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.
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