I have a 2004 model Alto LXi and am now looking to upgrade.Thought this would be a good time to share my experience with the car. First of all, it’s a great small car and absolute value for money. I’ve covered close to 50, 000 Km and no problems so far, touch wood!I follow the maintenance schedule religiously and this definitely helps in ensuring a long and smooth life for your car.
The Alto is a good car for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids. Accommodating 2 adults at the back is a squeeze. If you are a tall driver like me, then your seat is almost always going to be all the way back. This makes sitting behind the driver’s seat almost impossible for an adult.One of the greatest selling points for the car is it’s fuel consumption. I have managed to consistently achieve an average of 16 kmpl in city conditions(with around 50% AC usage). On long drives, you can expect an increase of 2-3 kmpl.
The AC is quite powerful and cools the interiors rapidly. There is a significant drop in power when you switch on the AC and you may have to toggle the AC on and off in tight overtaking manoeuvres. The power steering is quite responsive and helps you get in and out of tight parking spots without any problems.The boot space is just enough for a large suitcase. If you plan on installing rear speakers, ensure you get boxes fitted instead of a plank. This will give you some amount of boot space at least.
The factory fitted tyres are adequate but an upgrade to wider, tubeless radials is definitely worth it. The handling and ride quality increases quite a bit with the wider tyres(you might have a 1 kmpl drop in mileage). The maintenance costs are low and I’ve had really good experiences with the Maruti service centres. The resale value is terrific(due to the Maruti brand name, of course!)Overall, it’s a great car if 2-3 persons are going to be traveling most of the time. If you need a car to accommodate 4 adults, then you need to look elsewhere.cheers.