The Zen
A car maniac since 1996, I learnt to drive when i was 14. When I turned 18 and I was given the zen which had been passed down through the family from mother to brother to finally finding itself with me. My brother is seven years older than me and I’m sure if he was given the chance he would talk about it for months on end. We both loved it, its where we both took our first step into adulthood, responsibility and freedom. 7 years on and finally it was mine. This is a tribute to our Zen.
The Zen is undoubtedly now an Indian Classic. It was a drivers car more than anything, 5-speed manual, 60bhp, 80Nm-Torque and 765kg but none of that matters, with the Zen it was all about power to weight ratio which was 78bhp/tonne.Low seating position, completely analogue and mechanical with independent front suspension made it not only a smooth ride but also gave it the ability to be extremely planted in the corners providing the driver with the perfect feel and feedback of the road at all times, basically it was a go-kart. Our Zen was a silver 2nd generation with black and yellow racing seats, alloy wheels and a customized sound system connected to a broken old iPod with over 2000tracks, my BATMOBILE. (It also had two subtly planted stickers to raise the bhp to 70)
Learning to drive in the zen was hard; it had a bite point of like 1mm where you had all the torque come in. While teaching me, my brother emphasized on trying to feel the car rather than just remembering routine. Sure, he shouted at me a lot and took me straight into traffic when I was scared as hell but it made me way better under pressure(thank god no one got hurt). Once I learnt I was hooked. Driving the Zen everyday, learning the roads of Pune (where I’m from), was definitely one of the greatest times of my life. Everyday I discovered more about the car and it always kept surprising me. I won many drag races vs cars and bikes thanks to that strong clutch, I took the zen out in really bad terrain, I did hill climbs on Bopdev ghat and had countless unforgettable moments in that car. It never broke down (well I maintained it well) but still I can’t believe that after so many years, first with my brother and then me, it was always reliable.
I loved that car so much there was so much to get right while driving it, so much to obsess over. Through all the cars I’ve driven since then, none of them have ever been as engaging. Unfortunately, I went to the US for a bit and in my absence without my knowledge the Zen was sold, ugh, parents why you do this? It had a high resale value of over 1L. Once I make my own damn money I’m getting myself a Zen again (preferably the limited edition coupe).
Apparently they are coming out with a new Zen model but its going to be a crossover and I think its gonna suck. I hope it doesn’t though. To all the car fans who read this and have driven or owned a Zen I hoped you enjoyed and related with this article. It was a quick bean and I miss it.
