The Ugly Duckling

Before you all can read the review, here's a disclaimer. I am not all praise and prayers for any cars, and like other user reviews, would use the phrases "fantastic car" or "mind blowing". This would be an honest review after i have owned the car and have been using it for a month. SO all of you, who have ordered this car and are ready to take delivery soon, after reading only the best bits written by others, please be cautious in reading my review.

So the new Alto 800, the successor to the best-selling old Alto. How good or Bad is it?

I'll start with the looks. While the old Alto was a decent looking car, its successor, to be kind enough i would say is not a good looking thing . It looks as a badly made Ford Figo at 75% in size..That's up front. But on the sides it looks OK and from the back you may be forced to think its a little cute, or maybe it's me. The Maruti Suzuki’s new "Wavefront" design does not look good in real as it does on a blue print. Now we get to the interiors. Surprisingly Maruti is giving an option to choose between interior colours, the regular grey and now brown as well. Mind you this is the smallest car Maruti is making.. yet. Even Maruti's flagship model the Kizhashi, i believe doesn’t have two interior colours to choose from. That is a big step ahead from Maruti. Sadly though, the BROWN one would be just an option or you will have to be really mad enough to buy one. It is hideous. The interior look and feel is refreshed from the old version but you constantly get the feeling it would all fall apart from a mere press of the hands. Maruti has gone to different heights in making this car as light as they could possibly make it.

Which is a good thing and a bad thing. The good bit is that it is economical and since the body is not heavy at all even with 4 people in the car the engine does not struggle under normal driving conditions. The bad bit it is, if you are driving it alone, you almost can feel the car being lifted at higher speeds, not that you would be driving it at higher speeds often. It sounds and feels scary. And if you are playing music, then the door panels vibrate to the bass and that is annoying. But Maruti has managed to squeeze out a lot of space in the inside. But the rear thigh support is not commendable. Coming to the ride. It is the same engine lifted from the previous gen alto and the recently decommissioned 800, with minor, but good tweaks, chief among which is the gear box. You will have the confidence of having slotted it at the right gear, which you did not get from the old alto. Now that’s a relief. Due to the light weight of the body and no sound damping at all, you can clearly hear the rumble from the engine. Not a good sound you would want to hear,  and playing music is not the best alternative to it, sadly. They have fitted it with a soft suspension which is surprisingly good over potholes, but gives a fair bit of body roll for a car this size, but you can live with that. But the 800cc 3 cylinder engine producing around 47 horses, which is older than I am, is still is not refined enough. You can feel the car struggling to pull uphill when it is packed and at the throttle produce produces more noise than it actually moves. The steering is light and at the top variant model; you will have the option of airbag, just at the front. The power windows are restricted to the front as well and they are not the doors but at the end of the hand brake. If you are used to driving cars with power window button at the door, you would be left feeling a bit.

 At an on road price of nearly 4 lakhs for the top variant, the new Alto 800 feels a bit costly than it should be. However any small car from Maruti's stable is always big news and so would be true for the Alto 800, however good or bad it be.

A surprising and a rather comfortable ride, less than average looks and a not so feature rich interior and is what you get out of the Alto 800, which is not a great value for money.

The verdict: The Alto 800 appeals to those who still feel cars are a luxury. But for the everyday, a little time of fun being a part of it, the Alto 800 just doesn’t add up. But as a utility and for the regular short city commutes, it just does the job well as a no-nonsense, practical and of course in a pocket friendly manner.

Soft Suspension, Good All round Visibility, Surpeisingly spacious iteriorsAbsolutely No sound proofing, No power, Less than average looks