Hi sairamboko, sorry I misspelled it. What color is your car and are you going for any accessories? Do share your ownership experience.
Dear Mods, please rename the thread title to 'My Go-kart. Maruti Alto K10 VXi AMT, Cerulean Blue - 40,000 kms update'. 40,000kms Update:
It has been 20 months and 40,000kms with my K10 AMT and the car has performed consistently and niggle free overall. The car is primarily used for daily office commute covering 50kms per day inside Chennai city. Ease of driving is the Alto’s forte. The AMT, compact dimensions and peppy engine is a perfect combo for a relaxed commute in the city.
Regular cleaning and shaded parking has helped me to maintain the exterior paint quality.
The headlights are powerful enough and have good reach and spread in both city and highways.
Engine and performance:
Engine wise at 40,000kms the business is as usual, smooth rev happy and lively at all times. The engine never feels strained throughout the rev range. The K10 engine even with the AMT is very capable in terms of performance and can surprise bigger cars on straight line acceleration and top speed. Fuel efficiency is consistent and the city mileage hovers between 15.5kmpl to 16.5kmpl with 100% AC. Of course the car’s light weight body plays a key role in performance and mileage. The brakes have good bite for city usage and the stock Bridgestone tyres provide good grip most of the time.
41,000kms and counting. The K10B is all smiles even at 6000rpm.
Its good to see Maruti offering the AMT across its range with the new Ignis and upcoming Swift. With more cars coming up with AMT, let me share a brief AMT experience.
The AMT:
After 40,000kms the AMT system is doing its duties as good as it was when brand new. There is no difference in gear shifts, shift timing, shifting sound etc at 40k kms. The AMT unit has been reliable so far and doing its duties flawlessly without missing a shift. Shifting between N, R, D, and M are smooth and the transition between D and M on the move is seamless. Driving the Alto K10 AMT inside the city in D mode is a delight, the gear shifts are smooth and timely with adequate power to propel this light weight small car. The creep function is a real boon in stop go traffic where you can use only the brake pedal to stop and crawl forward without the accelerator. Also the creep function prevents the car from rolling back in flyovers and road inclines. The engine braking is minimal and you have to rely on the brakes when slowing down.
Upshifting in D mode:
In D mode at normal city speeds the upshifts are seamless between 1-2-3-4-5 gears. When accelerating gradually, it is hard to feel the upshifts actually happening. Accelerating hard from stand still, the upshifts are reasonably smooth and the gear changes are quick enough not to hamper the momentum but the upshifts can be felt form the pause in momentum during shifts, similar to any other manual car.
Downshifting in D mode:
There is an occasional jerk when down shifting from 3-2 or 2-1 and this happens when braking slightly hard soon after accelerating to a certain speed, but I am not able to repeat this jerkiness with similar instances. There is a slight delay in shift when you put your foot down just before the AMT is about to upshift, at this instance the AMT takes a second to understand the input and then it downshifts.
Shifting in M Mode:
In M mode, there are no jerks at any situations. Driving the car in the M mode can be best described in one word, “FUN” especially when driving in fast sections which requires constant gear shifts, slot the gear lever in Tiptronic M mode and quick nudges to the gear lever to upshift or downshift, this gives you more control on the gear shifts and the engine is always eager to build revs and propel the car ahead.
Overall the gear shifts in an Alto K10 AMT is not as quick or seamless like in conventional automatics but similar to a manual car driven by an average driver. Any one coming from driving a manual is most likely to appreciate the AMT for its easy of driving. Overall the Alto K10 AMT has improved my city driving experience with the lack of clutch and being a fairly smooth shifter overall.
One of the smallest cars on the road today.
Overall fit and finish is good.
Built Quality and Ride:
The car is well put together and has decent built except for the thin body sheet metal which feels flexible as wafer. The lack of proper cabin insulation lets in most of the road noise. The driver seat gives a sense of control over the car with good all round visibility, compact dimensions and easy controls. The ride is bouncy when there is only one or two people on-board but improves with three or four people with better ride and glides over most of the bad roads. AC is a chiller and cools the cabin even at low fan speed. Handling is like a go-kart, it is light nimble and easy at slow speeds but at speeds over 80kmph the steering feels lifeless and needs constant steering inputs to keep the car in straight line. That said, at higher speeds it’s an engaging drive once you understand the steering behaviour and its limits but it is no way calm and relaxing to drive. Driving in the city, narrow streets, tight parking lots, multipoint U turns is where the Alto K10 shines due to its compact dimensions and good all round visibility and brisk performance.
After driving 40,000 kms the only gripe I have in my Alto is the poor NHV levels inside the cabin. The engine noise and road noise is present inside the cabin all the time and you need to up the music to mask the outside noise. Though the car is built with lighter and thinner materials, adding wheel well claddings, door paddings and engine firewall would have been much appreciated.
Likes:
1. Engine: Drivability, Spirited performance and fuel efficiency
2. AMT: Ease of driving in traffic.
3. Compact dimensions and visibility.
Dislikes:
1. Poor NHV.