Maruti’s ageing Versa never caught the eye of customers. It failed to hold on due to its high price combined with petrol-only powerplant and below-par interior space. Maruti have tweaked the Versa by giving it an all new K-series 1.2L engine and a new name – Eeco. How much is it? Does it have a diesel? Read on to find out more.

It will start from just under Rs 4lakhs and come with the K-series engine found in the Ritz that produces 73bhp@6000rpm and 101Nm of torque at 3000rpm. ARAI certifies it at 15.6Km/litre which is not bad at all for a people carrying petrol van. It will come with a tweaked 5-speed gearbox as found on the Ritz that would offer better drivability due to the extra weight of this van. The transmission sports DSA, which stands for Diagonal Shift Assistance that allows for smoother gear changes with minimal delay.

Looking at these pictures, it is obvious that this is a Versa, with very minor modifications. It is not an all new model and will not replace the Omni. Maruti apparently has better plans for the Omni. Interiors largely remain the same save for a beige-gray dual tone finish and a digitalized instruments like on the A-star. These measures have been taken to make it more luxurious as the Eeco is now aimed at large urban families too. It will come in 5 and 7-seater configurations with a CNG/LPG option available in the 5-seater version.

Good points remain and they are the excellent sliding doors that provide good access in tight spots and Maruti’s legendary reliability. It is great value as well. We expect only air-conditioning and power steering as the only luxuries in this van. It is shod with weedy 155/70 R13 tyres, which offer excellent economy as we mentioned already.

So now, the main question – Why is the 1.3MJT diesel not offered?

You see, the 1.3MJT is very difficult to fit in the Eeco’s engine bay and the additional complexities associated with a diesel engine add to the woes. Moreover, the Eeco is Rear Wheel drive and hence requires longitudinal engine placement (If you don’t understand this, just pop up the hood of the Eeco), which is rather difficult with a bulky diesel. This would also require extensive modifications in the engine bay adding to the costs. Hence Maruti chose the simple route of incorporating a smaller 1.2 K-series petrol.

The Eeco will be launched on Jan 7 and will be available in six exciting colours – Metallic Glistening grey, metallic silky silver,Metallic Midnight Black,Metallic Blue Blaze,Bright Red and Superior White. With prices starting from Rs 4 lakh, Maruti intends to sell 40,000 units of the Eeco a year. The name aptly fits the van too – It complies with Bharat stage 4 norms and it can be recycled as an End of Life Vehicles, a norm in developed countries especially Japan (Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Chromium are used in permissible limits).

Update (08.01.2010):- Eeco is  now launched, The Details of Maruti Suzuki Eeco are available here

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