Maruti Suzuki Alto [2010-2013] User Reviews

My review is for First Time Car buyers, who want good return of there money.

We have choice in this segment 2.8L to3.5L - diff variants. Read this and decide your self.

I've been using this car from 38 months crossed 75000kms. I bought this instead of Santro coz of milage. I knew it has less power, but didn't expected it to be so poor. 90% of time I'm alone even then feel the problem in pick up.
Initially it gave me good average of 18km/Ltr with AC but now I'm getting 14-16Km/ltr.
It hardly reaches speed above 115km/hr.  Braking is also not that efficient, seriously needs to be improved.
It needs frequent servicing , specially the CLUTCH part which has become like old scooter's in operation. It has been repaired (polishing) more then three times. I have to get it adjusted after every 10000kms.

Its really pain to drive it in traffic. Shockers are reaaly bad, you feel the complete profile of Road. Overall I feel very disappointed. I bought Santro also after year of using ALTO.

I think if you drive around 80km a day then Maxm Life of this car is 80000-95000km after which it should be dumped immediately. My car has crossed 75000kms. I think I can drive it maxm. 15000kms more and will go for Better ONE....

Well I decided to keep a driver for lato as its pain to drive it because of Heavy clutch and poor pick up. Also, now no one can blame me of not using clutch properly. Afterall they always have this excuse and can blame for poor driving skills.

Comparision:

Body: Santro is better

Engine: Santro is Better

Driving & Sitting Comfort :Santro is Better, Alto has v bumpy ride.

Driving in Dark/Night : Alto very scary not good visiblity (I don know why but I always avoid) 

Fuel efficieny: ALto is better

Leg Space : Santro is Better

Braking : Santro is Better

Steering : Santro is Better

Safety :Santro is Better

Looks & style :Santro is Much Better

Maintenance: Almost Same.

Resale Value :Santro is Better

Overall Satisfaction: Santro is Better

Price diffrence : approx 35K

One more observation, Check it yourself...Checkout IInd Car stalls, web sites....You will find lot of ALTO, more than other cars.

NOT because its most selling or its bad car. But after driving it for a year...people want/feel to upgrade there car. Go for Santro, speak to your friend who have Santro..they are more staisfied.

I'm not against Maruti but in this segment ALTO is totally outdated model.

Toady best choice would be i10,Getz....or aATLEAST Santro. 

 

MilageLess Space (rear), V poor pickup,

Exterior Definite improvement. Alto is now a much better looking car.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Interior space was adequate for four. When compared to the Zen Estillo and A Star, the rear seat leg space was more and the car felt roomier. (I saw one family taking delivery of a new Alto- there were SIX adults in the car, four sitting on the rear seat. This proves that the car is very roomy!!! Just kidding!).

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox This is probably the best asset of the car. It feels very powerful. If you accelerate freely, it feels as fast as a Honda City, and certainly better than a Swift. But as is the case with all Maruti cars, the gearing is tall and you have to shift to the first gear at very slow speeds. Torquey feel of the cars like Santro is missing. You expect this bigger engine to be torquey at low revs but it is not. Mid range of the power band is very good. Gear box is very good and gives you a feel of a upper segment car. Fuel economy as per Maruti is as good as or better than the Alto 800, which is good. The older VXi 1.1 was a little more thirsty.

Ride Quality & Handling I drove the old Alto after the test drive of the Alto K10, and I can say that the ride quality of the new car was much better than the old one. Handling- cannot comment as the test drive was not long enough. 

Final Words A much better car, better buy than the other Maruti small hatch backs.

Areas of improvement The engine though very powerful, feels unrefined and vibrations are felt while idling. This is very irritating. One can understand that this is a three pot engine but so is the old Alto engine, and it scores better on these aspects.

Alloys on VXi??

Performance, Gear Box, Air ConVibrations while idling, engine not smooth.

I have achived an average of 20 though I am very new to driving....... Car at this price cannot give you a very good looks than this one gives...Only thing to ensure is that you need to be well versed with your car's pickup when fully loaded or AC ON as this is just 800cc and its quite hard to overtake on highways where you are having very less time time to overtake due and a heavy traffic from front.... excluding this this is no 1 car for today.... after all there has to be some difference between a 5 lac car and 3 lac car..... accessories are also very econmical...excellent average, less mainteinenceless spacious

My Experience with Maruthi True-Value Alto I had a Maruthi 800 with fitted RTO endorsed Gas kit, I had used it almost for 7 years I was a 2nd owner. It was 1996 make, most of the services and repair I did at out side Maruthi because the charges where reasonable and economical with personalized service.

Recently I decided to change the car and exploring different options, since I was too conscious about running cost hence I decided to buy Alto, I contacted Maruthi True value Dealer – Bharath Auto Cars (P) in Mangalore.

I chosen a Alto – LXI – 2008 Model with Metallic Blue Color and the odometer reading was Just 15000 kms.The Rate quoted was Rs.2,63,000/- and after the negotiation it was finalized for Rs.2,73,000 with additional Central Locking, Front Two Power windows and a Music System. I booked the Car by making Rs.1000 advance. The agreed delivery date was 06.11.2008 but it was not delivered on the promised date. When called them on 08.11.2010 in the morning the executive (Mr.Nagendra Pai) said it will be delivered by evening.

Evening after receiving the Call, I went their True value Show room and made the payment of balance i.e. Rs.2,72,000. Then they my signature on various papers, After that I had given only one Key of the car, while asking for the 2nd  Key, the executive’s (Mr.Arun & Nagendra) said they are having only one key, the next key will be given later, till then I had not seen the RC as I had full faith on them as it was an authorized Maruti True Value Show room, they given me the copy of the RC and Insurance along with original Invoice for Rs.2,73,000/ I asked for the Original RC, where, to my surprise I saw that the vehicle was hypothecated to Mahindra Finance and it was not cancelled, but the Executive shown one ATM balance sheet like paper and said it was already cleared and they need to get a letter from Mahindra Finance, which suppose to be received from Chennai and the hypothecation will be cancelled at the time of transfer of owner ship (to which they took my original Ration Card and 3 Photo) and they said it may take about 25 days. Then I asked for True Value warranty Card for 15000 kms/1 year plus 3 free services which they said the warranty card is sent to Maruthi True Value to get the True Value Engineers signature and it may take another week. Then I went to collect the car and just checking the car, I noticed that the roof light was not working I said, the evaluation team had checked only 119 points! (In true value system the car has been evaluated checking 120 various points, that is what they claim!) Then I noticed that the stepney tyre was Apollo make and it’s almost flat and looks like a 40 k run tyre (where as the car run only for 15000 kms) where as the other 4 Tyres were JK make. While I was checking the car on 03.11.2010 i.e. before making advance, there was a new looking JK tyre was there in the Stepney space. While asking the executive he said that, the tyre might have exchanged at the time of wash and they took me to their Kadri Show room where they could not find that tyre and brought one more Apollo Tyre which was better than the previous one but not a 15000 kms run tyre. At that point of time I almost lost faith on them and firmly said I wanted the same JK tyre which was almost looking as new then Mr.Arun, promised within a week they will trace it and hand it over.

Next day I traveled to Udupi from Mangalore (around 100 kms journey and I noticed the AC when kept on high was giving disturbing noise. Gear Lever was not settling properly (may be I was used to a 4 gear Maruthi since last 7 years)

I may keep up date my experience with Maruti True Value Car, as I should get a warranty for 15000 kms/1 year with 3 free services.

Based on my experience the prospective buyers from True Value should ask the Executive to fill up the following in the True Value Pre Owned Car Booking Form.

(1) Tyres Make (Later I noticed that which was not filled in my form)

(2) Battery make (as above!)

While booking a True Value Car one may note the following so that the same may cross verified at the time of taking the Delivery.

(1) Accessories fitted in the Car

(2) Tyre Make and Sl no if any

Wheel Cap.

(4) Original RC

(5) Original Insurance

While taking the Delivery

(1) Put your Signature only for the item which was handed over to you in original (I suspect I had put sign for 2 keys, warranty card, original RC, Insurance etc)

(2) Check properly for all the 5 tyre, Disk and for all the accessories which was available at the time of booking the Car.

 

Look & PickupAC sound !?

When I was looking for a car and after thorough analysis we have zeroed to Alto. I did not want to buy normal, regular Alto. And then came Xcite variant what we were lloking. With power windows, special colour (we opted biege colour), graphic design, two tone dash board, remote booty, body coloured bumpers, etc. with Rs.14,000/- more than regular model. We bargained with Saboo RKS, Somajiguda and bought the vehicle at Rs.3.10 lacs after discount.

Mark my words, it was a great decision indeed!! We are enjoying the ride like any thing. Mileage it is giving 20 kmpl and we have almost covered 1500 kms till date. First service is just done. Only problem we feel is when >3 passengers sit, particularly in city and you put a/c on then it crawls for power. But gear shifting and switching off a/c will solve that problem also. And we should remember that it is 800 cc engine and not 1000 cc. When we want 20 kmpl mileage car at around 3 lacs, with low maintanance and high resale value then it is only Alto nothing else.

Rear space was not a problem as I have read in some reviews. May be they have addressed this problem in Xcite variant.

Good fuel economy, good styling of Xcite variantPickup with A/c on with more passangers

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 -

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

Cons -

1. 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 !!
2. Rear space is less, not much movement possible
3. 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.
4. brakes least effective of all the cars, only better than pulsar bike !
5. Very less boot space (170L). 
6. Getting in & out of car is slightly uncomfortable (I'm 5"8').
7. Nothing special abt interiors, avg plastic build.
8. Left door has become rough at just 8000kms.
9. Gear box not at all smooth, continous problems with reverse gear even after service ! Also the gear throw is longer than other cars.
10. 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.
11. Long drives for more than 4 hrs (with small breaks) really uncomfortable & tiring ! Alto not meant for good long drives.
12. 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 !
13. 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.

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

I have brought this car just a week back. Previously, i was having M800. This car is an excellent one. Chilled AC when outside temp about 38 deg C. Tested fuel economy twice: 21 Km with AC /Highways, local 18. Earlier car of mine (m800) was a carbuertor model. I am new to MPFI version. Once you take the feet from Osc, vessel brakes automatically in M800 c.model. but in MPFI also same, but after few seconds, the car starts moving freely (something like uncontrolled). Consulted the local experts, who confirmed this is due to fuel cut off in MPFI causes the vehicle to run without engine braking. Ofcourse, this phenomena is very mild, but have to take care while intending to stop the vehicle in busy traffic otherwise ought to apply brakes to bring into still.

GOOD, FUEL ECONOMY

Exterior Its an awesome decent looking car for a price of 3.06 Lac on road with BS IV emission standards. I got an amazing deal for my Alto BS IV (Silky Silver) from Indus Motors chennai for the price of 3.06 Lac on road including three years warranty, Insurance, life Tax and RTO. Also, they provided me with a wonderful set of Maruti Genuine accessories like MGA Car Cover, MGA Suzuki-Nippon Remote Center locking with security alarm, MGA Floor Mats and mud flaps and a Sony XPLOD music system with a couple of speakers on front and MGA Leather Steering Cover.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Space is much comfortable for a driver of 6.3 foot tall with a pillion rider (6Ft.) and a couple of other two riders on the back and they are almost 5.8 feet tall on an average.

In BS IV Maruti have come up with Integrated Head rests on both the front and back seats, An appealing designed fabric seats and a dual tone dash-boards.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Nice 800 CC engine with a good pick-up and ofcourse little weary with the AC on. But again.. its THE top performer in the 800 CC Sector.

When I talk about, fuel efficiency, I would say, am not that really satisfied yet with 14KM/lt. (Chennai City Drive) with all-time AC on. Am almost have done 1000 KM and yet to try out the first service for more fuel economy. Hope after service may help me in gaining a much better FE. Gear shift is not easy and smooth as any other cars in the country and it is little hard and shaky.

 

Ride Quality & Handling When I talk about Ride Quality and Handling, I would first appreciate the power steering which Suzuki is providing for BS IV Alto. It is really smooth as Hyundai and any other cars. I have driven the old versions of Alto with the power-steering and never felt so comfortable.

Breaks are quiet good as any other cars with No ABS and gear shifts may you find little hard if you have driven a Hyundai, Ford or a skoda in prior to this.

 

Final Words Altogether a decent car for an unbelievable price with good comfort. The Most recommended car for small families and city ride, especially when it comes to everyday rides like office going and to drop children at schools.

 

Areas of improvement Gear Shift needs to be more smoother and the care would be really great with a remote boot opener, Can never ask anything more for improvement like Parcel Tray, Power Windows and Fog Lamps for 3Lac, which would be too much of asking as any consumer

Definitely Cost (Both the price of the car and the money you spend on service and repairs),No remote boot opener, parcel tray, power windows and a little hard gear shift

 

Exterior The car is ok. I am using 2006 Alto Lxi model with CNG fitted from outside.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Plastic quality is not equivalent to todays car.  But if we compare it with cars of 2006 then i think it was same in santro, indica.  there were at that time only few hatchbacks.  And the reputation of Maruti was much higher than these cars. Any mechanic can repair it unlike Hyundai, Chevrolet cars.  That is why the mechanics advise to go for Maruti Cars 😊.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine performance is good. Though after getting CNG fitted, performance has deterioiated. However, i don't mind since I am saving  precious Rs.5000/- per month.  So after saving three years I can again change my car. I went to my native place on CNG and it covered 250 kms with 8 kg CNG, its amazing. And there were five adults plus luggage on the top plus cylinder, which approx weighs 70 kgs.  So on the whole there were seven adults?? Most of the time the speed of the car was 85-90 and maximum 100. Further, i mostly drive in city around 34 kms daily and go to native place once in six months.  HOwever, after getting CNG fitted one should get its rear shockers adjusted.  Further, now Maruti has staretd company fitted CNG alto. One should go for it, since there would not be any warranty loss, second one can avoid all the pain which one has to go through to get CNG endorsed in the RC, thirdly, the loan is given for the entire car.  And most importantly the company fitted kits are better than outside, its like if we get an AC fitted in the non-ac car, the performance of the ac would not be as good as company fitted AC. No other company is right now making company fitted CNG cars.  Hyundai, Chevrolet  dealrers are fitting CNG kits themselves or from outside dealers.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is good and handling is excellent.

Final Words Go for it if you want to buy car first time.  Don't go for second hand car.  Instead buy this car. I wanted to buy second hand car but after seeing that there are many ifs and buts like high EMI compared to new car, no knowledge of past histroy of car, no warranty on the car, high maintenance cost I preferred new car.

Areas of improvement Height if they can increase.

Power steering, driveability, cheap sparesHeight