'Unofficial' Maruti Omni Facelift Is Here - Yay or Nay?

Maruti Omni was the most affordable workhorse you could buy back in the day. From commercial goods carrier to school van, this vehicle was used by everyone for everything. Of course, being a Maruti, it was cheap to buy, run, and maintain. Sadly, due to Omni’s incapability to comply with the updated safety regulations, it was discontinued in 2019.

Despite lacking necessary safety equipment, the car was extremely popular, and some people even decided to add a personal touch to the vehicle. Here, we have another such example of a modified Maruti Omni. As can be seen in the pictures, the car in question features some extensive redesigns, especially to the face.

The stock headlights have been replaced by new ones, as has the front grille. The former seems to be sourced from a Tata Sumo Victa, while the latter is from a first-generation Maruti Alto K10. The bonnet is custom-made and has an interesting design, with bumps and crests on it. The front bumper has been resculpted to features some prominent body-lines and a large airdam. The fog lamps, along with the housings, are also custom, and the former are flanked by LED DRLs. While we don’t have the numbers, this custom Omni sure looks a few inches longer than the stock model.

At the side, there isn’t any change except for the body-coloured ORVMs. Even the wheels are stock, steel rims instead of aftermarket alloys. Even at the rear, the biggest change is the new taillamp cluster design, with individual circular lights for the brake lights, indicators and parking lights. The rear bumper has been deleted and a bull bar is used in its place. Overall, the new look is quite handsome, and if the car wasn’t discontinued, perhaps a facelift model could have introduced later along the lines of this.

There doesn’t seem to be any mechanical changes to the car. This is an old model (1993, to be exact), with a 796cc, inline-3, carburetted petrol engine. This motor was capable of generating 35 PS and 59 Nm of peak power and maximum torque, respectively. The transmission on offer was a 4-speed manual gearbox, which sent power to the rear wheels.

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