Maruti Alto 800 LXi Airbag Review
Maruti Alto 800 - Let's Go KHISKO!!
Saturday, May 18, 2013Maruti Alto is a promising and respected company in the history of Indian Motor market and it seems it will remain so even in future as Maruti Suzuki launched the second version of Alto in India. It was a great need for the company to modify Alto and do some up gradations as this car solely remained the most selling one in past 12 years without any major up-gradations but now it was getting tough because of other small cars in this segment like Hyundai Eon and new Chevrolet Spark. The new key features of Maruti Alto 800 are its angular headlights and edgy bumper instead of old boring ones. The front edgy bumper has new black colored grille and sharp lines on it and also has a trendy chin spoiler that nicely merges into the wheel arches of this car. The sides and rear of the car is almost same as the earlier one.
The 12-inches wheel doesn't quite suit with the compact look of the car. Its boot gate and C-pillar are same as the Maruti A-Star. On the inside, the plastic quality is acceptable, the three spoke steering wheels and the silver finishing on door handles, steering wheels, around AC vents and centre console makes it look quite up-market. The seats are slim and have integrated headrests thus providing more space on the inside but tall people would not find it too comfortable in long journeys as the rear seats lacks back support. Also, the top variant of the new car comes with AC with heater, front power windows and power steering and the new gear knob is also much comfortable to use. The new dashboard is also much more stylish and modern. A new easily readable and nicely illuminated instrument dial is also available with a digital clock in the speedometer.
There is no audio system in the car as it has to be bought additionally but the car has a 12V accessory socket for connecting music gadgets. Alto 800 has a 796cc three cylinder engine that generates maximum power of 47.5 bhp at 6000 rpm with a torque of 69 Nm at 3500 rpm, equipped with a five speed manual gearbox. The new car is also available in CNG with similar specifications. It has a cable type gear shift mechanism and Detent Pin Technology (DPT) for smooth and precise gear shifting respectively. Also, Diagonal Shift Assist (DSA) is available to assist in effortless shifting from 5th to 4th gear. The car is easy to speed in the beginning but once passed 2000 rpm, it proves hard to keep throttling continuously. It has a top speed of 140kmph but is hardly practicable.
Eon seems to beat it completely on highways in terms of performance and comfort. Alto 800 has a high fuel efficiency of 18kmpl in cities and around 20-21kmpl on highways while the CNG version is able to provide around 30.46kmpkg. The airbag is available in top petrol variant and the standard models features immobilizer, collapsible steering column and tubeless tyres. The car is equipped with solid disks at front with drum brakes at the back and the car weights around 715kgs. Its new dimension is 3395mmx1490mmx1475mm (LxWxH) while the wheelbase is 2360mm. The ground clearance is 160mm, perfect for Indian roads. Its boot capacity is only 177 litres, which is lesser than Eon by 34 litres. The car needs a gentler approach and is not suitable for fast driving because of loose handling with minimum turning radius of 4.6m that goes well in cities.
Maruti Alto 800 is available in seven variants (Standard, Lx, Lxi, Lxi Airbag, CNG Standard, CNG Lx and CNG Lxi). Its main feature is its price, which is very reasonable and good enough to outrun Eon in terms of sales. Alto 800 is available in six shades that are Frost Blue, Granite Grey, Superior White, Blazing Red, Silky Silver and Torque Blue. The company gives a standard warranty of 2 years or 40,000 kms on new Alto which is also extendable. Now, in the field of maintenance, fuel efficiency, price range and resale value, this car beats Eon by far but it has a lower hand in comfort, style and performance. But Hyundai Eon has been unable to get the trust of Indian buyers so far, that means the road for New Alto 800 seems much easier and it will continue to be the largest selling car in India.