Maruti Esteem

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Esteem is the Indian/Japanese market name for this vehicle, also sold as the Suzuki Cultus in the US or Holden Barina in Australia/NZ Suzuki Cultus for article

Maruti Esteem
Manufacturer	Maruti Udyog
Production	1995-Now
Predecessor	Maruti 1000
Body style	Sedan
Engine	1.3 L 4 cylinder 1.5 L Diesel (Discontinued)
Transmission	5 speed manual 3 speed automatic (Discontinued)
Wheelbase	2365 mm
Length	4075 mm
Width	1575 mm

The Maruti Esteem is a rebadged Suzuki Cultus produced in India by Maruti Udyog. The car was first introduced on Indian roads in 1989 as the Maruti 1000 equipped with a 1000 cc engine. In 1995, it was renamed the Esteem and equipped with a better engine.

The Esteem is available with a 1.3 L (1298 cc) gasoline engine. It used to come with a 1.5 L (1527 cc) diesel engine too. At present it's offered in three different variants:

LX (base model/manual-steering)
LXi
VXi

Following are discontinued versions:

AX (automatic transmission)
D (diesel base model)
Di (diesel with power-steering)

The 1.3 L (74 mm (2.9 in) bore by 75.5 mm (3 in) stroke) 16-valve SOHC engine has a compression ratio of 9.0:1 and makes 85 hp (63.4 kW) at 6000 rpm and 105 Nm (77.4 ft.lbf) of torque at 3000 rpm. The Peugeot-sourced TUD5 1.5 L (77 mm (3 in) bore by 82 mm (3.2 in) stroke) 8-valve engine had a compression ratio of 23.0:1 and made 57 hp (42.5 kW) at 5000 rpm and 96 Nm (70.8 ft.lbf) of torque at 2500 rpm. A limited version of the Esteem was launched in 1998-99, which had a 91Bhp engine, which was available in the Vxi segment with a 1.3L engine. A rare 1.6L version was also launched on experimental basis but later discontinued.

All versions other than the AX (discontinued now) are equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission. The AX had a 3-speed automatic transmission.

Price of Maruti Esteem is in Rs. 425,000 and 550,000 range across India. The diesel models being offered earlier were a little more expensive than the gasoline models.

Initially launched with a 65 bhp engine, the car saw poor sales. The advent of an MPFI engine producing 85 bhp produced a fleetfooted car which still has one of the best power-to-weight ratios in the 1000-2000 cc bracket available in India. Like most Maruti cars, fuel economy is excellent with the car returning 13-15 km/l in city driving (8-10kmpl for limited) and almost 20 km/l on open roads. Under competition from newer competitors like the Ford Ikon and the Hyundai Accent, the car got a new lease of life after a series of price cuts.