Pleasing but not exciting

A-star - stop at nothing is a cute hatchback from Maruti Suzuki for global markets. This compact A-star  features all the norms of contemporary hatchback. Raised bonnet, larger airdam, peeled back headlamps and elliptical glasshouse of the A-star does not excite you but it looks pleasing. But once again Maruti Suzuki has not given sufficient care to the rear part of the A-star. Passersby might miss the A-star as any other one. Overall styling is not outstanding but contemporary.

 

The dimensions of A-star are - 3500mm*1600mm*1490mm (length*breadth*height). The dimensions are more or less similar to its rival Hyundai i10. However i10 scores over the A-star wheelbase (2360mm) by 20mm.  But we have to look how these dimensions are efficiently utilized before concluding which one is superior. Anyway, the 4.5m turning radius of A-star will help you to tight corners and make swift manoeuvers.  The 170mm ground clearance of A-star makes it good enough to roll over potholes and bumps.

 

With the launch of A-star, Maruti Suzuki also debuts its superior KB series engine in India. The 3 cylinder, 12valve MPFI unit generates 67PS of peak power at 6200rpm and 90Nm of max torque at 3500rpm. Though these figures are nowhere near the i10 kappa, remember, we earlier reported you that this A-star returned 19.5Km for a litre of petrol.  The mill is mated with a 5speed manual transmission. A-star does not feature automatic transmission even as an optional one.

Overall, it is a product from Suzuki, so it should catch the market. With the current market, it really needs to attract. But it may not have an exciting sales before Jan09. Let us wait and watch. I will write more after a test drive.

Good fuel economy (in the paper..but to test)Cramped rear seats, less boot space, narrow back window, ugly side look