Maruti Suzuki’s 10 FORGOTTEN cars & SUVs: Baleno Altura to Grand Vitara

Maruti Suzuki India, the largest car maker in the country has been operational in the Indian market since 1983. The car maker has a stronghold in the market and has produced and sold millions of cars in the market since its inception. Since the time the brand was officially introduced in the market, a lot of new models have been launched in the market. While most of the Maruti Suzuki products gain immense popularity in the market, there are a few models that have been forgotten over time. Here are ten such cars from the brand that have been forgotten.

Maruti Suzuki 1000

The Maruti Suzuki 1000 was the first sedan from the brand and it was launched after seven years of introduction of the Maruti Suzuki 800 in the market. The Maruti Suzuki 1000 was considered as the premium car at its time and became a status symbol. It came with a hefty price tag of Rs 3.81 lakh in 1990 and was powered by a 970cc, engine churning out a maximum power of 46 Bhp. The Maruti Suzuki 1000 was replaced in 1993 with the Esteem, which gained even more popularity in the Indian market.

Maruti Suzuki Omni High Roof

The production of the Maruti Suzuki Omni finally came to end after 35 long years. Maruti Suzuki also introduced a more spacious high-roof variant of the vehicle that offered much more headroom than the regular version but looked like a blob. Everything else in the car remained the same. It never became as popular as the regular version of the Omni in the Indian market.

Maruti Suzuki Zen Classic

The Maruti Suzuki Zen was introduced in the Indian market in 1993 as a premium hatchback. The car became a cult brand over the years. Maruti Suzuki wanted to add some retro touch to the Zen and the Zen Classic was born in the Indian market. The car had a chrome-filled face with round headlamps, chrome steel bumper and a three-piece grille that did not go well with the market.

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

The Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara was a full-size SUV that was launched in the Indian in 2009. However, it was powered by a massive 2.4-litre V6 petrol engine and came with a massive price tag of over Rs 20 lakh. It was a CBU import, which ensured a high price on the vehicle. Even though the Grand Vitara was liked by many in the Indian market, the extremely high price tag kept it out of reach of many and eventually, it was discontinued in 2014.

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi

The Maruti Suzuki Kizashi was the brand’s first and only premium sedan in the Indian market that was launched in 2011. It was the most affordable CBU on sale in the Indian market but came with a hefty price tag. The Maruti Suzuki Kizashi also came powered by the same 2.4-litre engine and was one of the best-looking Maruti Suzuki cars in its time.

Maruti Suzuki Zen D

While the petrol-powered Maruti Suzuki Zen became a cult car, the Zen diesel could not replicate the success in the Indian market. The Zen diesel was launched at a time when the diesel-powered vehicles were gaining popularity in the Indian market. It received a Peugeot-sourced 1.5-litre diesel engine that was also available with the Esteem diesel in the Indian market. It churned out a maximum power of 58 Bhp and peak torque of 96 Nm.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno Altura

When the popularity of the station wagons was increasing in the European markets, the manufacturers decided to check how the Indian market will respond to it. Then came a slew of station wagons in the Indian market including the Maruti Suzuki Baleno Altura. It came with a 1.6-litre petrol engine but as we all know, the market does not respond well to the station wagons.

Maruti Suzuki Versa

The Maruti Suzuki Versa wanted to take on the MPV segment by storm and even appointed Amitabh Bachchan to do the promotions for the car. It was targeted at the customers who wanted to upgrade from the good old Maruti Suzuki Omni in the Indian market. However, over the years, the Versa could not do well in the market and in 2009, Maruti Suzuki replaced the Verna with an affordable version – Eeco.

Maruti Suzuki Zen Carbon and Steel

Maruti Suzuki launched the three-door Zen Carbon and Steel that came with a limited number of 300 each. It was advertised in a big way and the stocks were sold quickly in the market too. However, over the years, only a few remember these three-door unicorns and many of these have been tastefully modified by the enthusiasts.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star

Maruti Suzuki’s affordable range has almost always been successful in the market. However, the A-Star was launched to take on the Hyundai i10 in the market. The product placement of the A-Star was a bit confusing for the customers as it was placed between the popular models like the WagonR and the Swift. It did not find many buyers two years after its launch in 2012 and was eventually discontinued from the market.