Maruti Suzuki Fronx long term review; 7,000km report

Beep. Beep-beep. If you drive a Maruti, you’ll be all too familiar with these buzzers on locking/unlocking your car. I’d tuned out the unwanted salutations over the past few months with our Fronx, but with my parking relocated to the closed confines of a basement, the noise had amplified to the point of irritation. Fiddling around with the touchscreen – the obvious first port of call – didn’t lead me to the relevant settings, so the owner’s manual was summoned once again. The last time around, it was for the curious case of the annoying rear seat belt reminder. Anyway, as I learned, the lock/unlock buzzer settings are hidden in the MID. While at it, I also programmed the key to unlock all doors on pressing the key’s door unlock button. As default, one press of the unlock button only unlocks the driver’s door while a second press is needed to unlock the other doors. These little tweaks have made life with the Fronx a little bit nicer.

Since the last report, I’ve developed a bit of a neck issue (staring at the phone screen to blame) and have become more sensitive to seating position. Our Fronx 1.2 Delta+ AMT doesn’t get driver’s seat height adjust and that’s an issue. I’m sat too high for my liking and get a less than ideal view of the road. The high-set centre console and rear view mirror also create blindspots. A quick scan of the Fronx feature set reveals that a driver seat height adjust is reserved only for the 1.0 Boosterjet engine-equipped models. In fact, the 1.2 doesn’t get a fully equipped trim at all. 

Otherwise, it’s got the essentials and they work well. The touchscreen is large and pairs smoothly to my phone, the auto climate control is quick to cool the cabin and the auto LED headlights are effective too. An observation here is that the low-set main headlights don’t illuminate a vehicle in very close proximity well enough. I’ve noticed this in bumper to bumper traffic or lines for toll. No biggie, though.

I’ve worked out a rhythm with the AMT gearbox. I drive with a light foot and in return, I get timely shifts. As a bonus, my genteel driving style has resulted in excellent fuel economy. The Fronx is delivering upwards of 13kpl in Mumbai traffic.  

Days before filing this report, an errant driver grazed against the front fender leaving a noticeable mark and shallow dent. Getting it fixed is on my to-do list, but I don’t expect a big bill; one of the joys of having a Maruti. I’ll need to move the out of turn visit to the service centre up the priorities list though because the rear left window has also started acting up, by not winding up. 

Ours is among over 1,00,000 Fronxs on the road, and I can’t say I’m tired of looking at it. It’s standout good looking. Thankfully, I can now admire our Fronx without those damn beeps eventually breaking the calm.