Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by blackasta

i10 only loses out due puny tires. Upgraded tires makes it a potent handler.

Having both the vehicles in the house let me make this part clear.
Both cars with stock tyres (155/8013 for both) AStar handles much better and predictably. i10 loses out with its soft suspension and mid corner undulations unsettle the rear of the car making it step out of the line. AStar over the same roads and with same driving holds the line well. Talking of upgraded tyres, i10 with wider tyres will handle better than with stock tyres, but not as good as an AStar with wider tyres.

Looks are subjective.. to me both looks kind of bland, wider wheels with alloys can do wonders to the image of both these cars.

Space, no contest here i10 wins by a huuge margin.
FE, AStar wins by 2 to 3 kmpl more.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Great report Ajmat! Finally the 'affordable AT' scene has taken another giant step.

Although it loses out to the i-10 is some key areas like grunt and backseat, the A-star makes a pretty damn good 2nd car for the family esp the fairer sex who look for something compact, cheeky looks, affordable, good FE, strong/safe build and hassle free ownership.

A-star checks all boxes.


Must be in B-B traffic.

BTW, what are the ARAI figs for the i-10 AT. 17 for the Astar is pretty good? I think this will be the USP for the A-star.

ARAI for i10 AT is 16.67kmpl.
One can easily exceed that on highways (I once got ~19 kmpl on NH2)

[sourav21]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

My reference was a colleague who has an i10-AT in Blore and gets 8kmpl or less. Your FE figures seem decent though.

I get 12 kmpl without AC 100% city driving in Bangalore.

[JishD]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Build: Not sure what basis you're making that claim on

Looks: Subjective and definitely not a foregone conclusion. I find the A Star far better looking than the characterless i10

Try to see the A-Star side profile - it screams cheap B-segment and has a distinct resemblance to the Alto.

Again. see the interior - lots of cheap bits. Plus the white-grey color scheme surrounding the center console is horrible.

Compare it with the i10 interior and you would know what I mean.

Just FYI, I am in the market for a small auto and have test driven both. Trust me, the i10 feels FAR more upmarket.

Reg. FTD factor, I owned a Palio 1.6 till last week...keeping that as baseline, I dont think an A-star automatic really deserves mention for driving entertainment

Ajmat's FE figures however could be the gamechanger ...

[automaticfan]

Thanks for the A-Star review. I called Blore dealership just last week to enquire about A-Star AT. They had no clue on that

Regarding A* and I10 AT comparison, I feel that I10 AT wins hands down.

I own i10 Sportz AT for more than a year with 9K on ODO. I'm extremely happy with the car. I was just looking for an AT car under 5 lacks in India. I'm really impressed by i10's interiors and performance. The on road price for AT Sportz in Blore was 5.32L ( with free insurance )


Even though FE could have been better it's not too bad. I get 8-9 with 80% AC on in B-B Bangalore traffic. I wanted to test the FE on highways so I took it out on highway with five adults in the car. I was extremely happy to know that I achieved 16.5 kmpl with only 20% AC with full load (weight).

Another upside in i10 is that it is roomier than what it looks from outside (BIG PLUS for me).

So, with only 25K difference in price b/w A* and i10, I don't think people are going to sacrifice the power, room and tested car like i10 AT.

The only downside I see in i10 are look and handling

I also own Alto LXI (with many mods). I felt like I'm driving a used car from day one even though it was a brand new car. I owned high end cars like Honda Accord, Honda Odyssey, Camry for about 12 yrs in the US yet i10 gives me a luxury car feeling from inside with no rattles or engine sound when driven normally.

[arunmur]

I own an i10 AT. I bought the car because of great distances I used to travel within Bangalore.

I use AC 50% of the time and Shell normal fuel. I get about 8-9.5 km to a liter of petrol. It gives about 17 on smooth highways with AC on. Actually in city, my uncle's SX4 AT manages a bit more(about 10-11) than my car, he drives in similar traffic with the Climate Control on all the time. I am sure the A-Star can manage a lot more. One can easily expect 12+ in a city(15% smaller engine) like Bangalore with AC. and about 18 on highways. It is one of the most aerodynamic car in the market, comes real close to EClass in aerodynamics without the grill closer function.

My major complaint with the i10 is that its too boring to drive and the chassis is totally Un-Inspiring. I hate its white dash. Its very smooth when you buy it but becomes noisy over time. I have seen cars that did 20k really noisy on the back seat. Its even more noisy outside. So thats not so quite inside cities. It will still be a bit quieter than the AStar at about 20-50.

I have driven the A-Star manual in highways and can certainly outperform the i10 in keeping speeds above 80, even thought the i10 steering feels better.

i10 will feel much more smoother but AStar chassis and K10 engine with strong mid end is fun. The biggest problem with the AStar is idle vibrations once it crosses 20k kms. I am not sure if Maruti has done anything about that.

i10 is bit more bigger and is more practical but even the low end(magna) with AT costs about 50k more than the AStar(with ABS and music system). But I mostly travel single in the car and sometimes(30% of the time) have another person next to me. Only 5% of the times all seats are occupied. So, going by Smart's philosophy it offers 3 more seats than really necessary !!! A split rear seat would have solved half the problems.

[Mpower]

Thanks blacksta. Didn't realise the numbers are so close..almost nothing.
Lets see how real life numbers look.

I guess it boils down to weight...& a quick search tells me its 915 kgs!!
As heavy as the i-10!

Originally Posted by ajmat

A big miss - no vanity mirror for the ladies - a key target buyer in this segment

Except the lady is more likely to be on the other seat

Originally Posted by ajmat

Well at 100, we shift to 3, nothing, down to 2 nothing

Sounds like torque converter is going into full slip to prevent overrev.

[nithi]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

the gearshift seems similar to the one used in SX4. I am quite impressed with the mileage figures as reported by Ajmat.

This will give one competition from Maruti to i10, what about i20 ? what about other cars ? Maruti, come on bring AT on Swift/Ritz soon.

+1. [Ritz / Swift] Vxi + ABS + AT at prices less than Zxi will be very exciting.

[FlyingSpur]

FE seems to be very good from the report. So if this is used strictly as a city runabout, maybe as a second car at home by people who don't need the rear legroom, it could match the i10 Auto in this application easily. I guess the i10 Auto is more suited in case it's going to be the only car in the house. Refinement vis-a-vis i10 is something I'm curious to know about.

[jinojohnt]

I still don't understand why Automatic A-star is priced higher than the Manual version. If it's because of less Sales Volumes, the 'Made in India' A-star Automatic is already selling in large numbers in Europe, right?

I think Maruti is going by the "How much would people pay for this" philosophy rather than "For how much can we really afford to sell this".

[lejhoom]

Just saw this thread. Congratulations to you Ajmat for the nice review. Especially liked the photos of glove box, front seat, etc. with the proper perspective, i.e. with stuff placed. Easy to follow; far better than reviews that belt out "glove box deep and wide", "front leg-room adequate".

[brijesh1977]

Finally a good automatic from maruti. i guess it will be a right car for ladies and an ideal one for city driving , i think it is high time that we think only about FE , should also be looking at the convenience of no clutch and gear .I drive a Cruze At and i doubt i will want another manual . I think Ajmat has done a great job .

[mjothi]

Good review ajmat. Details are clear with pics. Especially pics for the rear leg room. You got a tall "model" too.

As someone mentioned, ya, it would be nice to see this in 2 seater arrangement.

[tanwaramit]

Originally Posted by mjothi

As someone mentioned, ya, it would be nice to see this in 2 seater arrangement.

Something like this ? (a two door zen spotted yesterday.)

[kaushikkrishnan]

Automatics are in for the good, having been introduced by maruti and matured by hyundai it is time that maruti launched a proper automatic. My wife drives a zen automatic which needs to be replaced sooner than later but the choice in the small car space does not seem to hold out.

Our best option would be the nano automatic for space as well as easy driveablity and a-star was close but after reading this review it is a no-no. The wait is still on for the best small car automatic