[irdevanand]

Originally Posted by Samba

Cant really agree to this! It depends on the budget of the person! If the person have 5-6 lakhs budget the swift or anything alike can also be his very first car! With a budget of an Alto k10 / Eon he can buy a well maintained second hand sedan like a Honda city too!

Sorry. I should have been more specific. I meant of the three (altos/eon) eon is the best first choice. And very true you get a 50-60k kms driven honda city zx 2008/2007 models for 3.0-3.5 lakhs. But honda insists on 5k kms service and at around 60k kms you might have to go for clutch replacement/suspension tweaks etc so for a guy going for his first car experience it would be a bit overwhelming. Once you learn the tricks of the trade you can go for a second hand. Hence that comment.

[Hill_Boy]

I run very less, still I get it serviced every year. Last month I went for the sixth service after completing 4 years. The total cost with Authorized Service Station came to Rs.2,650/ which included labour, engine oil+filter and change of coolant. I think that is quite reasonable. They did not change the air filter but cleaned it by blowing air (any way it is around 250 including fitting, at spare parts shops)

I also end up changing wipers every year as they tend to harden up in a year.

Thanks a lot Aroy.You have been a lot of help exactly what i was looking for.

There is absolutely no point to service the k10 or taking it for check up at 5,000kms. 10,000kms service interval is absolutely fine. At 20,000kms the replacements should be- coolant, brake oil, engine oil & oil filter. So it should not exceed rs4,000. Maruti tries to take the customers for a ride if they are not aware of whats needs. So strictly follow the owners manual and ask them not to do a single extra work. Or else they will add unnecessary add ons and increase the service costs.

Thank you will keep this in mind.This the exact kind of pointers on the K10 i was hoping for.

Era is 15k more and has power windows compared to dlite+ and magna+ is 50k more with audiosystem/R13 tyres/powerwindows. I am buying this for my sister who met with an accident last year and we dont want her to drive her scooter anymore. So its an upgrade from scooter /auto/taxi so she didnt mind that power windows. For you it might be necessary. Go for it.

Exactly my reason for a small city car.Too many bike related accidents and deaths in my close family and friends circle. Well all the vehicles we have owned have been just utilitarian so i thought power windows and such would be a nice addition not really a necessity. The one i tested had its speedo console disconnected so was not sure what speed i did but the steering is too light for my comfort(was it just me??).

But man siruseri to adyar you better by an automatic car or relocate or change your office/timings. Atleast have a girlfriend to give you company or else the drive alone will get you bored to death. I pity your left knee. Irrespective of what you drive its still going to take you couple of hours at peak traffic.

I just used the Siruseri to Adyar traffic as a reference for bad B2B traffic scenario .Just wanted to know if Eon can do those short sprints in those conditions. I would be traveling all over Chennai. GirlfriendJi in the passenger seat after a long day at work and stuck in B2B traffic??? i'd rather get bored.

[irdevanand]

@hillboy checkout the latest eon ad. Cute.
The sentiment (bike to car) is catching on.

http://youtu.be/5HmaocYmg2E

Dev

[ashw_r]

Folks, I am planning to upgrade my 4 year old Nano for either an Alto 800 or Eon. Having recently test driven both the cars I am leaning towards the Eon primarily because I found the clutch on the Alto very hard. This was after driving 2 cars from different dealers. Can owners confirm if this is indeed so or just a case of badly maintained test drive cars?

The car would primarily be used by my wife for her daily office trips in peak traffic and for weekend shopping. I do not mind paying an extra 25k for the Eon but is it a better choice especially for someone used to the tall-boy Nano?

I was surprised by one thing though - the Alto now has more space than Eon despite specs stating otherwise.

[CountMe91]

I think Alto 800 will be a better buy considering the practicality it offers. It is a time tested car, has good resale value and is light on maintenance. It is primarily a car meant for point to point commute. The Eon has plush interiors as compared to the Alto 800. But the engine and gearbox is better in Alto IMO. With the discounts running for Alto 800, it is any day a better VFM package. Why are you not considering the newly launched k10 in your search?

Originally Posted by ashw_r

Folks, I am planning to upgrade my 4 year old Nano for either an Alto 800 or Eon. Having recently test driven both the cars I am leaning towards the Eon primarily because I found the clutch on the Alto very hard. This was after driving 2 cars from different dealers. Can owners confirm if this is indeed so or just a case of badly maintained test drive cars?

The car would primarily be used by my wife for her daily office trips in peak traffic and for weekend shopping. I do not mind paying an extra 25k for the Eon but is it a better choice especially for someone used to the tall-boy Nano?

I was surprised by one thing though - the Alto now has more space than Eon despite specs stating otherwise.

[ashw_r]

Originally Posted by CountMe91

With the discounts running for Alto 800, it is any day a better VFM package. Why are you not considering the newly launched k10 in your search?

Thanks for the reply. I was surprised to find that the Alto now has more space than Eon adding to its VFM offering. But as I wrote earlier, the primary reason for preferring Eon is because I found slotting the gears in Alto 800 very rough. What is your take about this?

The newly launched k10 carries no discounts (obviously) and is above my budget.

[CountMe91]

The earlier k10 was being offered with huge discounts. It would have been an excellent upgrade from your Nano. As for the Alto 800, from my personal experience I did not notice any notchy gearshift. However, you can notice gear lever vibrations in Eon.

Originally Posted by ashw_r

Thanks for the reply. I was surprised to find that the Alto now has more space than Eon adding to its VFM offering. But as I wrote earlier, the primary reason for preferring Eon is because I found slotting the gears in Alto 800 very rough. What is your take about this?

The newly launched k10 carries no discounts (obviously) and is above my budget.

[Aroy]

I would suggest the new Alto K10 with Automatic gears which will mean relatively tension free B2B driving.

[ashw_r]

Update- stretched my budget and booked the new alto k10. Delivery will take a month is what I have been told.

[wishnipon]

Originally Posted by ashw_r

I was surprised to find that the Alto now has more space than Eon adding to its VFM offering.

Is that so? I still find the new Alto not too spacious. Eon is roomier.

BTW congrats on your new car.

[ashw_r]

Originally Posted by wishnipon

Is that so? I still find the new Alto not too spacious. Eon is roomier.

My comparison was b/w Alto 800 and Eon. The Alto k10's rear space is not as impressive.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Alto 0.8 liter is too old, outdated and basic. Remove. Between the Alto K10 & the Eon, the only real advantage that the Maruti has is the engine. It's an incredibly fun car to drive. In all other areas, the Eon beats it hollow. The Eon is definitely the more "complete" package. And since you are looking for a city commuter, the engine will do the job.

Fun car to drive except when you're six feet and nearly 92 kilograms - there's no tilt steering, very low head clearance etc in all these peppy little entry level hatchbacks.

In such a case I'd take the Wagon R k10 model with power steering.

[simeonovitch]

An uncle wants a new car, after having sold his 2009 2 lakh km run maruti 800.

He's looking for a used car, and unsure of which one to get.
Usage: about 50-70 km per day, with a 70-30 highway and city split. (70% running on highway)

Ofcourse, fuel efficiency and running costs are immensely important.

Someone said the K10 gives better FE on the highway as compared to 800, as the bigger engine is less stressed. Is it true?

Also, it will be the only car for them, and it might be required to do the occasional 250 km run to jaipur or chandigarh.

The uncle does have a slight soft corner for the prev gen K10, but I thought I'll check here.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

An uncle wants a new car, after having sold his 2009 2 lakh km run maruti 800.

The uncle does have a slight soft corner for the prev gen K10, but I thought I'll check here.

The previous gen K10 is a pretty impressive car in terms of mileage. Drive it carefully and over 20 is easily achievable on the highway. I have managed 20 with my Alto and 98 model Zen, so the 1 litre engine should manage it better given you are running on less revs. Also, the K10 has better performance than the other options suggested

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

An uncle wants a new car, after having sold his 2009 2 lakh km run maruti 800.

He's looking for a used car, and unsure of which one to get.
Usage: about 50-70 km per day, with a 70-30 highway and city split. (70% running on highway)

Ofcourse, fuel efficiency and running costs are immensely important.

Someone said the K10 gives better FE on the highway as compared to 800, as the bigger engine is less stressed. Is it true?

Also, it will be the only car for them, and it might be required to do the occasional 250 km run to jaipur or chandigarh.

The uncle does have a slight soft corner for the prev gen K10, but I thought I'll check here.

Alto K10 is a gem of a car. It will easily give FE of 20+ on highways. The only advice that I can give is ask him to get the latest BS-6 version. It has airbags and crash protection which the older version does not have. A new one will easily last 15+ years without a hitch.