Yeh to pichhey sey Wagon R lagti hai, aur aagey sey choti Innova,” pronounced Paramjeet, the driver of my hired car. The ‘yeh’ in question was Maruti’s new Zen, which was being given the once-over by journalists from all over the country invited by Maruti Udyog. We had all gathered at the very exotic Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida, about an hour’s drive from East Delhi. The resort boasted a course designed by Greg Norman, but that was soon forgotten as all eyes settled on the new set of wheels.

Paramjeet was right in a way, I thought, as I gazed upon a horizon of what seemed to be MR Wagons in various shades. One caught my eye almost instantly — it was a bright (Purple Fusion, I learnt later) car standing amidst the riot of Champagne Beige, Sparkling Olive, Midnight Black, and Virgin Blue.

MR Wagons? Wait a minute! I thought we’d come to see the new Zen. Here I was, waiting to see what Maruti had done to that cute, jellybean shaped-car that everybody had got so used to and come to love. Well, the reality is that they have dropped it outright. The MR Wagon or Zen Estilo as it’s officially called, has a monoform shape — in other words, it has a monovolume single box look to it.

Now where have I seen that before? Think, man think...Oh yes! The Daewoo Matiz! Seen in profile, the two are very similar. But why? Well, according to Maruti, when the original Zen was launched in 1993, it was all the rage. It became the ultimate ladies’ car, stealing hearts with its looks and performance.

But that was the nineties. Something new was needed for the 21st century. So Maruti has taken a step back. I did an exhaustive search for the MR Wagon on the Internet and all I came up with was that it was shown as a concept in 1999 and made it to production two years later. Suddenly I see the light! While GM has been dilly-dallying with the launch of the Spark, Maruti has gone ahead and stolen a march as far as monovolumes go.

So what sort of car is the Estilo (Es-tee-lo)? Sorry Maruti, but I haven’t got the heart to call it a Zen! Well, one has to agree that for a car that made its debut in 2001 and received a facelift in 2004, the Estilo still has a very fresh look.

It has been adapted for India however. Back in Japan, in its heyday, it was a Kei Jidosha car — or a small car designed to take advantage of tax and insurance benefits. That meant a small size and a small engine limited to 660cc in capacity. No such problem in India though. However, even though the dies were available cheap, as the MR Wagon is out of production, Maruti has to keep costs down. Especially if it is slotted half-a-notch below the Wagon R. So the Wagon R’s 1061cc engine has been pushed into the Estilo.

What is the Estilo like — inside and out? We were all eager to have a go and as is my wont, I let somebody else do the driving first so that I could concentrate on the interiors. Thanks to the wheels-at-the-corners design, the interior is pretty spacious for a small car. Speaking of small, the Estilo is 3495mm long, 1475mm wide and 1595mm high. The wheelbase is 2360mm and the car sits 165mm clear of the ground.

There are three variants — LX, Lxi and Vxi. Obviously the last is the one to have, as it comes loaded with a number of features absent in the lower spec models. For instance there’s keyless entry, a rear glass defogger, a tachometer, lights-off reminder with chime, extra accessory socket, internally adjustable, electric door mirrors, and as options ABS brakes and a SRS airbag for the driver. All four have provision for four speakers in the doors.

The engine develops 64bhp at 6200rpm and 84Nm at 3500rpm and power is transmitted via a 5-speed manual gearbox with overdrive. The Estilo rides on 145/70 R13 tyres in LX and Lxi form while the VXi gets 155/65 R13s. The brakes are ventilated discs at front and drums at the rear.

When my chance came to drive it, brief as it was, I went pedal to the metal. Not because it was some sort of performance car, but because I have always found the Wagon R to be a bit sluggish as far as acceleration goes (with the AC on). So I wanted to see if this was any different.

The answer, in short, is no. It is pretty stable going around corners — at speed though — and while I tried to get the back out of line around the roundabouts, it didn’t happen. The ride is pretty okay too, no complaints in that department.

One point I did note during my short drive is that the switch for adjusting the door mirrors is a bit difficult to get at. But to sum it up, the mommies are going to be happy as they flit around town in their personal wagons. It’s meant for intra-city commuting and that, it should do comfortably.

The MR Wagon ranked highest in J D Power Asia’s initial quality study in Japan in 2003. The study was over several categories like ride, handling, and braking; features and controls; seats; heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC); music system; vehicle exterior; vehicle interior; engine; and transmission.

If Maruti can manage the same standards here, perhaps the Estilo could win it again in India. More importantly, it needs to convince Zen lovers that it is a worthy successor to the ol’ jellybean. Price? MUL was tight-lipped at the preview, but here’s hoping it’s on the right side of Rs 3.55 lakh.