Maruti Suzuki, the largest carmaker in India was incorporated back in 1981 on 24 February. Since then the company has never looked back in terms of sales and is still ruling the market. But there are few cars from the manufacturer that faded away with the past. Let’s take a look at 10 such forgotten cars from Maruti Suzuki.
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Maruti Suzuki Zen D | The Diesel Variant Of The Cult
Maruti Suzuki Zen D | Forgotten Maruti Cars In India Indians were elated with the budget cars from Maruti Suzuki. Maruti 800 and the Zen are proof of this love. This is why the company decided to launch the diesel variant of Zen. It was equipped with a Peugeot sourced 1.5-litre diesel engine which used to deliver 58hp of power and 96Nm of peak torque. But it was not able to gain the traction, company dreamt of.
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Maruti Suzuki Versa | The Real MPV
Maruti Suzuki Versa | Forgotten Maruti Cars In India Everyone must have seen Eeco someday or the other. But very few of you may remember the Versa, predecessor to the Eeco. Launched with Amitabh Bachan as the brand ambassador, Maruti wanted to make sure it reached the heart of its customers. But the MPV was not able to gain much popularity and was replaced by Eeco in 2009.
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Maruti Suzuki Zen Carbon and Steel | The Limited Edition
Maruti Suzuki Zen Carbon and Steel (Modified) | Forgotten Maruti Cars In India The cult of Zen made people go crazy in love with the limited edition company launched in a small number of 300 units. The carbon and steel Zen was a three-door version of the original Zen. You might have come across one of these in a modified version.
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Maruti Suzuki A-Star | Cute Yet A Fail
Maruti Suzuki A-Star | Forgotten Maruti Cars In India The company is known for launching affordable cars to rival the cars across segments. To rival the famous Hyundai i10, Maruti launched A-Star. But the problem was, it had to rival its own tribe, Swift and the Wagon R. This was the case and the hatchback failed in terms of sales. In 2012, the car was discontinued.
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Maruti Suzuki Ritz | A-Star In A New Avatar
Maruti Suzuki Ritz | Forgotten Maruti Cars In India As the company discontinued A-Star, there was a pile of unused parts and material Maruti wasn’t ready to discard. So the engineers came up with a better alternative, Ritz. The car came with two engine options: 1.2-litre Petrol and a 1.3-litre Diesel. The car was known for its exceptional ride comfort, powerful performance and tallboy stance. It can still be seen on roads.
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Maruti Suzuki Baleno Altura | Cause Why Not?
Maruti Suzuki Baleno Altura | Forgotten Maruti Cars In India The Baleno is a hit car nowadays, ruling its segment in terms of sales. Back in time, Baleno used to come in a station wagon version. The company tried to tap in the segment which was already popular in the European market. The station wagon was known by the name of Baleno Altura. It was powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine. But the car met the same fate as the other wagons in India.
Have fun reading: 10 Forgotten Station Wagons (Estate Cars) Of India -
Maruti Suzuki 1000 Or Esteem?
Maruti Suzuki 1000 It was this car that marked the sedan introduction from the company. It was meant for elite customers. The sedan, when launched in 1990, 1000 came with a price tag of ₹3,81,000 which was towards the higher end at that time. It was powered by a 1.0-litre engine which could manage to produce 46hp of power. Later the car was upgraded with a 1.3-litre engine and was badged with the name tag of Esteem. This is the name many of you might remember.
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Maruti Suzuki Omni | The Kidnappers’ Car
Maruti Suzuki Omni Children were afraid of this car as the Omni was known to be favourite among kidnappers. Just Kidding! It was a versatile vehicle known to be used for ambulance or cargo carrier. With a variety of seating options and configurations, Omni was known to make a segment of its own. But the car had major drawbacks when the safety was concerned. As India is heading towards safer roads by the implementation of BNVSAP, the company discontinued Omni.
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Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara | The CBU Failure
Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara The company had no full-size SUV. So the Grand Vitara was launched. But the CBU import added to the price and the price tag was ₹20lakhs. And the customers were not ready to spend this much on a Maruti. Although the powerful 2.4-litre V6 Petrol engine was able to attract a few, the company discontinued the model in 2014. Now the Vitara Brezza name is carried forward by a less powerful sub-4 compact SUV.
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Maruti Suzuki 800 | A Legacy of its own
Maruti Suzuki 800 The Indian wanted a budget car and Maruti came to rescue with the very well-known legend 800. The ‘Hall Of Fame’ car was loved by the customers and is the longest selling Maruti car till date. Affordable and Fuel Efficient, 800 never saw any tough competition in the market. It was the emission norms compliance that led to discontinuation of the car from the market. It is still a heartthrob amongst the ones who modify the legacy.
So this was our list of the 10 forgotten Maruti cars in India. Do you own any or did we miss any car? Let us know in the comment section below.
Why miss: 10 Forgotten Luxury Cars In India | From Contessa To Impala
Brezza and Grand Vitara are two different segment and vehicles no relation between the two
Agreed, the segment is different but the name was carried on to the sub-4 metre segment.
I think you have Forgotten the SX4 Estilo and Celerio Diesel.
Thanks for reminding us. Stay tuned as there will be a part 2 soon!
Did you forget the Kizashi ?
We have not forgotten the luxury Kizaashi at all. We had to choose which car had a better run and obviously Kizashi’s run was a short-lived one, all thanks to its high pricing.
You forgot the Kizashi
We did not forget the Suzuki Kizashi at all. The run of the luxury sedan was not as popular as the cars in the list.
We did not forget Kizashi. The Suzuki Kizashi was not able to make a mark in the Indian market as compared to the cars on the list.
Maruti Zen 2004 are good but why is same was stopped in market
Zen indeed was a good car, but yet the changing consumer trends led the company’s decision to discontinue it.
One of the model SX4
SX4 indeed was a very good car from Maruti Suzuki.
The title should have not been “forgotten cars” as many of these still ply on the road with good road presence. Maybe for the current generation it might be.
As you say, the current generation does not know about these cars thus Forgotten Cars.
You missed Zen estilo.
Wait for the second part! You’ll surely enjoy, stay tuned.
May I humbly point out my observations:
In fact A-star was discontinued on 2014 only, not 2012. Further, it was replaced by Celerio and not by Ritz. A-star and Ritz were contemporaries; both were launched in 2008 (Ritz rolled off till 2016)
Another important issue is that our most beloved Gypsy seems in your article. Hope it will be included in the second part.
Hi, Hari P Nair
Actually, A-Star was not replaced by Ritz, the leftovers were used in Ritz as the latter was selling well while A-Star had to be discontinued. And thanks a lot for pointing this out.
Another important issue is that our most beloved Gypsy seems omitted in your article. Hope it will be included in the second part.
Hi Hari P Nair,
Some cars are forgotten and then some are immortal. Stay tuned! Something special is on its way today. Enjoy reading and stay safe!
మా ఇంటిల్లి పదికి భాగాన చి మారుతి 800 2014 ఇంకను మేము వాడు వాడుతున్నాము
That you for reading. Stay pinned!
Ritvik I am no car buff but Ritz was launched way before A-Star. Moreover I don’t usually comment on factual errors on unverified open blogs like yours but we are in quarantine,hence the comment. When you are putting things in black and white, you should be sure of facts
Hi Dr Rohit,
Maruti Suzuki launched the A-Star in the month of November in 2008 whereas Ritz was launched in the month of May 2009. The company had no success with the A-Star in terms of sales. I sincerely thank you for posting your question on our blog. Stay tuned for more 🙂
I miss versa this most compitable to Ecco so plzi request to Suzuki plz stop Ecco prodution & launch versa again with new series this is family car with all facilities with power pickup & sply with great ac
Hi Ramesh,
Versa was indeed a good MPV and was suitable for a family but Maruti intended to bring a vehicle for the commercial purpose at a lower cost so Versa was discontinued and Eeco was launched. Stay tuned and one day you might get news about Versa relaunching.
You can add Kizachi to that list
Hi Veeresh!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Suzuki Kizashi was a great car for sure! It was a pure Japanese soul but couldn’t do great in India. We will definitely include that in our next list of forgotten cars!
Stay Pinned!
You bring back little bit upgraded without diturbing orignality. Maruti 800.with same name
It will Hit mrket.
Hi Ravindra,
You are absolutely right as the Maruti 800 as the name itself has got a cult following.
Stay pinned!
Along with the 800 & Van, Maruti had launched a High Roof van, which did very well. You may have missed it.
Hi Tarun,
The high-roof van was a model of Maruti’s Omni itself. Stay pinned!
Missing SX4 will it be relaunched
Hi Dilip,
Maruti Suzuki SX4 was surely a good car. But with Ciaz doing good in the segment, it is highly unlikely for the SX4 to make a comeback. Stay pinned!
The SX4 has morphed into the SCross. The SX4 had a liftback/ crossover version which did not come to India. The Esteem also had a 5 door hatch called the Cultus which did not come to India.Now you know!!!
What about Maruti Suzuki Zen Estillo?
Hi Subhasish,
None of the cars will be left. The second part of the forgotten Maruti Cars is on its way. Stay pinned!
Nice!! Great information about maruti. Waiting for the next article Forgotten cars….
Hi Chandra,
While we are brewing up some new content in the forgotten series, you can have a look at the ones we have already written. Click on the links:
10 Forgotten Hatchbacks In India | Tata Indica to Fiat Uno
10 Forgotten Hyundai Cars In India | From Getz To Sonata
10 Forgotten Luxury Cars In India | From Contessa To Impala
10 Forgotten Bikes In India: From Yezdi to Mini Bullet
Stay tuned!
Excellent blog really enjoyed reading it, I was working with Maruti from 2009 to 2012. The information provided in your blog is accurate. After reading this I am recalling my Maruti days..😀
Hi Bhabani,
Great to know that we were able to get you to hit the nostalgia right. Stay tuned!
It is good but what about other maruti cars like the Zen Estilo and Celerio.They were also foggorten.
Hi Amanpreet,
There’s a second part too. Maruti Suzuki Celerio is currently in production so it is not on the list. As for the Zen Estilo, click here. Stay tuned!
The Maruti 1000 was the first generation Suzuki Swift Sedan. It was all Japanese. Nothing indian about it. The door monted AC vents were a Suzuki design. Maruti simply indegenised some parts, to the cars detriment. Otherwise it was an all Japanese design like the Grand Vitara.Get your facts right
Hi Inder,
We have nowhere mentioned that the Maruti 1000 was designed in India. It was one of the initial offerings from Maruti Suzuki in India which made it worthy of the list. Plenty of cars from the carmaker are either inspired by Global Suzuki cars or are sold under Maruti Suzuki branding in India.
Zen classic, any one heard this name?
One more name comes in my mind, that is the 7 seater version of grand vitara (XL7), yes you read it right.
One more name comes in my mind, XL7, which is the 7 seater version of almighty Grand Vitara.
Ritwick you are totally wrong in terms of Ritz. It wasnt due to left over parts in maruti. The Ritz was a global car launched as Suzuki Splash and launched in India as Suzuki Ritz. Please correct your article.