worth purchasing only for very cost conscious ppl

A user review on Maruti Suzuki Alto. Written by Aditya on 26 August, 2007

Starts at Rs. 3,04,182
Alto Details | On Road Price

Aditya's Ratings

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Overall
Looks
Performance
Space/Comfort
Fuel Economy
Value For Money

Version Reviewed

LXI

Purchased As	:
Familiarity	:
Fuel Economy	:	kpl

Good	:	good fuel economy, avg style, compact, v easy to drive, good visibility
Bad	:	poor pickup, bumpy ride, v jerky drive in 1st & 2nd gear,night driving difficulty, v less boot space

Full Review

Hi,

I've been driving an Alto (800CC) for over an year now, here is my review: Well to start with we obviously bought this car for its cheapness, & little did we realize initially that most of d things are really cheap in this !! (now gng for swift/getz diesel)

Pros -

Driveability is good & v easy, drivers view is good, backing is easy etc.
AC quite effective, at full speed i feel chilled in just few min time.
City mileage has been arnd 13-15 depending on speed, traffic, with AC, etc. Highway mileage is excellent arnd 22 roughly.
Cheapest car so obviously a + point as u save money (but at the cost of satisfaction)!
low maintenance, cheaper parts as compared to other cars obviously.
Easy & better for women drivers !
Power steering quite good, needs little effort, but felt size of steering wheel is large for this car.
Never gave any starting problem till now (1+ year).
Resale value & service of maruti a + point.

Cons -

Pick up is not good but okay for 1-2 ppl, but with 3-4 ppl pick up is v poor, & with AC pick up is horrible, u wld get frustated pressing the accelerator in AC !! can hardly pull 4/5 ppl with AC on !!
Rear space is less, not much movement possible
Vey jerky pick up in 1st & 2nd gears ! the car can hardly move much in 1st gear & gives back a jerk if clutch not pressed slightly. Only from 3rd gear (above 30kmph) onwards jerks are not felt so much.
brakes least effective of all the cars, only better than pulsar bike !
Very less boot space (170L).
Getting in & out of car is slightly uncomfortable (I'm 5"8').
Nothing special abt interiors, avg plastic build.
Left door has become rough at just 8000kms.
Gear box not at all smooth, continous problems with reverse gear even after service ! Also the gear throw is longer than other cars.
Day/night mirrors are not there, so at night time a lot of reflection occurs from front glass, side & rear view mirror. Night driving is really uncomfortable in alto.
Long drives for more than 4 hrs (with small breaks) really uncomfortable & tiring ! Alto not meant for good long drives.
Since the width of d car is not much, even if a healthy person sits in front passenger seat - the gear box tends to touch him significantly & comes in d way !
I've touched 130kmph on this car, but its not safe above 90-100kmph.

My suggestion:

If one can stretch their budget to 1.1L cars, then dont even think of alto ! I've driven all 1.1L cars & they r better than alto in every respect (barring fuel economy for obvious reasons)
Also if one is going for installment option, then going for santro/wagonR/spark wld increase monthly spend by approx Rs 1000 only, definitely worth it for your own satisfaction.

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Comments Latest 10 are shown

Abey on 26 Aug, 2010 at 03:15 PM

The comment is totally a crap! Alto is an awsome car and have driven in Highways all around chennai, bangalore, kerala and Andhra. Found it really comfortable and ofcourse not very powerful as Santro and any other cars which may have a larger Enginie which is 1000CC or more.

But, Alto is really a cool car for both highways and city rides. I have driven 130 KM max and I usually drive around 100-120 KM/hr. on highways. Still find it comfortable as any other cars I have driven. Which is far enough for Indian roads. If you are born for racing on Indian roads, then you could speak about the speed/km :P and to put in more money to get a power filled car.

Also, it has got almost all features which is really worth the price! I have my cousins who has got bigger cars like Chevrolet, Skoda and Hyundai been spending so much on maintenance and fuel and ofcourse paying the EMI Back.

I paid 3.2 Lac cash to get an Alto which lacks a very few things like power windows, Internal operated rear view mirrors a parcel tray. But it really worth the price.

ALTO is known for Indian roads and Indians! It rocks!!!

Mohan on 20 Nov, 2009 at 04:40 AM

Very detailed comment , Thank You, I have feel of drive the car and experienced about it from your comment.

Vipul Goel on 27 Aug, 2009 at 10:03 PM

I bought an Alto Lxi about a month back, and am Very disappointed with the performance.Performance with AC on is pathetic. I also have a wagon R (since 2004). Buy this only if you cannot afford to spend another Rs.50000/- for a wagon R, or Santro. If you can, then please dont buy this. I have used it only for 1200 km, and am wanting to sell it. I will as soon as I get a reasonable deal (about Rs.260,000). Other than lack of pulling power, the seating is also uncomfortable- worse than 800.

Narayanan on 06 Dec, 2008 at 09:39 AM

no other car beat altos miliage solid 22

Amit Gajjar on 16 Nov, 2008 at 12:17 AM

Good Review. I am planing to by alto lxi.

Raghavendra.Dixit on 28 Aug, 2008 at 12:24 PM

Good review. Very helpful.

Ajin Vincent on 25 Feb, 2008 at 05:59 PM

pls i have an alto,i have travelled in 120 km/hr & experienced no problems car excellent in saving money very less mainataince cost,,,,

Kaushik Mukherjee on 13 Nov, 2007 at 09:32 PM

I have purchased one alto in the month of jan. 2007. Innitially I thought I will post my experience but after this review nothing has left for me to say anything for Alto. Every thing covered perfectly. Only two thinks I will add into it. 1. Car is Fit for the persons who are thinking to purchase a Cost effective Basic car other that Maruti 800 which has a better brand value. 2. Never compair with Santro /Wagen R/ Zen etc. all are 1000cc car not 800 cc. So Alto never gives you that power

Bharat on 30 Aug, 2007 at 07:40 PM

Hi, Well I agree with you. I suggest people to buy this car if: 1. You are in some field job, tired of riding bike and now need a roof over your head (with A/C). Most of time you drive alone...... 2.You have a small family well may two of you with a kid....You need a vehicle to go for weekends... 3. You have office job... needs to drive few KMs everyday...and you drive approx.10km a day. So its very very basic car...will suggest you to put 50K more and go for Santro ;)or wagonR:(

Bharat on 30 Aug, 2007 at 07:40 PM

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