Well, if you are a budget traveller, like I am, then I think that Alto LX is the answer. You cannot get everything cheap. But if you are looking for moderate space, excellent interiors, excellent air conditioning, and best milage, then Alto LX will serve your purpose. I feel that you get much more than what you pay for when you buy Alto LX.
I have made some observations after I bought a new Alto LX and drove for 6 months.
1) In city I got milage of 17-18.
2) While driving on Mumbai-Pune expressway, I got 24. Can you imagine 24 Kms. in one litre of petrol. The secret is that you have to drive at a constant speeds between 70 and 80. Remove the pressure from the accelerator as soon as you touch 80 and let the car roll at a maintained constant speed. When the speed gets to reduce, apply slight pressure on the accelerator.
3) The headlights are weak.
4) The airconditioning system is excellent, even the heating system is good.
5) When the AC is switched on, there is considerable power loss. But you can switch off the AC for small periods while accelerating the vehicle or going up-hill. I visited Mahabeleshwar with 5 passengers. There was no major problem while going up-hill. I used to switch off the AC whenever more power was required.
6) The dashboard is comparable to any high end cars. Even Zen does not have such a good dashboard.
7) On highway, I was able to drive at 120 Kms/Hr speed. People have been writing reviews and advising to buy Santro. It would not be fair to compare Alto with Santro, as Santro is not the car for budget traveller. Its milage is very poor (about 10). The price is more too. The spare parts of Santro are expensive and are not available so easily everywhere as compared to Maruti spares.
Later on, after the warranty period is over, you can convert your Alto to LPG. Please note that CNG has not been allowed for Alto due to the reason that MPFI engines do not work well with CNG. Alto has MPFI engine and therefore it is suitable for LPG. LPG is safe, requires less space (tank is smaller than CNG), and will soon be available in major cities within next 2-3 years. The conversion cost is Rs. 23, 000. I hope my review will be of some help to you.
Addition after two years:
Today my car is 2 years old. I have had no problems with my car. I have an LPG kit fitten in my car since last one year, and am enjoying long drives on cheap fuel. I hardly run my car on petrol. I have written a detailed review on "Converting Alto to LPG".
The only problem with Alto is that it has a very very weak headlight. You can hardly see anything if some other vehicle’s beam is coming on you from opposite direction.
Ita a very good car and has been a good companion to me. I will not think of switching to another car for few more years as I am satisfied with its service.
Addition after 5 years:
Today (Aug 2009) my car is 5 year old. I had not problems in running the car. I had once got denting job done as an autorickshaw banged my car from behond because his brak did not work. I have got cigarette lighter unit fited int the car as it came without it. It costed Rs. 150. Now I can charge my cellphone in car. I had to change the car battery as the old one conked off. Got some refund for returning the old one to the dealer. I had been riding the car on rough terrains...well our roads are equally rough terrains..... without any problems. Been to Goa many times, to Nasik, Shirdi, Matheran, Bordi, Kashid, Alibaug, and almost all weekend places near Mumbai without any problems on the highway.