Maruti Omni – The Affordable Multi Seater In India’s Market

When MUVs and SUVs were not available in the Indian market, it was the Maruti Omni that served the purpose of a multi-seater vehicle. The Omni has often been used as the kidnapper’s vehicle in Hindi movies and even today, it manages to sell quick numbers as a taxi.

The Maruti Omni has a light body which is powered by a 796cc engine- the same engine that powers the Maruti Alto 800 and till some time ago, the Maruti 800! The engine claims to reach a top speed of 114kmph but given the robustness of the body, seldom would anyone try to reach that speed in this car. The engine of the Omni is placed on its underside rather than front which is why the car does not bulge out into a bonnet in front, unlike other cars.

The Maruti Omni comes in two different designs- a five seater and a seven seater one. The one which is a five seater car has space provided at the back which would act as the boot. The seven seater one does not have boot space and instead have two stretched out benches facing one another, each having a capacity of accommodating 3 passengers. Aside from the driver seat, a front passenger seat has also been provided. The Maruti Omni is a no frills car- it does not come with air-conditioning even and the seats are upholstered in fabric. The 3 cylinder engine is paired to a 5 speed gear box- 4 forward gears and 1 reverse gear. The maximum power that the car can produce is 33.3 PS while the maximum torque that the car can produce is 57Nm. ARAI has rated the car’s fuel efficiency to be around 14kmpl.

The Maruti Omni is available in a number of pop colours and they look very apt for the car. The Omni is available in both petrol and LPG variant. The price of the car ranges between Rs 2.5 lakhs and Rs 2.75 lakhs, which makes it the most affordable multi-seater car available in the Indian market. A lot of people who cannot afford to buy MUVs opt for this vehicle because of its performance. The Maruti Eeco was launched in anticipation of doing away with the Omni. Despite a sturdier body, the Eeco failed to take off in the way most people imagined. Moreover, the Eeco did not have seating capacity for so many people and hence was not favoured by tourist taxis either.

If you are looking to buy the Maruti Omni for commercial purposes, don’t hesitate to do so because it can seat a number of people at the same time and is a pleasure to drive on city roads. The car’s handling is quite smooth making it ideal for stop-and-go traffic. The car’s price is also quite within the budget of most buyers, as no company offers multiseater cars in this budget. If a brand new Omni seems to be out of your budget, you can always opt for a second hand car. The second hand Maruti Omni can be bought for under Rs 1 lakh!

Depending on the numbers of kilometers travelled and the year of manufacture, the price of the car is determined. A Maruti Omni which is 5-6 years old and has travelled around 50,000kms can be bought for Rs 1.5 lakhs or so. Cars which have covered fewer numbers of kilometers are slightly more expensive although in all likeliness they cost less than Rs 2 lakhs.

For buying a Maruti Omni, you can go online and visit a car selling website. Enter the name of your city and locality, along with the specs of the car that you are looking to buy. You will be shown a list of the cars that are suited for the budget and specs that you have entered. You can further specialize it by including sorting heads such as fuel variant, type of ownership, gear type etc. Prior to negotiating with a seller, you can check up the true price of the car by entering the car’s specs on the price calculator included on the website. Based on the specs that you have included, the website will show you the true price of the car. A lot of people have bought their Omni cars online both brand new and first hand. You can use the website to locate a dealer near your residence. Contact information of the dealers has been provided for you to contact directly.

In case you opt for a second hand car, you should carefully inspect the vehicle before buying it. Mostly Maruti Omni cars are owned by tourist companies and hence there is a chance that they have been driven rough. Take along a mechanic with you for proper inspection of the car. A mechanic would be able to tell you the true condition of the car along with the parts that you may have to get repaired. Take the car out for a test drive as well to know what it feels like to drive the car. Choose a route which is both along city roads and highways so that you know what it is like to drive the car on both kinds of terrains.

Prior to buying the car, you should go through its maintenance and service records. A car which has been used for long distance travelling needs to be well maintained otherwise it won’t perform well after sometime. Check for the car’s Blue Book, pollution clearance records, Form 35 and NOC (required if the car was bought using finance from an institution), road tax and insurance clearance certificate as they are required when you transfer the ownership title to your name.

The Maruti Omni is a great car to be owned and it is perhaps the most affordable family car available in the market today.