The Zen Estilo on the first look is a quite a pleasant sight. The front styling is quite fancy but you don’t really see any striking difference from the old Zen. The interiors however have been changed to a new dual colour tone of coffee with beige.
Now, in terms of space it’s quite easy to enter the new Zen Estilo! For all you tall people out there the new Estilo is one car that you can easily get into, without slouching on to the seat or hurting your head either! The car is taller by 200mm, though the space inside is pretty much the same as the earlier model despite the wheelbase being 25mm longer than the older Zen.
The First Feel
The LX model comes only with AC and it’s like a stripped down version without any power windows either. LXi model has power windows in the front two windows. VXi model has all four power windows, AC and rear defogger along with other standard features. It also has optional features like ABS and dual air bags. Keyless entry is quite impressive and intelligent sensing makes it impossible to start the ignition without the original key. So it means that even if someone manages to open the car door, the car will not start!
The front dashboard is interesting with all the dials and meters. Done up in a coffee colour it has a complete digital display featuring fuel, mileage and a trip meter. But in spite of good seat adjustment the high dashboard does not give you that comfortable feel.
Intelligent Steering
The new KB series engine is superb and gives an impressive performance. And another noteworthy feature is the steering wheel that can easily be called the ‘Intelligent steering wheel’! The power output to steering wheel depends upon your speed. The steering wheel is definitely lighter than the Santro and gives you much better maneuverability.
The Drive
The drive was extremely smooth but the Zen Estilo has lower ground clearance so when you go over a ditch, get ready to feel the full impact of it! Not that we expect the smoothness of an SUV but still it could have been smoother. A drive on the highways, however, proved to be a dream and though we didn’t exceed 80kmph the car gave a good aerodynamic feel. The pickup was nice and the turning was smooth as well. The brand new Estilo is definitely capable of giving Santro Xing, Indica Vista and even Wagon R, a run for their money.