Having driven an Alto Lxi for about 4 months, I feel I have known this car quite well to write a geniune review.
I dont need to talk about the looks as its your perception, In my opinion the car looks quite macho with its new grill. Its very aerodynamically designed. while purchasing, go for body coloured bumper for an extra 3K as this gives a look of a higher variant of the car.
Alto is best suited for people who are medium built with height range of 5 ft to 5 ft 7", for those of you who are quite tall and looking out for comfortable seating position, this aint the right choice. Having said that you can get in to the car with some athletic abilities, but the person sitting behind you will curse for not having enuf legroom as u would have backed your seat.
Once seated inside, U will see a decent dashboard with maruti standard console & gauges. The front view that you get in alto is best in its class, You can easily estimate the front end of the car which is very useful in bumper to bumper traffic. Also the seating position and height is much better than a zen/ even 800 and you dont get the feeling where your bottom is rubbing on to the road. Crank the engine and your 796 CC/ 47 Bhp engine will come in to life. The throttle response is pretty good. the gears are pretty smooth, except for the 2nd gear which requires some extra effort to engage. The clutch and accelerator is not as sharp as the santro/ the wagon R, which makes it a perfectly safe car for people who are still getting their hands on driving.
Coming to the performance aspects following are some of the facts.
Highways:
Top Speed: 130 kmph( with 4 adults and some luggage) car is somewhat unstable at this speed, people please do not exceed 100 or 110 to be on the safer side. the brakes are not made to handle beyond these speeds.
The car cruises smoothly in 5th gear at 80 kmph without any vibration or roar from the engine. engine is most efficient in this speed range.
Boot space is quite sufficient if you are taking for a long drive, enuf to pack a small family’s(4 people) luggage for a 2 day trip
Mileage: 20 to 22kmpl on highway without AC(on flat roads, decreases by 1 or 2 on a hilly region)
18 to 20 with AC
City limits: Best car for city drive. Enuf power to zip it through the traffic, quite economical in bumper to bumper traffic inspite of turning the AC on. Lower engine noise, or almost noise free if your stereo is turned on. Less vibration, The engine does not stall unless u declutch without pressing the throttle if the engine is running for atleast 5 min.
Mileage: 15 to 18 kmpl( average taken on full tank to full tank over a period of 2 months for a distance of 50km everyday)
If you run this car with AC on, I feel there is a major drop in the power, think the engine would be pumping only about 40Bhp on to the driving mechanism, if all the seats are occupied in your car, then rarely will your left hand hold the steering wheel, it will be busy shifting gears.
breaks are quite efficient in city driving condition if u are below 60 kmph, but be careful during heavy rains as all the 4 wheels have drums and just a feet of water can decrease the break sesitivity quite badly.
Electronic power steering, comes handy in city driving conditions, Even without a power steering, the alto is easy to maneuver in traffic coz of its small dimension and less weight.
Taking reverse or parking is very simple compared to other cars, the visibility on all side along with responsive steering makes it easy to push this car to the most remotest place in the garage/ basement parking or even just enough space in a parking lot without much of your driving ability put in to use.
Rear seat comfort is quite good and will not lead to back pain during long journeys. Getting in and out of the car is quite easy if u lie in the height specification gvien earlier.
Maintenance is quite easy due to the maruti advantage(good service network), prices of spare parts are quite affordable.
Suspensions are quite good in this car, not much impact in the cabin on bumpy roads.
Overall this is an ideal car if you are looking for a very economical drive(without using alternative fuels such as LPG/CNG/Diesel), Low on maintanance. Can accomodate 5 persons with medium built easily.
If you are new to driving and want to purchase your new 1st car, dont even have a second thought, this is the best for you as it comes in 3 different flavours ranging from 2.7 lakhs to 3.3 lakh rs on
road.
This car is also suitable for women who want to try their hands on manual gear shifts & are not so comfortable in driving a higly responsive cars.
Hope this review was helpful in some way if you are skeptical in buying this small car.
Cheers!
Vikram