Almost everyone here has rated this car really high. However, other than the looks, I don’t really see much in the car. It lacks pickup, doesn’t have enough space and is horrible on the mileage once you turn on the A/C.
My Alto LX was bought in March 2006 and has run about 30, 000 kms. When I turn on the A/C the mileage drops to a pathetic 10 kmpl in the city. And this has happened despite asking the company service center for tuning the engine for better mileage.
That is like Rs. 5.50 per kilometre is the running cost. Add to it the cost of maintenance(approx. 80 paise per km) and the cost easily goes up to Rs. 6.30 per kilometre. My 8 year old Tata Sierra Turbo which has a pickup that would put many new age cars to shame gives a mileage of 8.5 -10 kmpl with the A/C on within the city. That is an average running cost of Rs. 3.60 - 4.30 per km and including the maintenance about 4.8 - 5.5 per km
So a 800 kg car with a 800 cc engine costs me Rs. 6.30 per kilometer to run while a 2000 kg car with a 2000 cc engine costs me a maximum of Rs. 5.50 per km - a ratio of 1:1.15. Agreed that the cost of petrol is 1.4 times of the cost of Diesel, but the car weights and engine capacity are also in the ratio of 1:2.5.
So a weighted comparison would be as follows:
Bare cost Adjust for Adjust for
Petrol/Diesel weight/engine
cost capacity
Alto Rs. 6.30 Rs. 6.30 Rs. 6.30 * 2.5
= Rs. 15.75
Sierra Rs. 5.50 Rs. 5.50 * 1.4 Rs. 7.70
= Rs. 7.70
So running my Alto is twice as expensive as running my Sierra. Please let me know if you find any infirmities in my computations or logic.
I now feel that if I had bought an Indica then, I would have shelled out another 1 Lakh but I would have recovered a significant portion of that in these two years in terms of the running cost. In addition to it I could have had the luxury of a larger space.
My advice to other fellow consumers would be that if your average running per month is less than 500-600 kms, and you don’t use the A/C, then probably this is the car to go for. But if you are using it for more than 1000 kms per month and you prefer to use the A/C always, then this car is a DUD! You should then go for the Indica V2.