Honestly, I do not own this car. My uncle who lives with us in Hyderabad, bought one 6 months back. Anyways, since we were a joint family unitl I moved to Chennai, I can claim that it was one of our family cars. To start with, Alto LX and LXI have the same engine. The tried and Tested 796 CC one that goes into the Maruti 800 as well. You might have noticed that in March 2003, Maruti discontinued its best-seller, the Maruti 800 DX with 5-gears. You know why? They were making the way for the ALto LX/LXI.
For those of you who have driven a Maruti for a long time, this car wouldn’t feel even an inch different. The Maruti 800 MPFI-5gear was by the best Maruti A segement car India ever had. It gave an incredible mileage of 18 with the AC ON in normal city drivng. There have been claims that people got 22/23 on highways. It was faster than other Marutis for sure.
Now, take the same engine and put it beneath a heavier body, use slightly better plstics in the interior, make that extra inch of legroom, use better upholstery, offer body color bumpers, offer Power Stearing and ther you get the Alto LX/LXI.
Everything about Alto LX is the same as Maruti 800. So what you essentially get is a car that is slower thatn a Maruti 800 and guzzles more petrol. It sinmply doeswn’t amke sene. I recommend this to people who are sick of buying a Maruti 800 but can’t spend more for the Alto VXI or a Santro.
The verdict:
Its slower than a Maruti becaue of its heavier Chasis. Its up to you. I don’t think this car would require a Power Stearing. Don’t buy it unless you are looking for a Maruti 800 with 5 gears.