By Ottoman
Honestly, how many of you can claim not to have ridden in a Suzuki Mehran? Yes, I am going to talk about the most hated yet, the most loved car in the history of this country. It is a fact that Suzuki Mehran a.k.a. Dabba, Mehru, Basanti etc. is one of the most dependable cars of our country.
Internationally known as the second generation of Suzuki’s Alto the Mehran first came to Pakistan in the early eighties and it has continued from then on till date without any major changes. When it first came to Pakistan, it gained popularity instantly specially amongst the middle income earners of our country. Everyone wanted one for their first car. Its tiny 800cc engine can eek out kilometers from the last drop of petrol which unlike its competitors of that time, was an astonishing achievement. If you want to keep your money in your pockets it puts the sort of smile on your face that is as big as Texas.
It was never about performance with this one. When the Japanese were designing it, power was the last thing on their minds. It is all about economy and the fact that it takes 4 to 5 people from point A to point B without spending too much petrol.
Motorsports enthusiasts started to hate it as soon as it landed in Pakistan. The car starts to handle like a boat as soon as you cross 20kph, one has to wrestle it into place rather than steer it and has to have the temperament of a crash test dummy to ride inside its cramped cabin. Its rear suspension came from a push-cart which means, it is as comfortable as a Go-cart. The rear seats seem to have been made from concrete and the front ones aren’t any better. It stops in the same distance as the distance required for an aircraft to take off.
I however, have never wanted to ridicule or humiliate this car even though I am a motorsports enthusiast. It would be utterly unfair, to do so. Comparing a Mehran with a Corvette is like comparing the girl next door with Marilyn Manroe, everybody wants the latter but most of us end up with the former. Each of them have their pros and cons.
You can not expect every other girl to be Marilyn Manroe and also you can not ask Marilyn to do your dishes. Your Mehran will never be able to break the sound barrier, as it was never meant to do so, it’s a car that was designed to do your dirty work. It is a work horse that makes sure it does its work but doesn’t care if it looks ridiculous while doing it.
Having said that, what I fail to understand is why this car has not been able to win as much hearts in Pakistan as the Mini has won in the UK. Both these two have striking similarities. Both have tiny engines, cramped cabin and bumpy suspensions. Both handle like Go-carts.
It obviously has to do with the Pakistanis’ “everything we have is crap” mentality as compared to the Brits “Great Britain” mentality.