[DicKy]

My 2 paisa.

Go to the Maruti showroom. No need for even a TD.
Or book a home TD .

She will choose the Spresso hands down.
The 50k premium over the Alto won't seem bad spread over for one year, let alone 5+ years of ownership.

Though with her planned extra long ownership, would be better if she would stretch a bit for the WagonR/Celerio gang.

But if she is set on the ~4 lakhs mark, the Spresso over the Alto anyday. Looks be damned, it is worth for the 46km done every day!!!

[Merc_Freak]

I would recommend your sister to go for the Alto as it fulfills her requirements, fits within her budget , and it will be quite familiar as she currently drives the M800. But if she can stretch her budget a bit , she should take a look at the Spresso. I would not recommend the kwid because of the issues others have pointed out.

[Kpzonwheels]

Alto was running on 30k company discount in September, so vxi varaint was priced at 4.2 lakh on road in Kerala. I bought alto vxi varaint on September with further discounts of 5k (corporate offer) and 20k (exchange offer). That will make the price of vxi variant close to 4 lakh. It has front power windows. Spresso was also running on similar discounts.

[advrjain]

You should check out Tiago as well.

[azm@bpl]

Hi, I am from Bhopal and aware about the traffic and roads of this city. Recently was in the same state of confusion wrt a small hatchback for my dad.

He has been driving an Alto since 2014 but with age catching up and traffic getting worse he wanted to go for an automatic.

Only 3 options are available in the entry segment for automatic variants.
Kwid, Redigo and S Presso.

Redigo was outrightly rejected as Datsun doesn't have a sales and service outlet in Bhopal.

Kwid was the best stunner of all. Immediately fell in love with the looks. But that was the end of this love affair. Seating low, high engine noise, wafer thin window glasses, 90s gen ORVM (non internally adjustable) and a lousy engine was a huge turn off. Rear seats didn't offered any legroom.

S Presso on the other hand is the oddest looking car in this lot. Quirky should be right word to describe it's looks.
But the moment you step inside, you get a shock of your life. Still unable to figure out how Maruti managed to carve out so much space. Check out rear seat. It has more legroom than my Swift. Seating height is just apt. One doesn't need to "sit in' but you can 'sit on' those high rise seats. Position is commanding, nice view with bonnet end visible to the driver.

K10 engine is just right for city and occasional highway getaways. Enough pep and power. Being an auto shift, it's a breeze to drive in bumper to bumper traffic and a turning radius of just 4.5 m makes it easy to negotiate in the tight spots.

GC of 180mm leaves one tension free on pothole ridden Bhopal roads.

Best VFM among the offers n options available.
Got best deal from Jeewan Motors.
SBI offered loan at 7.75% and it was processed in just one day that too on 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). I walked into the showroom on the morning of 2nd October with my documents and drove away at 4PM in my new S Presso.

[PrasannaDhana]

Definitely Maruti Alto here.

I own a 4 year old 44,000 km run Kwid 1.0

The ownership experience has not been very pleasant. I haven't had any issues or niggles perse, but the car doesn't age well at all. In comparison, my Celerio (bought at the same time as the Kwid) has also run the same mileage, and it feels like new, while the Kwid has developed more NVH and suspension has become noisy. There is a noticeable difference in the power delivery too, there is a flat spot in the power band inconsistently.

Maruti cannot be beaten when it comes to budget cars. Period. I will not recommend the Spresso as I found its ride quality to be terrible. I can't comment on alto's ride qualy as I havent travelled in one. If alto rides equally bad, Spresso makes a better choice as it's more practical, read : Spacious.

As you have specified fuel efficiency as a factor, from 90000 km combined usage of both Renault's 1.0 and Maruti's 1.0, I have always found Maruti delivering 2 kmpl more than the Renault, in exact similar traffic and driving conditions.

[Kosfactor]

Alto & Espresso! Thats it.

I could no longer hear the whine of Kwid`s engine in the newer model as they went by however the older 1.0 in our parking is poor in terms of NVH. The AMT makes it even worse. There is an overwhelming use of plastic including the intake manifold which a rat had bitten some bits off of.

In comparison the Alto K10 especially the Mk1 had better performance and refinement than even a base model Polo during its time.

[nisfish]

As Dicky said, walk into a Maruti- Suzuki Arena and check out the Alto as well as the S-presso. I was really impressed with the space on offer in the S-presso. Carwale says the OTR price for S-presso LXI 4.70 L in Bhopal. Discounts upto 48k can be availed bringing the price to 4.20 L approx. I'd go for S-presso.

[IP_Man]

If you decide on Alto, check Maruti Suzuki Celerio. It looks much better than Alto in my opinion.

[Udit]

I've driven all 3 cars extensively. I own an Alto, my friend has a Kwid and my neighbour has a Redigo. And, I absolutely hate all three of these cars. Alto is cramped and the engine is very weak. I need to turn off AC many times in stop and go traffic or while attempting an overtake. With all seats occupied and AC on full blast, it is impossible to move the car in higher gears in low speeds. Other two cars are so pathetic that I wouldn't suggest anybody to go for them. The ageing Kwid of my friend is giving him headaches every now and then. The build quality of Redigo and Kwid is just too bad. My neighbour's Redigo had got a dent on hatch when he was trying a push start (battery was dead). The doors, panels of these cars are so light that even Alto looks well built in comparison. My honest advice is better stay away from these cars. Look for pre-owned options or cars in one segment above. And if somehow I had no option but to choose among these three, I would pick Alto. Just for the better reliability and resale.

[landcruiser123]

I'm assuming no used cars. Unless she/husband/brother/trusted relative can deal with Renault ASS/FNG, I'd recommend staying away from the brand. My parents are in a similar dilemma for a budget city run about under 5 lakhs - my dad found that the Suzuki S-Presso was the best choice.

Try asking her to shop with multiple dealers and bargain hard to get the best price.

[ash22]

Been using Alto for last 13 years with 1Lakh Km mark (Still using it)

Alto 800 - Refined Engine when compared to Kwid/RediGo.
It is a no-nonsense car which would take you from Point A to Point B.
Latest model comes with ABS and driver airbag standard.
MS dealers can give good exchange discounts since Diwali is around the corner.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by creative420

She will not take any 4L+ suggestions. Neither will she entertain any suggestion to pick up a used car. We had an option to pick up a family friend's lightly used Maruti Stingray at 3.5L, but she said pass to it. Nor will she take any suggestion for an automatic car as Bhopal is a hilly city, at least the part where she lives, and the drive to her college only sees about 2-3 kms of traffic and rest is a pretty cool and easy drive.

Sisters, Hah! So much love and disagreement at the same time. Sorry this was off topic, your post invoked some memories.

Coming back to the topic. My suggestion out of three would be an Alto. Considering how many Altos I have seen everytime I have visited the hills of Himachal, it seems to tick all the right boxes. If your sister likes the Alto, the other two cars don't make any sense at all.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by azm@bpl

Hi, I am from Bhopal and aware about the traffic and roads of this city. Recently was in the same state of confusion wrt a small hatchback for my dad.

Got best deal from Jeewan Motors.
SBI offered loan at 7.75% and it was processed in just one day that too on 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti). I walked into the showroom on the morning of 2nd October with my documents and drove away at 4PM in my new S Presso

Thanks for this insight. I've shared this post with her. She's reading it as an when its updated.

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Sisters, Hah! So much love and disagreement at the same time. Sorry this was off topic, your post invoked some memories

Correct. What you gonna do, eh? Very peculiar species they are.

Thanks for the responses, guys. So it's a toss up between Alto and S-presso. Will update the thread once she takes a decision.

[deepfreak15]

We were in the same boat as most of you here (needed a small city car). Ended up with the S-Presso and listed some of my reasons in the official review thread. In case any of you are interested and if it helps you choose. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4905879 (Maruti S-Presso : Official Review)