Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 vs Toyota Etios Cross

The Maruti Suzuki Alto has not just been the bread-and-butter model for the carmaker but the best-selling moniker as well. This third generation of the Alto is up-to-date with the latest BS6 Phase 2 norms and comes with considerable changes in this new avatar. As it takes the fight with the newer entry-level Renault Kwid, our road test details all the specifications of the Alto K10 along with its real-world on-road performance.

It’s a crossover… It’s a hatchback… No, we don’t know! And since we don’t have a name for this segment of cars, we are going to begin by christening them Hatchovers! The Etios Cross is the latest entrant to this India-specific segment, where the cars look rugged and bulky like crossovers, but offer pretty much the same utility as that of a hatchback. It may be a unique distinction for the Indian automotive market, but not something that we should be proud of. What exactly is the purpose of the hatchover then? What made manufacturers like Volkswagen, Skoda and Toyota enter this segment? Is it just a passing fad or will we see more vehicles of this kind in future? We spend some time with the Etios Cross to get to the bottom of this riddle.

Hatchbacks are compact enough to use comfortably in the urban environment, convenient, easy to park and relatively more efficient and low on maintenance. Now that we are well into the new year, let’s take a look back at all the hatchbacks that got our attention during the last calendar year.