Maruti vs Fiat Cars in India

Maruti’s products are not cheap/unreliable. They are decent enough and have their own positives. Especially in recent years, they have upped their game to different level with their new and evolved product line ups.

Fiat being a Italian car maker, naturally they make wonders with a car’s dynamics, interior qualities (leather dash) and ergonomics. One can feel the Italian DNA in every aspect of a Fiat product. That doesn't make one superior over other.

Maruti Suzuki:

Pros:

1. After Sales Support (Always preferable and reliable among the crowd)
2. Spare parts cost (Comparatively cheaper than its peers. Still the longevity of the spares depends upon how the car is used)
3. Cost of the product. (It is mostly the value for money prospect among the competition. Even if its price are not low, it has its justification for it)
4. Fuel efficiency. (Suzuki definitely has an edge here)
5. The design which will not gain looks or frowns either. (We are surrounded by more number of Marutis than we are aware of. Just we do not care to look at them)
6. Well mannered and handled cars. Among the best of its class, always.

Cons:

1. Does not give importance to safety as other car makers. Particularly for their base variants. (In India, it is not a deal breaker though. But people should be aware of it and make a better choice i.e to go for a Suzuki car/trims with adequate safety)
2. Long waiting periods for some models/colors/trims. (Not at all a problem. We Indians will boast the waiting period for a Suzuki car like a heavy weight championship. I meant it in a good way :)
3. Frequent cases of break malfunctions with some cars. Not all but the percentage is considerable enough to point out here. (I suspect low cost spares might be the clue)
4. As always, the interior quality is exceptional for a India made product. But not up to the mark of other brands like Hyundai, Fiat, Volkswagen etc.
5. They are buying diesel engines from Fiat. (Yet this is not a con altogether. They do their own tuning and make it more drive-able than a Fiat car ever had it to date. And for a start, they started building diesel engines of their own. Witness: Celerio Diesel)

Fiat:

Pros:

1. Quality is notable in all areas. Be it the fit and finish, the paint quality, panel gaps, interior and even the features they offer. True they lag in some areas such as providing the latest technological advancements to Indian products, but still what ever they provide is functional and complete that one cannot complain about it.
2. Exceptional handling. Maruti is best handler yet Fiats are EXCEPTIONAL. It does not mean I favor Fiat or degrade Maruti. Its because the technology they use. Fiat uses Hydraulic Assisted Steering setup where as Maruti has moved on to most recent iteration of Electronic Power Assisted Steering setup. Both has their own good and bad but as you can see, old is always gold. So is the Hydraulic Power Steering. Can’t beat Fiat here :)

Cons:

1. Costlier than its competitions aka Maruti.
2. After Sales Support is poor compared to most of the car makers in India. Recently they are improving but still there is a long way to go for Fiat.
3. Lack of options. They have some 3 odd products to choose from which limits the customer’s choice. For instance, Maruti has a wide variety of options. Any customer with any kind of requirement can choose a Maruti product and be happy with it. But Its not the case with Fiat. Availability of more options is not a advantage for Maruti but it is definitely a disadvantage for Fiat.
4. Costly spare parts. Though Fiat claims their spares will age good and will last longer than their peer’s spares, still the price is the only thing our mind will move to. Let alone the claim they make are true or not, but me as a typical Indian consumer will not rush into such decision with this kind of maintenance cost.
5. There may be more but I never cared to think beyond this. This is how a Indians thought ends. Because already I am convinced that Fiat will not be my ‘THE ONE’.

As I have mentioned earlier, both the brands has their own advantages and disadvantages. A consumers chooses where the advantages are more and the product will burn a smaller hole in this pocket.

As most would say, Maruti will be a decision from mind whereas Fiat will be a decision from one’s heart. Thank you.