Maruti is all set to woo budget car buyers with its new Zen, which goes on sale this month. Though the new Zen is based on the 2001 Suzuki MR Wagon, it looks more contemporary than its rivals and Maruti is confident that the futuristic, monospace styling will help steal sales from other budget cars, especially the Santro.

There’s no doubt, the new Zen looks very attractive, its spot-on proportions and fine detailing are pleasing to look at, rather than being jarring. The elongated headlights that extend from almost the base of the windscreen to the bumper are very attractive and the bikini grille that sits between them has also been given an attractive chrome bar. The cars in these scoop pictures sport a new bumper that had a wide air inlet at the base as well as a pair of fog lights.

Combining the space efficiency and practicality of a tall boy design with that of a bonnet-less mono volume design, this Suzuki model makes full use of the extra space available as well. The new Zen uses the same platform and underpinnings as the Alto and will be powered by the Wagon R’s 1061cc F10D engine. Maruti has, however, tweaked the engine to make it even more fuel efficient and this will be one of the main selling points of Maruti’s latest model.

Maruti has put the new Zen through rigorous testing programme to tailor this model, which was originally derived only for the Japanese market, to suit Indian conditions. A past master at this game, the ride height of this car has also been increased for increased ground clearance and the suspension beefed up as well to more easily tackle Indian roads.

With this car, Maruti plans to re-launch the Zen brand which, according to its internal studies, is as strong a nameplate as Maruti itself. The company hopes to fill the vacuum created by the discontinuation of production of the earlier Zen in March 2006 and expects to sell over 6,000 units every month. Pricing will be key to sales and company sources have it that the new Zen could be even cheaper than the model it replaces. The fireworks are about to begin!