Driving the Alto LX was a surprise - and a pleasant one at that. I started off thinking how good this new car could be, what with the Maruti 800 engine shoehorned in. Even with slight modifications, the engine is, I thought, over the hill. Wrong, dead wrong! I knew that the Maruti boffins
had managed to work their magic again, as the LX started off with smoking its tyres in first. The car has that intangible quality that is so dear to motoscribes - verve!
The car sprints from corner to corner like a WRC contender (well, almost...!), and makes the right sounds doing so.
This is, without any doubt, the right city car. It has just the right mix of power and fuel efficiency. Even better, the car handles like a dream. We took the car to Pune, and while on the way back, in the dark, on an unfamiliar road, the lights suddenly picked up a couple of boulders lying bang in the middle of the road! Now we were travelling at a fair old clip, and in panic, I just squashed the brakes to the max, even as our hearts missed a bit or three. In any other small car, the result could have been unmitigated disaster, but the Alto did not miss a beat, and we continued on our way as if nothing had happened. No slides, no weave/wallow. The chasis is magnificient, and is complemented by the taut suspension. Drive the car in Schuey mode, and the car sticks to your chosen “racing line” like a leech!
Bad things? The trim and plastic could have been better. This might be a small car, but it is, after all, being targeted at the ‘premium segment’ of small cars. Personally, I’d rather take the 1100cc VX, but still, the LX is fairly good value for money...