14 MONTHS AFTER , TIME FOR REALITY CHECK:
1.Body rattling all arond, highly irritataing.
2.nasty smell from A.C (at times) .Tried to rectify many times over by Maruti finally couldnot.Live with it , that is the final verdict
3.Battery is very special, designed to fail after warranty period of one year.Appears maruti gets it specially made for them(Exide)
4.Door lock knob broke off, rear view mirror support come off freqeently, Gear lever shroud slipped away from it fastening, and cannot be put back as it wont stay , floor matting torn off , has to be handled as delicately as a flower
5.Much acclaimed fuel effiency is a joke.Against a claimed 17.6km/ltr max. achieved is 12 after putng extra effort following all possible guidelines on fuel saving tips
6.have to keep music system at a high pitch to overcome the irritating cabin noise
7.Funny gearshift(technically called "rubbery)
This is the condition after 14 months one can imagine what will be after another year.
My four yerold Santro is far superior to Alto .Carried out only rgular maintainance and it gives 12km/ltr.ride as smooth as day one, .Build quality is superb, reliability fantastic, something missing in Maruti bread and butter Alto