The Maruti Suzuki Alto has been around for about 5-6 years now. Launched in late 2000, it shipped with 2 variants. If we can all remember, the Maruti 800 then ran a 5-speed gearbox with a small upgrade in power (45 Bhp) and other tweaks here and there. God knows why maruti decided to keep the 800 in its 30 odd Bhp avatar and bring out a new Baby called the Alto. Maruti then shipped the LX and VX variants of Alto. The former shipping with the same 45 Bhp engine while the VX used to be combined with the Mighty 1.1 Litre WagonR engine. Now that the VX is not available, the Alto VX theoretically remains the second fastest Indian small car (But only on the papers, not on the road).
Well, this review I’m about to write is about a black Alto LX model which has done well over 23000 Kms in about a year and a half. This review can be said as the one stop know all for Maruti, its local showroom/workshop and finally, its Alto model. Well, I’ve frankly enjoyed every moment with this baby and the only reason I feel sad for this is the meagre engine it has. Let me start listing it out in my own usual point-wise style.
Engine & Transmission The 796cc engine is 3 cylinder 12 valve engine which barely manages to churn out around 45 Bhp of power and with so much of torque available through out the engine range, the 45 Bhp is quite sufficient. Having bought this for a 60-40 mix of City and Highway in that manner, I think I’ve never strained myself while driving this car either in the Bumper - Bumper traffic. Nor have I felt sluggish on the highway. This car is a simple piece of cake with this gem of an engine. The engine noise is a bit pleasing and gives a mild GRUFF sound when on full throw, making the car a bit sportier to drive. The gears become butter smooth after a couple of decently long drives. No extra effort is needed to put the gears in place other than simply showing them the direction, probably with one finger. Clutch is a bit long in action and needs some getting used to if you have used other diesel cars before.
Bodywork & Chassis The beautifully calculated shock absorbers, leaf springs, roll bars and suspension springs simply make things look so calm. I mean, drive this car on a bad piece of road and then immediately take an 800 or Zen on the same stretch. You will keep grumbling ’’Are my shock absorbers damaged??’’. The Alto has the perfect stiffness needed for our ususal ’’INDIAN’’ roads which means, that even in any road condition, steering input will not vary and driving will not become painful by any means. Take the car onto the highways and you’d better stick to your limits. Err.. I mean, you’d better stick to the CAR’s limits. The more you start stretching the car around corners, the more under-steer you will experience. This will also lead to a bad experience of mid-corner body-rolls and horribly aggressive, adrenaline pumping, tires screeching sounds. My Alto is fitted with JK tires which are of the Hard compound type and hence alignment is a very common issue with this. MRF seems to be better though. Constant screeching on highways could leave with a half-worn tire at just 20K kms. But also, the company suggests 30 Psi pressure. Keep it at 28 psi if u carry a maximum of 4 People. The doors, and all other body parts are sufficiently strong to keep the people safe in terms of any accidents of low & medium intensity. Excuse me but Fatalities are called fatalities if the drivers are insane. So please, dont expect an Alto to be a Battle tank :).
Interiors & Exteriors The car has stunning looks and muscular for its stature from almost all angles. There are also some beautiful slashes which Maruti have taken extreme care of to make it Artistic. The New Alto (with MFR etc. etc.) has an even better grille and an even more muscular Bumper set with placeholders for Fog lamps. The paint quality is really good and the Black is simply superb to look at as long as the car is hidden in a glass house with AC on full blow. Frankly, for Bangalore pollution and traffic, one scratch, a spec of dust or even bird droppings should not come in contact with Black. But, a well maintained Alto black is awesome. The Interiors are not all what you can think of by looking at the car from outside. A person driving the Car or even a passenger will know the truth inside. The front seats donot have sufficient thigh support and high speed cornering would need slim/short drivers or you’ll have to have the seat belts fastened. Finally, the rear seats are just for pets, kids or maybe one medium sized adult (in sleeping posture). Don’t expect anything more than this.
Braking & Control This is one department which I drool upon every time I drive this car. The servo assisted (vaccum-booster assisted) ones are very efficient and can stop this car in really no time at all. Panic braking is also easy. Slam the brakes and put the car in 3rd gear and see the kid stop almost instantly. The car manages to hold the line it was on unless deliberately steered away from by the driver. The steering has a very positive feel and there doesn’t seem any a-synchronous feel while driving. In fact, the steering operation seems to end very quickly and a power steering for a car this weight would mean sheer stupidity. Speeds in excess of 140 Kmph (on the speedo; with 4 Ppl on board) pose no apparent threats as the car simply holds on to the road.
Mileage The biggest advantage of the Alto lies here. Dont use the A/C and you will get easily 18 Kmpl in the city which can extend upto 22 Kmpl on the highways at a constant speed of 100 Kmph. No telling that this is simply as good as the M800 provided all the extra features we get ourselves. This figures can go up if you fit the vehicle with K&N filters. It can increase by 2 Kmpl when driven sanely.
The Major Cons Highway handling is its one major con. I’ve already mentioned this in the Chassis section. A/C is another huge drawback. Push the A/C button in the City and someone could bump your car’s back suddenly. The car seems to loose a lot of power for this puny A/C. Also, the brakes being engine-power-driven, become too light with the A/C on, making the use of A/C a very dangerous prospect. Finally, the A/C lasts a good 5K Kms only before there are major issues like Gas leaks etc. My car also had a broken compressor bracket, friction-less A/C compressor belt which simply rotated with the engine without starting to compress air. Space is the biggest Con of this Car. It can fit a family of 3 medium sized people or 4 slim people with utmost ease. Any tall people can simply forget this car. Suspension bushes tend to become hard and make noise in slightest bumps when hard. Replacing them should make the car quiet again.
All in All, I think it is a good car for a couple with a pet and/or 2 young kids. Please leave your comment and Rate this review.