Maruti Dzire 3000 km Review: Three Trips To Mumbai

In most cases, the Dzire gives an excellent drive experience, but once you hit the highway, it starts to disappoint

Early in the morning on 1st January, when the entire country was asleep, I decided to go from Pune to Mumbai to spend some time with my family. This was the first time I took the Dzire to another city. In the next two months, I’d do two more Pune-Mumbai runs, where I’d drive on different roads, in different conditions, and with different people.

From my place in Pune to the start of the expressway, it's around a 20 min drive where you see a lot of trucks and buses early in the morning. This is where I have to be extremely careful and drive at a slow pace (which the Dzire enjoys), especially in the morning where most of the truck drivers are sleep deprived.

But once I hit the expressway, I get an open road for the next 2 and a half hours. On my first trip, I expected less traffic than usual since it was new years day, and decided to go straight to Mumbai without stopping. But as soon as I started to speed up to reach my cruising speed of 100 kmph, I noticed something.

The Dzire is not happy going from 80 to 100 kmph. Till 80 kmph, the acceleration is quick and smooth. I didn’t have to push the car and getting to that speed didn’t take much time. But if you accelerate from there to 100 kmph, it feels like you’re pushing the car too much for little result.

On the highways, at higher speeds, the Dzire feels dull, thanks to the new engine. So I ended up begging the Dzire to go faster every time I had to speed up. This expressway route also involves a ghat section, where I had to keep it in third gear so I can enjoy the corners. This would not be possible in fourth or fifth gear, even with no traffic.

But one good thing did come out of this highway run. A fuel efficiency of 24 kmpl. The Dzire is extremely fuel efficient on the highways, the trade off of which is the dull performance. But this performance got slightly worse while coming back, as Mumbai to Pune involves a lot of uphill drive.

The next time I went to Mumbai was in the middle of January, and I was prepared for this underwhelming highway drive as I sat in the car with no expectations. This time around, I had to drive a lot inside the city. From Bandra to Versova and then to Goregaon. I had to visit a lot of places which meant I had to travel a lot in Mumbai traffic. 

This is where the Dzire proved its worth. It was dull on the highway, but in the city, there was no lack of power. I stayed in 2nd and 3rd gear most of the time, and I could easily overtake others around me. Its compact size also allowed me to get through traffic with ease. Even inside the city, the Dzire was giving me a fuel efficincy of between 15 and 17 kmpl. 

But once the clock hit 5 and rush hour traffic started, I had to stay in 1st gear in bumper to bumper traffic for a while. Here, I had to be very careful with the clutch as there is not much power in the first gear, and I did not want to stall in the middle of traffic. 

My last trip was in February where I had some people with me when I was driving in Mumbai. Most of the time, there were 4 people in the car, and all of them, including me, were surprised by how comfortable the car was. We drove over the smooth tarmac of Juhu along with the broken patches of Goregaon and Versova, and in all conditions and surfaces, the Dzire managed to keep all passengers comfortable.

And to top it all off, my fuel efficiency inside the city stayed between 15 and 17 kmpl, including the times I spent in heavy traffic. The Dzire proved why it is such a great city commuter. Not only are the drives convenient, but you also don’t make a hole in your wallet.

In the upcoming months, I’ll be spending more time with the Dzire and focus on its space and features aspect. So stay tuned to CarDekho.

Positives: Design, Features, City Drives, Ride Comfort

Negatives: Feels Underpowered On Highways

Date When Received: 16th December, 2024

Kilometres When Received: 723 km

Kilometres Till Date: 3921 km