Alto is my first car and I have been using it for almost a year now. Purchased it from Kavisha Motors, Agra. All formalities were done in no time and I got my ocean blue Lxi in 2 hours time. Dealer experience was satisfactory. To answer the all important question of **why Alto**, well I was interested in a small car only, WagonR was always out of question because of its awkward looks(nothing against its performance really) so the only competition was with Santro and Maruti name(and reliability factor+ excellent service) finally won over its korean rival!
This being my first car, I actually learnt to drive in this car only. I actually wanted to buy a Swift but since it was to be the first car, just played safe and went for a cheaper car(for that reason didnt buy a second hand! Not much idea maintaining a car). The two important requirements were AC & Power Steering. Only Lxi model give that so had to go for that. Both work quite nice in this cute little car. 800cc engine is quite underpowered but for city its quite manageable(even with AC on). Obviously people who dont own an Alto would always ridicule its(non-existant) engine power but personally it doesnt mean much to me. For that price hardly anything better is available(Indica is a taxi+ quality problems and santro is expansive to maintain). Driving is breeze though gear shift is a nightmare. Sometimes its so hard to engage first gear and sometimes reverse wont apply! But hey, didnt we already knew about the gear shift problems! Other than that no problems. No issues(major or minor) so far in 1 year of its existance. I have done a few highway journeys and generally there wasnt much dissatisfaction(maybe I am a slow driver. I have done lot of driving in the US so I really dont drive like typical indians! strictly lane driving even if means following a mule! I dont like to change lanes much. not in a hurry to die or kill others!)
One of the most important stats is the FE! On that count, this car really scores. Measured FE is:
*Highway - 22(50% AC), measured on Delhi-Agra highway
City - 16-17(~50% AC), 14(Full AC)
*I guess pretty smart figures! Both readings after second service. Before that city FE was around 13(~50% AC)
Space wise, since I am single so not at all a problem. Although at one time 7 of us had crammed up inside and travelled almost 20 km!(that too in winter morning so AC also on!) But if 7 people are to travel than Innova is the car one should be looking at. 4 people can comfortably travel. I firmly believe all small cars(or even cars like city, optra etc) can only comfortably accomodate 4 people. The person sitting in between at the rear will always be somewhat uncomfortable(no handrests!) Boot is non-existant though. One grouse is there are hardly any safety features(not even options) so this car needs to be driven sensibly(plus it is to be prayed daily that others in vicinity of this car also be driving sensibly!). Interiors are quite sensible(though not much usable space). I got a Sony mp3 player with 4 speakers & also a autocop central locking system installed externally(dont know if that voids any warranties!).
In a nutshell, great car for crammed up cities like Delhi as a first car. Very reliable & frugal plus doesnt take much parking space. Now I feel more comfortable moving on to a better, bigger & safer car. Already have one in dreams, the all **new Skoda Fabia**! Hope they do launch it this year:)