[Surprise]

One of my colleague wants to buy a small car

This car is only for local use. He's focussed on FE, Low Maintenance.

He had two cars in his mind - M800 A/c and Alto LX.

There is a price difference of 70k between these two cars. Clear cut differences are New looks, M800 comes with a 4 gear and Alto LX comes with a 5 gear, AC is more effective in Alto, M800 gives better mileage to a marginal extent.

How does Maruti substantiate this difference of 70K. Which car do you recommend out of this both. Is it really worth putting that 70K extra and going for ALTO LX.

Please help.

[RX135]

Surprise, Alto is newer and better designed car. Security wise, it should be superior to 800. Alto "should" be more spacious than 800, but I may be clearly wrong.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by RX135

Surprise, Alto is newer and better designed car. Security wise, it should be superior to 800. Alto "should" be more spacious than 800, but I may be clearly wrong.

Even my mind vote for ALTO. One of my other friend is suggesting for Maruti for the purchaser (who is clueless).

His point is to substantiate the price diff of 70k.

I felt the inside space of ALTO better than M800, he shows me the brochure where the diff is hardly in few mm's.

[DCEite]

There is not much too chose between the two cars as far as Performance, Interior space and Fuel efficiency is concerned (although 800 may give slightly better FE)..

The difference is the design and safety issues.. Alto is as safe as any small car.. (infact better than Santro, Zen).. you ll know what i mean when you shut those front doors which give a good "thud".. its a more modern car, with better quality of equipments as well...

[aggressive_anush]

I think almost everyone on this forum would recommend an alto over an M800 anyday.
Do correct me if i am wrong but I think the M800 is a 2 generations old alto.
I drove an Alto recently and was surprised at how much better built it was than i expected. This is in comparison to the M800 and the Zen.
It felt more spacious inside also.. but as you said there seems to be hardly a few mm difference.
But absolutely everything about the alto seemed superior to the M800 or even the Zen.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by dceite

Alto is as safe as any small car.. (infact better than Santro, Zen).. you ll know what i mean when you shut those front doors which give a good "thud".. its a more modern car, with better quality of equipments as well...

Is it an assumption that being a modern car it's more safer than M800, Pls help with the above point.

Sales guys simply said, M800 is a 4 gear car & Alto is a 5 gear car, that's it. Okay for them it's a MARUTI PRODUCT

Since Alto has got a wider tryes 145/80 instead of 145/70 with Maruti, it does mean that ALTO has better road grip than 800?

[GTO - Touring]

Surprise,

I remember seeing the difference of the a/c 800 versus the Alto and there certainly was NOT a 70,000 difference in price.

Either ways, the Alto is more than two decades a newer design. It is far superior to the 800 in ride, safety, quality and almost every other parameter.

Alto - Its a no brainer

GTO

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Surprise,

I remember seeing the difference of the a/c 800 versus the Alto and there certainly was NOT a 70,000 difference in price.

GTO

It's not exactly at 70k figure.

ALTO LX

Ex-Showroom price (Chennai) - 2,83,303/-, Insurance-9,963/- Registration and Life time tax - 21,680/-, 50% off on Insurance cost- (4981) Total cost: 3,09,965/-


Maruti 800 AC
Total Cost - 2,56,000/-. Since they offer a 100% free insurance, it will cost around 2,47,500/-

Hence the difference is 62,465/-

I guess this difference is worth for the word safety alone. By anyway is this provable (without performing )

Also I need a clarification- Is there a car (A) which has more inside space compared to a car(B) which has got more width and length in specs.

( Is that dimension of the cars directly reflect on the inside space comfort or it's the way the car is designed)

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by Surprise

I guess this difference is worth for the word safety alone. By anyway is this provable (without performing )

I think Alto scored 3.5 or 4 (not sure of the exact figure) in Euro Ncap ratings...

Originally Posted by Surprise

Also I need a clarification- Is there a car (A) which has more inside space compared to a car(B) which has got more width and length in specs.

( Is that dimension of the cars directly reflect on the inside space comfort or it's the way the car is designed)

Swift comes to mind... got more width than Getz or Palio, but lesser inside space... all because of the design issues..

[cnu]

Surprise,

It has to be Alto. Though the interior space of Alto is marginally more than 800, the performance of Alto is much better than 800. This gives better drivability. Alto has a peak power of 47 bhp at 6200 rpm, while 800 does 37 bhp at 5000 rpm. The AC is also much better in Alto compared to 800. Plus you have the additional security features in Alto.

I have been driving 800 for 5 years and Alto for the last 6 months. Its worth paying that extra amount for Alto.

Cheers
cnu

[turbo_lover]

I'd say the Alto LX is thebest bet ..

the same engine lets out more horses 47 ..
Has a 5 speed ,newer instrumentation and better safety features and a powerful Air Con...
better resale and its the highest selling vehicle in india ..

[adya33]

Alto anyday


as for the FE
I have June 2005 ACI issue in my hand & according to the new 800 review

"800 is no longer the class leader it easily once was."

" The 800 is not as fuel efficient as the Alto & looses out to its heavier sibling both in the city and on highway"

[Buffetfan]

I had also an alto with me for abt 6 months...the AC is miles ahead of the 800...even in peak summer @ 45 deg + we did not use a sun film even with 5 persons on board...Same is the ride whcih is ages ahead of the 800

On the other hand, the Maruti felt more handy to drive possibly because of the higher curb weight of the Alto...which required a shift too many.

So if it is convenience and hilly areas...maybe 800 since you require less shifts in the car...and the AC is good enuf for 2 persons on board.....for all other purposes it is the Alto...of course the 70k difference cannot be ignored and teh additional value is to be seen in tha tperspective.
Perfer the Lxi though since the steering is a bit heavy in Lx (maybe twice as hard as an 800)

[Surprise]

Thanks guys for your inputs on this.

I had pointed him about SAFETY (In reveiws I had read that Alto's C Pillars are much stronger), 5 gear, marginally better inside space, modern car, handling etc

The purchaser feels that it's not worth 70k extra

Wish him not to regret after his decision to M800 considering the marginal diff of 62K.

[BUSA]

Has to be alto. It has a different gearbox as well. Its 5 speed wheras the 800 only 4. Better FE from Alto as well as better performance. Has to be ALTO! 800 is going to close one day, and the Alto LX will take over!