has invented for a developing economy is called 'word-of-mouth' and it was this that wove a magical aura around the Zen.

'Have you ever seen a Zen go by? It's so silent,' is something I heard a zillion times, perpetuated by people tired of listening to groaning 800s going uphill. Or against the wind. Soon youngsters, who were now doing Oracle, started prodding their fathers to stick rubber strips that read 'Suzuki DOHC 16 valve' on its flanks "" a big lie, but it was the only decent accessory available for the car.

I clearly remember my editor who drove one, claiming '17 kpl' on a regular basis and thinking that Zen owners are in the habit of stretching things a bit. Whatever it was, Maruti has sold over a half a million Zens till date, one lakh of these abroad.

Four years down the line, I ended up with the same car my editor was so proud of. It has remained with me since and it does stretch a litre to 14, if not 17 kpl if I drive carefully. And it isn't a bad place to be when road test cars are hard to come by. It has been so reliable that the most expensive bit I have changed are a quartet of tyres.

My best driving experience in a Zen came when Daewoo organised a test drive programme with cars that were considered competition to the Matiz. I remember charging into corners on the dream stretch of the NH 17 connecting Mahad and Chiplun in Maharashtra and passing possibly every other car in the group, Honda Citys driven by rather aggressive test drivers included.

It was one of those days when the car, the driver and the road all blended into one extremely cohesive entity. I bowed to the Zen at the end of the drive and have, since then, kept it in a very soft corner close to my heart.

Now, I despise the concept of parents coughing up the obligatory 100 sovereigns of gold, a double storied house and a car to get their daughters married off.

Yet, the social acceptance of the Zen was more complete in my eyes as I realised that it was the preferred 'dowry' car if the groom was a doctor or an engineer "" especially in my very literate home state, Kerala. Seriously, I remember almost coming to blows with a distant cousin of mine after he paraded his 'gift' Zen to me with a certain degree of pride.

In its life, the Zen has gone through many an advertising agency and each one of them found a new thing in the Zen to highlight. 'All-aluminium contemporary engine' or 'ACE' was just one of them. Thanks to the export deal, the Zen was always extremely well built, also keeping pace with emission technology. And the stature of car grew "" the new tag line read, 'World Car,' an obvious hint at export success.

The Zen had its fair share of competition too "" first the Uno which promised a lot and later on, the Matiz, the Santro and the Indica. The biggest issue at the time of the Uno launch was whether an all-aluminium engine was better than the thin-walled cast iron unit of the Uno "" the thermodynamic efficiency of these engines were flaunted in advertisements and people who still called these cars 'Gen' and 'You Know' became experts in engine metallurgy.

In 1999, stuck with the now familiar looking Zen, Maruti decided it was time to introduce a variant into the market "" the ill-fated Classic. This chrome-faced car with retro touches was too early for a market that was just then getting a taste of modernity and needless to say, it was quite a folly and a classic example of 'what works in Japan may not in India.'

Maruti soon launched the diesel variant by cramping a Peugeot diesel under the Zen's bonnet. A look at the engine bay and you can easily imagine a few big men forcing a TuD 5 motor down its innocent throat.

This car could go to the Moon and back on a full tank again, but most Indian buyers took it with a pinch of salt. The imported diesel engines meant a steep price tag, yet some southern states bought it in sufficient numbers to keep it in production. Heck, they even have a Zen D club in Hyderabad.

The turn of the millennium saw the introduction of a four valves per cylinder head and multi-point fuel injection to ensure the war-horse meets new emission regs, incidentally also boosting output to 58 bhp. Electric power steering was also factored in to make life easier in town.

Two years back Maruti did a survey and found that the brand equity of the Zen was way higher than that of Maruti itself! And despite the launch of the third generation Alto (called Alto in India for a change), a decision was taken to give the Zen a facelift.

And that is what I am driving around these days. The front fenders, bonnet, grille, the rear hatch door and bumpers on both ends have been changed. Really, I'm quite indifferent to the cosmetic changes, but the car is still is a hoot to drive. And as Maruti can tell you, in January 2004 alone, they sold 7,200 of these cars. This year, the Zen in all probability will sell more than the 63,000 units it clocked last year.

Just before the facelift, Maruti sold 600, two-door special edition Carbon and Steel Zens "" these were put together from the export parts bin and let me tell you, I really wouldn't mind spending my own money and buy one of those today if Maruti offers them for sale again.

Mind you, that's after driving Zens of all shapes and kinds over the last ten years. Didn't I tell you that some cars are born sticky?