Its price (ranging from Rs1.62million to Rs.1.675million) is perhaps its weapon of choice (as with all Suzuki models) with its competing Mitsubishi’s L300 price ranging between Rs.1.999million to Rs.2.349million & the more popular Hiace retailing between Rs.2.499million & Rs.3.199million.

Moreover its smaller overall & engine size makes it more economical & easier to navigate on narrow inner-city roads found in all the major cities of Pakistan. Engine dispalcement of APV is 1493cc compared to L300′s 2477cc & Hiace’s 1593cc.  Overall length of APV is 4.23m much less than L300′s 4.59m (STD) & 4.81m (DX). Although both claim a min. turning radius of 4.9m APV can even part where L300 won’t (even with bumpers removed).

Fuel tank of L300 is slightly bigger 55L compared with APV’s 47L so is the seating capacity (L300:12; APV:8) but the size of fuel tank does not come as an advantage while within the urban areas & in Pakistan seating capacity is hardly what is written in the brochure.

The only thing the car isn’t good for is what it is actually advertised for: accomodating large-joint families because Suzuki’s own BOLAN beats APV in all categories (price, fuel efficiency & mobility) except comfort. But when the whole family travels together who needs comfort; all we need is to get wherever we are going fast to avoid verbal skirmishes.

is more compact at 3.3m in length while Alto is slightly larger at 3.395m. Both have near exact suspension systems i.e. MacPherson Strut for front wheels & isolated trailing link for rear ones. WHile fuel tanks are also identical (37-litre capacity) the CNG cylinder in Alto is slightly bigger (55-L) than Cuore’s (50-L).

If Alto sells for its better performance features the several variants of Cuore make it affordable to a variety of buyers including some chunk of the Cultus market which is otherwise the only car that competes exclusively against ‘unorganized imports’. Both are assembled locally with Daihatsu assembling their’s at the Toyota Indus Motors plant & Suzuki having their own assembly unit.

Although most of us grew up or around Suzuki manufactured vehicles but ever since other Japanese carmakers (Honda, Toyota & Nissan) set-up their car-assembly units we have come to look down upon Suzuki vehicles with a high degree of disdain.

Suzuki has never tried to allay this impression and we have made it out into some sort of a firm belief. Now with new inductions and elimination of ‘failed’ brands Suzuki maybe out to set things right but is it too late, only time will tell.

Let us examine what it calls Life In A New Age (or LIANA for short). Suzuki’s Liana is the shortest of all sedans with a length of 4.35m from bumper-to-bumper slightly shorter even than Honda’s CITY (4.395m) and comes in three variants: The basic RXI, slightly luxuries LXI & top-of-the-line EMINENT.

Suzuki knowing well their ‘thrift-conscious’ clientele have factory fitted the RXI & LXI with CNG which are available as an option only. With EMINENT SUzuki appears to be attempting to play ‘cach-up’ with the CITY since even their prices have a less than Rs.0.100million difference (some might say its a ‘wannabe’ CITY).

Shiny, metallic interior is complimented by the new chrome front-grill & alloy tyre-rims which are again an option only. With new fog lamps added to suit the needs of up-country Pakistani clients & a new ‘sparkling’ tail-light Liana seems to scream ‘look at me, I am a sedan too’.

The only feature other than the factory-fit 60L CNG cylinder (Petrol tank holds max. 50L fuel) that I really like is the key-less entry buttons (placed on the key itself they may look tachy but are functional to say the least). Here Suzuki has taken a leaf out of the Mitsubishi Lancer’s manual which has the same option in all its new models.

This is all there is to a Liana so now Suzuki Liana ke na Liana “Bring it (home) or don’t” is up to you and your pocket’s liking.

Although it may not be virtually unknown outside its ‘native’ Japan it won the 2007 Car of the Year award from the Japanese Automotive Researchers and Journalists Conference (RJC), and two other “Car of the Year” awards, from the Carview Corporation website and the Consumer’s Choice.

It also won the “Most Advanced Technology” Special Achievement Award at the 2006–07 Japan Car of the Year awards, where it was nominated unsuccessfully in the overall Car of the Year category, and ranked first in the Japan Mini-Car APEAL Study published by J.D. Power Asia Pacific in October 2006, with a higher score than any previous winner. Aside from the 2006 Good Design Grand Prix, its style won Design Awards from the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (JAHFA), and the magazines Popeye and Car Styling.

Even the 2008 Car of the year 2008 Toyota’s iQ although better performance wise & designed by Toyota’s design studio in France pales in comparison to the sleek shape & georgeous look of the “i”. Agreed that microcars or ‘kei’ cars as they are known in Japan are made generally for the ladies &/or ‘sissies’ but offlate the modified versions of Smart Cars having superbike engines have been known to pack quite a muscle (0-100kph in under 3.5seconds.

“i”s breakthrough success with the said market came after a “Hello Kitty” customized “i” was put on display in a large Japanese Department Store for a week in 2007. Other close rivals include Smart Mortor’s fortow & K models, ZAP (zero air pollution), Toyota iQ the proposed Aston Martin-Toyota joint venture Cygnet & Honda’s Insight.

Suzuki has also marketed its own budget version of the smart car known as Suzuki Twin while rounding off the European competition are Mercedes-Benz’s Motsy & Subaru’s R2.

The current Cultus that has graced us Pakistanis with its presence is again the local Suzuki folks trying their best to cut corners. Nothing is as ironic as a car company cutting corners (as is the case with Suzuki Mehran).

But the following is definitely not about the current Cultis, it is about the award winning Suzuki Swift that seems to be everywhere except Pakistan.

Suzuki Swift Pictures

Reviews of the Suzuki Swift

Suzuki Swift has been getting some great reviews, even from people who are damn hard to please! Check out this Fifth Gear‘s episode:

I have owned this little wonder, this bundle of joy that sometimes I call, when I am in a good mood, a car. The urdu speaking visitors to this website will understand the word ‘peepa’ and can relate to the review I would write, if I ever was to write one for Suzuki Mehran.

But I would never write a review for this little zipper-on-wheels. Why? You ask why! Because there are some things that you just do not do. The rational side of me (and of any sane person I have met) will not accept, much less actually call, this odd combination of nuts, bolts and metal sheets a car! I have owned an all-white Suzuki Mehran VXR CNG, costing me Rs 376,000 plus Rs 40,000 or so on own. I drove this thing of beauty around Lahore and out of it for more than a year. Never once, never ever have I called it a car. By name, yes, it was, is and will remain a Mehran. But a car? Let me explain…

The Engine: It is powered by a massive 800 CC engine that I swear you can lift straight out of the bonnit. With one hand if you have a cigarette in another. But the engine will make those pistons turn even if there is a burp worth of CNG left in the tank; it will sputter out warnings, the red light on the CNG meter will seem to glow ever brighter with each hick-up the car manages, but it will not stop till you reach the gas station. The Mehran just knows. No car I know can do this. The Mehran will take care of you regardless you take care of it or not, much like the mysterious unconditional love I keep hearing about now and then.

The Interior: Only recently technology companies are realizing that people do not want extra features in their software to be productive; products by the small company 37 Signals are built around the concept of less features means more focus on the work at hand. I am sure the owners of this small company and many other minimalists have taken their inspiration from Mehran’s interior. Combine that concept with the concept of disposable bottles and you have yourself a Mehran interior, my friends. One gear shift, one steering wheel, some space-takers disguised as Air conditioning knobs and a well-marked (with proper groves and everything) plastic emptiness for a possible tape deck; everything else is as disposable as your next 18 rupee coke bottle. The lever won’t bring the window down? Replace the lever for less than a 100 bucks. Heck, change the window while you are at it. In fact, come to think about it, there is nothing else to break or jam other than the window lever. Just beautifully magnificent practicality. Majestic even.

Exterior: On a hot day, the paint shines. With any standard screw driver, you can take apart pretty much anything. You can, if you want to, drive the screw driver through the door and into that majestic interior with one firm jab. I will not recommend it though. If you scratch the paint (why wouldn’t you?), you might as well see logos and tag lines of ghee oil brands like Dalda and the like; worry not and take comfort that you have contributed to recycling. The bumpers do not fall off, that is how tough they make ‘em, but if they do, do not fix them, just replace them with new ones. The insurance companies probably have a song for Mehran they sing everyday before starting work. I am sure.

Drive: Nimble. With the four tyres and all of ‘em touching planet Earth, you can’t go wrong. The car does have a habit of turning on its side if you behave too rashly. I was lucky not to be so rash. But the car drives and cuts through traffic like a hot knife through a slab of butter. Once you get the hang of the gear shifts and figure out which gear gets stuck and which ones offer more control, you will be the ‘dude’ of the streets.In one of many excursions out of Lahore, I have actually tried to get a speeding fine. The Mehran won’t let me. Like I said, it knows and it gives a damn.

Safety: Beats Volvo, but don’t compare.

So there you have it, my honest-to-God opinion of my ex-car. The Suzuki Mehran. If Transformers ever come to Lahore, my white Mehran will be the cute one. Hell yeah!