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S. Muralidhar

MANY an Indian car owner is forgiving and tolerant as long as his vehicle meets his travel requirements even while keeping cost of ownership at the lowest possible. He will be willing to endure great levels of discomfort and modest quality if the vehicle is economical to maintain and run. The compromise is seen as worthwhile, if it enables him to move people or cargo at the cheapest rates possible. This trend is not even segment-specific and runs right from the lowest priced, entry-level car — the Maruti 800 — to the more expensive sedans.

The Maruti Omni has always been a workhorse amongst passenger vehicles. It has always been upfront about its focus on utility and economy and Maruti has ensured that its versatility has kept pace with the number of uses its buyers were able to find for it. The Omni, therefore, has been able to equally attract the economy-conscious individual buyer and the fuel-efficiency-conscious businessman or taxi operator.

Simply put, the Omni's cost of operating and of ownership per seat is one of the lowest and this has been a big plus for both buyers with large families and taxi operators. To make the deal even more attractive, Maruti has been offering the Omni with factory-fitted CNG kits and more focussed variants , such as the Omni Cargo and the Omni Ambulance — both without seats at the back. But the original version of the Omni did suffer from a relatively lower focus on safety. Maruti tried to boost the Omni's safety features a few years ago, when as part of the van's refurbishment, a frontal collision bar was introduced.

Now, the Omni has been put through its second round of renovation as part of Maruti's ongoing attempt at overhauling its vehicles to meet the latest Bharat Stage III norms. So, while there are a number of cosmetic changes, both externally and internally, to the new BS-III-compliant Omni, special attention has been given also to this compact van's safety features.

Two important safety features have been added to the Omni. The new 14.5-cm-wide radial tyres are now standard fitment compared to the old bias-ply tyres. And, in addition to the protective reinforced front safety rod installed at the centre of the front panel and the side impact door beams, the new Omni also gets a booster-assisted disc brake in the front compared to the older version's drum brakes.

On the outside, the new Omni gets a slightly chunkier look with the new filled out headlamp housing and a three-slat front grille. The multi-reflector headlamps now come with clear-lens glass, which together with the side-body graphics add to the contemporary looks of the new Omni. The driver's side outside rear-view mirror has been changed and the new version is larger, offering a better view. At the rear, the Omni continues to remain the same, except for the new logo. Also across the front grille, the new chrome-finished Suzuki logo replaces the old, familiar winged Maruti logo.

The Omni's interiors have been spruced up to exude a plusher and more practical feel. Storage options have been improved with the addition of a cup-holder on the dashboard to the right side of the steering wheel. Dashboard plastic quality has been improved and the centre console has also been altered to make it more stylish and sedan-like. The centre console also feature more cubbyholes for storing things such as mobile phone, sunglasses and cassettes. A two-spoke steering wheel, lockable glove box and a trendier white back-lit instrument cluster are some of the other new features that have been added to refresh the interiors.

Easy maintenance, two-tone interior theme and seat upholstery also give the Omni a slightly more upmarket feel. As part of the attempt at making the Omni BS III compliant, the engine and injection mechanism has been tweaked, in addition to changes to the exhaust system.

The 769cc, six-valve engine has, as a result, lost a tad bit on both the peak power and maximum torque parameters compared to its previous version. But the loss of about 2 bhp of power and about 0.2 kgm of torque does not affect the vehicle's performance. Another addition is the headlamp levelling device and the scrolling switch for operating it on the dashboard. The Omni continues to be available with variants such as the five/eight-seater, LPG and Cargo. New colours have been added and prices have gone up by about Rs 3,000. Ex-showroom prices start at Rs 2.7 lakh.

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