The Faults in Our Cars: Suzuki Cultus
After the immense success of the Novel, followed by a movie, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, PakWheels proudly presents a new series: The Faults in Our Cars by Fahad Mehmood
The article series would be based on the locally manufactured cars in Pakistan and the unique faults they come equipped with. From faulty power steering mechanism in a Honda to the stubborn doors in a Suzuki, we’ll enlighten them all. Moreover, we’ll question their existence in today’s world. The information posted in these articles would be collected from surveys, personal experiences and of course, the PakWheels Forums.
The car we’ve chosen for the first episode is the not-so-good-but-popular Suzuki Cultus. Even though the Cultus needs no introduction, let me go through some history of the car.
In the beginning of the 21st century, while the global economy was rising and George W. Bush was just a year away from his presidency, the third world’s popular company, Pak Suzuki gifted the people of Pakistan with the Cultus which replaced the Khyber. Powered by the same 998cc 3 cylinder Carburetor engine from the Khyber, the new Cultus became the hot hatch of that era. As there were no other popular hatchbacks at that time, Cultus gained a strong place in the market for local buyers. It had a better, streamlined shape, independent rear suspension and was fitted with a power steering in the VXL trim. Later, they introduced electrically powered windows as well. In 2003, when CNG was gathering popularity, the cars were factory fitted with CNG and it saved you from the hassle of getting a CNG kit from a third party workshop. In 2008, the Cultus received a major change. The carburetor powered Cultus was given a 998cc 4 cylinder EFI engine for better economy and acceleration response.
Over these years, the Cultus received many facelifts, but according to our local companies, face-lifting means changing the bumpers and lights on a car, and if you’re lucky, you can get to choose from a very special color which actually has nothing special about it at all.
Today, if you make the mistake of spending a little over your precious 1 million rupees, you are given the keys of a brand new Cultus which looks absolutely nothing like 2015. According to the brochures of Pak Suzuki, the Cultus looks executive and stylish. Well, describing my imagination of my CEO hopping out of a Cultus every morning would definitely get me fired immediately. So, I’d rather say that he’s not only executive, he’s the CHIEF EXECUTIVE and he drives a Honda.So, Dear Pak Suzuki, the Cultus is nowhere near your definition of being executive but Hey! Chances exist that the Cultus can be deemed as an executive car in a parallel universe maybe, but not in this world.
Coming to the interior, Suzuki claims that the interior is classy. I bet it’s a typo. They wanted to write CLASSIC instead of classy because it’s still from the 90’s. Once you get inside a Cultus, you enter the grey world of plastic laid out in the perfect manner of nothing. I bet the people who drive it would definitely admit, at a point in their life, when they’re looking at themselves in the back view mirror that they could have done a lot better in their lives.
Coming to the keyword of this article, the faults, let me highlight some of the most common problems Pak Suzuki has blessed the lucky Cultus buyers with. The doors always refuse to respond to a polite manner of shutting them. They like it the hard way. This feature-fault is not only offered in the Cultus, but the entire Suzuki hatchback lineup comes equipped with this as standard. So, it can be said that it’s not only the Cultus, but it’s the Suzuki who like it the hard way.
Another common problem in the EFI variants was the exhaust noise inside the cabin. The specially designed exhaust system had only one purpose, to let the passengers of the vehicle enjoy the G10B in the front, compose a symphony at every rev range. IN YOUR FACE ALFA ROMEO!
One very serious issue, which we have noted on the forums, the EFI Cultus would refuse to start sometimes. Apparently, that issue is created by the distributor and its sensor. The driver had to push-start the car, that means, you had to literally push it, not the push start button thing. What I make out of it is that Pak Suzuki wants its customers to be physically fit and healthy and pushing your car once in a while can help you maintain a healthy body.
RELATED: Car Ownership Diaries: What To Expect From A Used Suzuki Cultus
Finally, the quality of the Cultus is unquestionable. You get so many quality issues that each one of them automatically over rides the other and there are no questions remaining. They cancel each other out. For example, a reported faulty seat lever issue was cancelled out since the driver side door didn’t shut. Will you complain about the seat lever when you can’t even get in your car and drive it because the door is still open? No, you obviously wont.
So, coming to the end of episode one, we suggest you that keep your million rupees safe in an account, withdraw a little amount every day and ride the local to work. Still a better ride than the Cultus..
If you have ever experienced any problem/issue related to your Suzuki Cultus, please leave a comment.