Zen Estilo: Japanese simplicity, European chic

Maruti's premium compact car — the Zen — had an amazing run right until early this year, when it was yanked off the turntables at the company's showrooms.

It was the first premium compact car in the country. The enviable 13-year history of sales is the highlighted by the fact that Maruti had but once tried to give the Zen a facelift.

The car had had a loyal the fan following that had fallen for the car's jellybean design. But with the entry of more players and choice in the compact car segment widening, the Zen's design did seem less attractive, though it still had the trusted, peppy and rev-happy engine that was a delight to drive for the enthusiast and the novice alike.

That despite its production having been stopped from March, the Zen should win the top honours in TNS' Total Customer Satisfaction Study 2006 under the premium compact segment, ahead of the Hyundai Santro and the Tata Indica, no doubt made Maruti sit up. The company also divined the Zen's undiminished image amongst the young and the old, as also among the performance and the style conscious alike.

The Zen brand is quintessentially Japanese and with its strong recall, Maruti-Suzuki was not going to let it die. So, after a breather, the Zen is back adorning the panels of a completely new premium compact car. Here's the new Zen Estilo, the all-new small car from Suzuki with a refreshed, but recognisable brand name.

The Zen Estilo (with a lowered emphasis on the `t', Spanish style) is, even as the name seems to suggest, an amalgam of Japanese simplicity and European chic. Put together to conform to the standards of a `monoform' design, the car is for the most part a carry forward of the original Suzuki MR Wagon, the Japanese parent's popular small car.