Forgotten Maruti Suzuki cars: From Zen Classic to Baleno Altura

Modern-day Maruti Suzuki management only brings cars to the market that can sell at least 10,000 units. But it has not been the same story for the biggest manufacturer. In the past, not all Maruti Suzuki cars have always been so successful. Here are some of the Maruti Suzuki cars which were not as successful.

Maruti Suzuki 1000

While the Maruti Esteem was a popular vehicle and became a status symbol of Indian families, a not-so-known predecessor of the Esteem was the Maruti 1000. The Maruti 1000 was the first sedan from the brand and it became the poster car of many magazines in the 1980s. The Maruti 1000 was considered a premium car with a price tag of Rs 3.81 lakh in 1990. Powered by 1 970-cc engine that produces a maximum power of 46 Bhp, 1000 weighed only 825 kg. While former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was a big fan of the Maruti 1000, it never gained popularity until the Esteem arrived with a bigger engine option.

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Maruti Suzuki Omni High Roof

The Maruti Omni became one of the most successful cars in India but the High Roof version of the car. While it was a common sight back in the 90s, it became rare in recent years. The Omni High Roof was used as a small goods van, ambulance and even as school transport. Later, many families bought the van who wanted extra headroom.

Maruti Zen Carbon and Steel

Maruti Suzuki launched the limited edition Steel and Carbon versions of the Zen in the Indian market. It was a three-door version of the Zen. However, it was not meant for the Indian market. Maruti Suzuki exported the Zen Steel and Carbon to Poland and for some reason, they did not export a batch of the vehicle. The company sold Zen Steel and Carbon in limited numbers in India. Only 300 units of each were sold.

Maruti Suzuki Versa

The Versa was for people who wanted to upgrade from the Omni. But really, Omni did all the jobs very well. While Maruti Suzuki was expecting to see a massive change in the MPV segment after the launch of the Versa, it sure did not go too well. Over time, the Versa was phased out and replaced with the affordable version – the Eeco.

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

Maruti Suzuki tried its luck in the full-size SUV segment with the launch of the Grand Vitara in the Indian market. Not to be confused with the modern-day Grand Vitara, the original one was launched way back in 2009, it was a CBU import, which means it attracted a lot of tax. The Grand Vitara was very powerful though. It came with a 2.4-litre V6 petrol engine but Maruti Suzuki did not offer any diesel engine option. With a price of more than Rs 20 lakh, on-road, the Grand Vitara did not do well and was discontinued in 2014.

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi

The Grand Vitara was not the only CBU import sold by them in India. Maruti Suzuki Kizashi was another vehicle that was launched in the Indian market in 2011. It was launched to take on the likes of Toyota Corolla but again, it failed to attract a majority of the buyers. Even the Kizashi came powered only by petrol engine options and there was no diesel option available. At that time, the Indian market preferred diesel vehicles. It was discontinued after a few years.

Maruti Suzuki Zen Classic

The Zen was a very popular car model in India. Maruti Suzuki launched a few variants based on Zen and one of them was the Classic. The original Zen found a lot of buyers in the market. In fact, it created cult followership. Maruti Suzuki launched the Zen Classic with a chrome-heavy front end. It got round headlamps, a three-piece grille, a chrome steel bumper and more. But it could not replicate the success of the original Zen.

Maruti Suzuki Zen Diesel

Diesel vehicles were gaining a lot of popularity in the Indian market a few years ago. Maruti Suzuki launched the Zen diesel in the market to capture the customers looking for affordable options. However, the diesel variant was just not as refined or as good as the petrol version of the Zen. It came powered by a Peugeot 1.5-litre engine, which also powered the Esteem.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno Altura

Maruti Suzuki, just like many other manufacturers in India tried its luck in the station wagon segment. But just like all the other station wagons, the Baleno Altura did not do very well in the market. The Baleno Altura was doing very well in the international markets but it failed miserably in India. It came powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star

The Maruti Suzuki A-Star was launched to take on the Hyundai i10 in the Indian market. However, it did not do too well as it was sandwiched between two well-doing models – WagonR and the Swift. Due to its poor sales in the market, Maruti Suzuki discontinued it after two years of its launch.

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