Maruti Suzuki Zen: Тарихы мен сипаттамасы

The Maruti Suzuki Zen is a 5 door hatchback produced and sold in India by Suzuki's Indian subsidiary Maruti Suzuki from 1993 until 2006; it is a widened version of the Suzuki Cervo Mode. The word "ZEN" is an acronym standing for Zero Engine Noise. It also stands for the Japanese word "Zen" which means 'Complete'. The Indian built Zen was also exported to other countries as the Suzuki Alto.

Based on the Suzuki Cervo, the first generation Maruti Suzuki Zen was introduced on 21 May 1993 (MH410). While it looks very similar to the Cervo Mode, it has a lot of unique sheetmetal as it is ten centimeters longer and ten wider. In Europe and many other export markets, the car sold as the Suzuki Alto. Zen used an all aluminium engine Suzuki G10B engine which produced 50 BHP of power at around 6500 RPM. Also the Zen which was sold as Suzuki Alto 1.0 in Europe came with a G10B 8 valve engine which produces at 6500 rpm and of torque at 4500 rpm. The engine head & spares are exactly identical to the Zen Carburettor MH410 model Indian version slightly detuned. There was a minor facelift in 1997 with body coloured bumpers. In 1999, Zen Classic with retro looking front and rear was launched, but was soon discontinued due to lack of demand. In 2000, Maruti introduced a 16 valve MPFI engine with 4 valves per cylinder. Power output went up by 10 HP to 60 BHP. Its cost (of the Zen LX model) was around Rs 3,40,000 in India. A diesel version of Zen was launched in 1998 with the Peugeot's TUD5 (PSA TU engine) engine. This model did not sell well and was discontinued. In 2004 Zen underwent a facelift with new body which was called Zen Tiger. The Zen underwent a facelift in 2003. A three door version of the Zen in VXi segment was launched, priced at 5.0 Lakh (ex showroom, New Delhi). It was only available in Black (Zen Carbon) 300 nos or Silver (Zen Steel) 300 nos, cars. In 2006 the second generation (Zen Tiger) was discontinued.

The second generation Maruti Suzuki Zen, called the Zen Estilo was introduced in December 2006 as a part of Maruti Suzuki's Indian market strategy to launch a new car annually for the next five years. The Zen Estilo had the same engine and chassis as the Maruti Wagon R; both being based on the Suzuki MR Wagon (Nissan Moco). The pricing was also nearly the same as the Wagon R. The Maruti Suzuki Alto (model prior to Alto K10), Wagon R (till Aug 2010) and the new Zen Estilo all shared the same chassis. In 2009, along with a minor facelift, Maruti Suzuki dropped the Zen branding from the name.

The Zen was a very successful model for Maruti Suzuki both in India and abroad. It was called India's first world car and was exported to Europe as early as 1994. Besides being exported to Europe from 1994 to 2004, it has also been exported to several other countries. The Zen quickly became a hit with the Indian Racing Scene with highly modified versions of the 993 cc G10B engine topping 100+ Bhp. The Zen was the first fun to drive hatchback in the Indian market. It was a driver oriented car with low seating and go kart like handling. The car was very reliable and it is possible to find many good examples of Zen still in use. The Zen still commands a relatively high resale value on the used car market.