m800 vs alto

bharatp · 26th December 2004, 09:47

i am getting a new car but the budget is under 3 lakhs.

my options are m800 and alto (ac, non ac doesnt matter)

what i want to know is what is better when u comparen m800 std and alto std.

there arent any performance figures available for the m800. and the reviews are quite old.

the alto has apparently been beefed up. now it has 47bhp as compared to m800's 37.

any opinions,reviews on head-to-head?

DCEite · 26th December 2004, 10:46

As far as performance is concerned.. if you are going from point A to point B in city traffic, both Alto and 800 will take you in same time.... BHP figures dont matter much here... infact if you ask me, i have driven both, but found 800 to be a bit more zippy....

Safety features wise, Alto beats 800... Alto has been rated one of the most safest small indian cars.... so on that front Alto is clearly the winner

Fuel efficiency: expect 800 to have slightly better efficiency ... but dont forget Alto has 5th gear.. so if ur going to drive above 60kmph most of the time, you wont notice much F.E. difference...

all in all, i would recommend Alto... since it is more of a modern car with good safety features and decent fuel economy...

Aditya · 26th December 2004, 11:51

I remember, last year, I accompanied my collegue who wanted to buy a car to a Maruti dealership. The choice was actually predecided - Maruti 800. However, since we had the opportunity, we decided to check out the other products too. The Wagon R was too boxy for his liking and the Zen was outside his budget. But, the Alto LXi, which was a little over 3 Lacs was definitely impressive. That's understandable, because it's 2 generations newer than the 800. Handling, braking, stability, safety, looks, ride, comfort and performance are areas where the Alto well and truly outclasses the old 800. Price and fuel economy wise, the Alto is a little more expensive, but, when you consider the the car's strong points, these two points can be overlooked. If you're not on a tight budget, go straight for the Alto. It's definitely worth the extra cash.

drifter · 26th December 2004, 11:58

The safety aspect alone makes the alto a winner in my opinion.

Drifter

normally_crazy · 26th December 2004, 12:59

Qouting Decite :

[color=red]all in all, i would recommend Alto... since it is more of a modern car with good safety features and decent fuel economy...[/color]

[color=#ff0000][/color]

[color=red]

[/color][color=royalblue]totally[/color]

[color=royalblue]and the alto now with the lowest version sporting a price tag of 2.3 Lacs is awesome VFM !![/color]

[color=royalblue]cheers[/color]

speedsatya · 26th December 2004, 13:46

the ans is pretty obvious.
i dunno why is maruti still continuing with the M800.its simply eating into the Alto sales.
the alto is more modern ,more safe.u can make out the diffrence when u close th doors of both cars.the 'thud'in the alto feels like a more expensive car.
speaking of tech specs---
.alto has 4 valves/cylinder.so definitely the power,torque adn almost every performance fiure will be better than the 2 valve/cylinder M800.
also maybe ,3-4 years down the line,if u want to sell ur car,the alto will have abtter resale value.
go for it.
i thnk the PS equipped Alto wud be abtter buy.

bharatp · 26th December 2004, 15:00

thx for the quick replies.

however, as dceite mentioned, i have heard similar user reviews.

ppl do say that despite the power disadvantage, m800 is faster and also handles much better. this is the point i want to verify and small 10 minute test rides may/may not be enuf to answer it.

becoz if what they say is indeed true, and m800 turns out to be faster, handles better and the already obvious advantages it has (more frugal and cheaper price tag)...it takes out a huge chunk of alto advantage (even tho if mite be safer and 2 generations ahead of the 800).

i do remember seeing an overdrive comparo a long time back. at that point, the 800 beat the alto in all the 4 depts i mentioned...dunno if the position has still changed. opinions?

GTO · 26th December 2004, 17:46

Simply put - Go for the Alto. Compared to the 800, its worth even double the premium more. Its so superior to the 800 that I'd need an entire harddrive to fill up with the benefits.

GTO

speedsatya · 26th December 2004, 17:49

the M800 that beat the alto was one with 4 valves/cylinder.the present M800 has only 2.
the M800 was faster as it had a lower weight advantage.
and dude think of ur reasale value about 4-5 years down the line.forget 4-5 years,even now ,the alto will get a higher rate in the second hand market.

shravan316 · 26th December 2004, 18:55

Go for the Alto........ its much more modern a car..So obvioulsy it is much more advanced in terms of design and safety.

Deeps · 26th December 2004, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by bharatp

thx for the quick replies.

however, as dceite mentioned, i have heard similar user reviews.

ppl do say that despite the power disadvantage, m800 is faster and also handles much better. this is the point i want to verify and small 10 minute test rides may/may not be enuf to answer it.

becoz if what they say is indeed true, and m800 turns out to be faster, handles better and the already obvious advantages it has (more frugal and cheaper price tag)...it takes out a huge chunk of alto advantage (even tho if mite be safer and 2 generations ahead of the 800).

The M800 may be faster in straight line acceleration. But i doubt it'd have superior handling to the alto. All things considered, close ur eyes and pick the alto.

qqplus · 26th December 2004, 21:05

If u ask me, I will say go for M800. Its THE BEST car in its catagory. Alto will give u some more features i agree. But the fuel economy; well, there is no one who can catch up M800. I feel that maruti is unnecessorily substituting alto for 800. Thats it.

mohit · 27th December 2004, 11:48

As an owner of both cars (although the alto in its Vx guise), I can tell you that Alto is the car to go for. Alto Lx may not be as peppy as the 800 but its certainly very very well put together. Maruti is giving you the exact same body shell that its exporting to Europe right now. The fact that in case of a major shunt, driving an alto v/s the 800 might just mean the difference between life and death should put your doubts to rest (God forbid something like this should happen to anyone but there's no harm being safe)

DOHC · 27th December 2004, 18:06

Alto is the Car to go for. The fact that its a car that is atleast two genrations ahead of the 800 tips the scales heavily in its favour. 800 might score only on the FE front
(which might be just be 1 or 0.5 KM IMO) but when you consider safety , build and effectiveness of AC I think Alto is far far ahead of the 800

Choose the Alto , The LXI is the Best bet

Technocrat · 27th December 2004, 20:03

Yeah man go for the Alto the biggest difference part from what others have mentioned are the brakes on Alto which are 100 times better than M800

@Speedsatya : u sure abt the valve thing coz i thot both M800 & Alto Lx share same engine except for the gear box which is 4 gear in M800 & 5 gear in Alto.. pls clarify

26th December 2004, 09:47	#1
bharatp Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: delhi Posts: 2 Thanked: 0 Times	m800 vs alto i am getting a new car but the budget is under 3 lakhs. my options are m800 and alto (ac, non ac doesnt matter) what i want to know is what is better when u comparen m800 std and alto std. there arent any performance figures available for the m800. and the reviews are quite old. the alto has apparently been beefed up. now it has 47bhp as compared to m800's 37. any opinions,reviews on head-to-head?
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 10:46	#2
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,415 Thanked: 2,535 Times	As far as performance is concerned.. if you are going from point A to point B in city traffic, both Alto and 800 will take you in same time.... BHP figures dont matter much here... infact if you ask me, i have driven both, but found 800 to be a bit more zippy.... Safety features wise, Alto beats 800... Alto has been rated one of the most safest small indian cars.... so on that front Alto is clearly the winner Fuel efficiency: expect 800 to have slightly better efficiency ... but dont forget Alto has 5th gear.. so if ur going to drive above 60kmph most of the time, you wont notice much F.E. difference... all in all, i would recommend Alto... since it is more of a modern car with good safety features and decent fuel economy...
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 11:51	#3
Aditya Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 17,830 Thanked: 77,011 Times View My Garage	I remember, last year, I accompanied my collegue who wanted to buy a car to a Maruti dealership. The choice was actually predecided - Maruti 800. However, since we had the opportunity, we decided to check out the other products too. The Wagon R was too boxy for his liking and the Zen was outside his budget. But, the Alto LXi, which was a little over 3 Lacs was definitely impressive. That's understandable, because it's 2 generations newer than the 800. Handling, braking, stability, safety, looks, ride, comfort and performance are areas where the Alto well and truly outclasses the old 800. Price and fuel economy wise, the Alto is a little more expensive, but, when you consider the the car's strong points, these two points can be overlooked. If you're not on a tight budget, go straight for the Alto. It's definitely worth the extra cash.
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 11:58	#4
drifter Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,488 Thanked: 75 Times View My Garage	The safety aspect alone makes the alto a winner in my opinion. Drifter
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 12:59	#5
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 528 Times View My Garage	Qouting Decite : [color=red]all in all, i would recommend Alto... since it is more of a modern car with good safety features and decent fuel economy...[/color] [color=#ff0000][/color] [color=red] [/color][color=royalblue]totally[/color] [color=royalblue]and the alto now with the lowest version sporting a price tag of 2.3 Lacs is awesome VFM !![/color] [color=royalblue]cheers[/color] Last edited by normally_crazy : 26th December 2004 at 13:00.
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 13:46	#6
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	the ans is pretty obvious. i dunno why is maruti still continuing with the M800.its simply eating into the Alto sales. the alto is more modern ,more safe.u can make out the diffrence when u close th doors of both cars.the 'thud'in the alto feels like a more expensive car. speaking of tech specs--- .alto has 4 valves/cylinder.so definitely the power,torque adn almost every performance fiure will be better than the 2 valve/cylinder M800. also maybe ,3-4 years down the line,if u want to sell ur car,the alto will have abtter resale value. go for it. i thnk the PS equipped Alto wud be abtter buy.
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 15:00	#7
bharatp Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: delhi Posts: 2 Thanked: 0 Times	thx for the quick replies. however, as dceite mentioned, i have heard similar user reviews. ppl do say that despite the power disadvantage, m800 is faster and also handles much better. this is the point i want to verify and small 10 minute test rides may/may not be enuf to answer it. becoz if what they say is indeed true, and m800 turns out to be faster, handles better and the already obvious advantages it has (more frugal and cheaper price tag)...it takes out a huge chunk of alto advantage (even tho if mite be safer and 2 generations ahead of the 800). i do remember seeing an overdrive comparo a long time back. at that point, the 800 beat the alto in all the 4 depts i mentioned...dunno if the position has still changed. opinions?
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 17:46	#8
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,501 Thanked: 300,629 Times View My Garage	Simply put - Go for the Alto. Compared to the 800, its worth even double the premium more. Its so superior to the 800 that I'd need an entire harddrive to fill up with the benefits. GTO
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 17:49	#9
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	the M800 that beat the alto was one with 4 valves/cylinder.the present M800 has only 2. the M800 was faster as it had a lower weight advantage. and dude think of ur reasale value about 4-5 years down the line.forget 4-5 years,even now ,the alto will get a higher rate in the second hand market.
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 18:55	#10
shravan316 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,029 Thanked: 9 Times	Go for the Alto........ its much more modern a car..So obvioulsy it is much more advanced in terms of design and safety.
	() Thanks

26th December 2004, 21:05	#12
qqplus BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: India Posts: 103 Thanked: 11 Times	If u ask me, I will say go for M800. Its THE BEST car in its catagory. Alto will give u some more features i agree. But the fuel economy; well, there is no one who can catch up M800. I feel that maruti is unnecessorily substituting alto for 800. Thats it.
	() Thanks

27th December 2004, 11:48	#13
mohit BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Toronto / Kurukshetra Posts: 677 Thanked: 168 Times	As an owner of both cars (although the alto in its Vx guise), I can tell you that Alto is the car to go for. Alto Lx may not be as peppy as the 800 but its certainly very very well put together. Maruti is giving you the exact same body shell that its exporting to Europe right now. The fact that in case of a major shunt, driving an alto v/s the 800 might just mean the difference between life and death should put your doubts to rest (God forbid something like this should happen to anyone but there's no harm being safe)
	() Thanks

27th December 2004, 18:06	#14
DOHC BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: Tokyo - Hyderabad Posts: 50 Thanked: Once	Alto is the Car to go for. The fact that its a car that is atleast two genrations ahead of the 800 tips the scales heavily in its favour. 800 might score only on the FE front (which might be just be 1 or 0.5 KM IMO) but when you consider safety , build and effectiveness of AC I think Alto is far far ahead of the 800 Choose the Alto , The LXI is the Best bet
	() Thanks

27th December 2004, 20:03	#15
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	Yeah man go for the Alto the biggest difference part from what others have mentioned are the brakes on Alto which are 100 times better than M800 @Speedsatya : u sure abt the valve thing coz i thot both M800 & Alto Lx share same engine except for the gear box which is 4 gear in M800 & 5 gear in Alto.. pls clarify
	() Thanks