What happened to M800 with 5 gears

[vincentt]

Hi,
I was looking through the specs of Maruti 800 and I noticed the absense of M800, MPFI car with 5 gears. Where is that model gone? Has that model been stopped now.

Ok, I can understand that 5 gears might have been stopped. But are the M800 cars that are in the showroom today, all MPFI cars or are they carbauretted cars only.

I scratched my head and realized that Alto had bought that - 5 gears and MPFI. And since they have positioned Alto as an upgrade to M800, I guess its the company policy that says, "You want 5 gears - Buy the Alto!!!"

Please tell me two more things about the M800
1. The type of Engine (MPFI or Carb)
2. Whether the new M800 has power brakes

Thanks

[sidharth_j]

well, to answer ur questions :-

1) The M800 is available only with a 6 valve MPFI engine putting out 38bhp

2)i dunno abt the power brakes, but u can get them fitted by paying rs.5000 extra.

They stopped the 5-speed 12 valve 140kmph M800 as it was cannibalising alto sales...duh!

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by sidharth_j

1) The M800 is available only with a 6 valve MPFI engine putting out 38bhp
2)i dunno abt the power brakes, but u can get them fitted by paying rs.5000 extra.
They stopped the 5-speed 12 valve 140kmph M800 as it was cannibalising alto sales...duh!

Its 37 BHP from M800 and 47 BHP from Alto. No Power brakes on the M800, but available on the Alto.

[ashutoshb]

Maruti switched over to MPFI to meet the then strict emission norms and to compete with rival manufacturers. That was in the year 2000. since then no carburetted car has come through its factories.
The 5 speed 47 BHP Maruti 800 was discontinued because it was eating into Alto's sales in those times. its been more than 2-3 years since the 5 speed 800 was discontinued.
Maruti has two 800cc engines. 1) 37 bhp engine which they offer with 800. 2) 47 bhp which they offer with the alto.
Its maruti's way to differentiate the two models and to justify the price difference. also to give the alto a little edge towards its grandfather. i hope its clear to you now.

[sidharth_j]

Is it true that the earlier carbed version of the M800 made 39.5 bhp compared to the 37 that the current M800 makes?...i remeber reading this in the old Auto India mags...not that this difference is much anyway.. :-)

[theMAG]

Maruti was into cost cutting mode- that resulted in the fallback to 4-gears and 2 valve/cylinder engine config

[ess_a]

IMO to save the alto, they had to stop the production of the 5 speed 800... I dont think there was any cost cutting or something like that involved.... Its the same way the alto1.1 was phased out...

[SLK]

Originally Posted by sidharth_j

Is it true that the earlier carbed version of the M800 made 39.5 bhp compared to the 37 that the current M800 makes?...i remeber reading this in the old Auto India mags...not that this difference is much anyway.. :-)

Yes.. you are right.... But i think the 39.5 bhp was a misquote.... as the new 800s feel more powerful....

the 5 gear 800 was 45bhp @ 6000prm.. as against the current alto 47bhp@ 6200rpm.

Its just that the engine revs more... the extra 2bhp power is not usable (practically)

The 5 gear 800 is rather revv happy for that small an engine. It has zero low-end torque with ac ... but the engine is so revv happy.. that you don't feel any problem shifting in 3rd at 40+kmph.

About power brakes... i think at low speeds the need can be felt but at higher speeds... the car manages to stop in best distance possible (ony the pedal effort is a bit more)

The best part.. is the FE... its given us 18km/l being driven in the heart of the city so many times.

[mithun]

I've also heard that M800 with 5 gears is having a poor resale value when compared to it's original sticker price, which was almost near to the Zen LX at that time. But I think it's really a good deal for the 2nd hand buyer !!!

And it's resale value dropped by leaps and bounds after the Alto launch.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by mithun

I've also heard that M800 with 5 gears is having a poor resale value when compared to it's original sticker price, which was almost near to the Zen LX at that time. But I think it's really a good deal for the 2nd hand buyer !!!

The max price was when we bought it.... i.e. 2.72lakhs.. onroad.. which is even today cheaper than the alto.

It was not just the price touching the alto.. but also the car itself.
faster than alto ..
more FE than alto...
more space...

and as a new 800... it felt that even its ride was better than alto over roughs.. b'coz of extremely soft suspension (the suspension was upgraded then)... ...

End of day... the overall quality of 800s is too sad to even compare with Alto. (though i don't know if they did the same to alto for price cuts)

[THE-U-]

I don't think I will be able to distinguish between the alto and 800 from a distance. They both look almost the same to me. I would've thought the five speed should give better fuel mileage. In a small car like 800/alto I am not sure power breaks/ power steering help that much. Does the alto have a power steering too?

[ess_a]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

I don't think I will be able to distinguish between the alto and 800 from a distance. They both look almost the same to me.

Dude its time for a visit to your optometrist!!

[SLK]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

Does the alto have a power steering too?

Yes Alto has power steering... the Maruti EPS... but only for Lxi version.

If I am not wrong Alto has 3 version...
Alto (without ac)
Alto Lx
Alto Lxi (with power steering)

[MalluDude]

Originally Posted by THE-U-

They both look almost the same to me.

Quote of the day!

[Mr.Bangalore]

i think that maruti came up with M800 5 gear to compete with Matiz and Santro which was doing well at those times when compared to M800 and once the Alto came into the market, they stopped the 5 gear version to boost the Alto sales..