Maruti Suzuki Eeco (Versa) | The Real MPV

In the world of people trying to snug into small cars, a car that zooms (exaggerating here a bit) past fitting more than 7 people, a CNG cylinder and a load of groceries is what best describes the Maruti Suzuki Eeco. Although Maruti Suzuki Eeco might not be able to zoom past the cars, it is capable of doing everything else. Let’s see what in history led to the launch of Eeco.

Maruti Suzuki Omni 

Why are we talking about the car that used to wake up children from their deep sleep whenever they had a dream about getting kidnapped in one of them? Well, the MPV journey of Maruti Suzuki started with Omni. It is one of the longest-running production cars in India. With the safety getting more and more important in India, the company had to discontinue the Omni.

Versa | A better MPV

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 discontinued in 2009. It was more premium MPV which led to low demands. Maruti decided to relaunch Versa with a new name, Eeco.

A fun read: 10 Forgotten Maruti Suzuki Cars in India: From Versa to Esteem

2010 – Maruti Eeco is launched

India’s largest manufacturer was not going to let go of the hold of the MPV market, it made with the Omni. So the Eeco was launched. Since then, Eeco has remained at the top of the segment. We can safely say that it is a stripped-down version of the Versa.

The first generation of Eeco had lesser safety features, a simpler design and a 1.2-litre petrol engine capable of producing 73hp of power and a peak torque of 101Nm.

Since then, there has been no major change, the company has made to the Eeco. And why would it? The Eeco has been in the top 5 selling cars in India from a very long time now. It is widely used in the taxi segment, courier business and cargo carrier. It is also used as an ambulance. due to simple interiors, it is easy to modify the Eeco to meet the requirements. The car’s multi utilisation abilities have made it a commercially viable option for various businesses in India.

Note (NOT-Exactly): Not many of you may know that the Maruti Suzuki’s Eeco is a rear-wheel-drive car. But still, it is not possible to drift using the MPV. 

The Eeco was also launched in CNG version. the CNG variant is widely chosen due to the very high fuel efficiency which lowers down the running costs.

BS6 Upgrade

Recently, i.e. in April 2020, the country-wide implementation of BS6 norms made the emissions more restricted. So the company had to give an upgrade to Eeco too. The BS6-compliant 1.2-litre G12B engine now powers the Eeco. Although the power remained almost the same, the torque has reduced. But surprisingly, fuel efficiency has increased from 15.37kmpl to 16.11kmpl. The BS6-compliant Eeco S-CNG was also launched recently which has a fuel efficiency of up to 21.94km per kg.

Talking about the upgrades, the Eeco is the safest van in the segment, thanks to features like driver’s airbag, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensor and seatbelt reminder.

Talking about the success and the future of Eeco, Executive Director(Marketing and Sales) of Maruti Suzuki said, “Eeco has established a strong foothold with its excellent mileage, best-in-segment comfort, space and power, at a low maintenance cost. Offering best in class safety, it’s all-purpose built is ideal for versatile use. The multi-purpose van has earned the distinction of being ideal for family travel, while simultaneously being a dependable business vehicle. Taking forward its legacy, Eeco BS6 S-CNG is designed to deliver optimum performance, safety, engine durability, convenience and mileage.”

With the MPV segment having very few options at present, Eeco seems to have an unbarred proposition ahead. It will keep on selling like hotcakes due to the versatility and low price.

How safe is it?

Although the company is trying to make their cars safer, being the largest automaker in the country, Maruti really needs to make sure that their cars are really safe. At the Global NCAP crash testing, the car scored a zero rating, which means it is highly unsafe. Being the largest selling MPV, there are lives at stake and Maruti will have to make sure that the cars that ply on the Indian roads are safe. We won’t be able to get the crash test scoring of the current Eeco as the company has decided not to send their cars for the crash test from now onwards.

What are your thoughts about real MPV? Let us know in the comments section below.