[IronH4WK]

that is one ugly car! A-star on the front and a marriage of Alto and the WagonR at the rear with bit of Omni in the middle! jeez!

[romeomidhun]

The problem with this japanese alto is that it is just 1475mm in width, while our a-star is 1600mm wide. Introducing this car here as new a-star will spoil its stable highway manners.

[architect]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

The problem with this japanese alto is that it is just 1475mm in width, while our a-star is 1600mm wide. Introducing this car here as new a-star will spoil its stable highway manners.

That's because the JDM Alto is a 'Kei' car, enjoying lower taxes by being below 1,500 mm in width, while the A-star was designed for the European market with no such restrictions. Too bad about the rear seat of the A-Star, though.

[gitartha]

REAR SEAT !! Unless you are in a scenerio where you have aged parents/teenaged children staying with you or you are making a living as a taxi operator, a rear seat is always where you dump your shopping or your junk. IMHO a good "drivers" car is never meant to be chauffeured around in, ever seen the rear seat in a porshe 911 or a ferrari california. Yeah I guess that this is too superlative a comparison, but the fact is I still rank the ASTAR as the next best thing to drive after the swift (among hatchbacks, obviously). Nothing that the road throws at it ever seems to unsettle it. The road manners and the front seat room is simply superlative in comparison to an i-10 or a Beat or even a WagonR. And you know what, the front view of the ASTAR actually resembles a Porsche

[HammerHead]

Looks like grownup Astar! Which is good IMO.
Where will they place it? Between Alto K10 & Astar? I would be happy if they replace Estilo with this one.

[rock75]

I reckon this would do well in india if priced correctly. It seems spacious and practical and odd designs have worked out for Maruti, like wagon R. They can bring it to replace Alto K10 or Estilo.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by architect

That's because the JDM Alto is a 'Kei' car, enjoying lower taxes by being below 1,500 mm in width, while the A-star was designed for the European market with no such restrictions. Too bad about the rear seat of the A-Star, though.

Yes. But Maruti, please! Please don't reduce the width or increase the height of A-Star and destroy its handling capabilities for the purpose of cutting cost by introducing Japanese Alto as it is. Why you need so many tall boys in your line-up? Keep its height and width the same as current one, increase length by another 200mm (100mm each for rear seat and boot). Don't you need another game-changer like Swift?

[architect]

Originally Posted by gitartha

REAR SEAT !! ......but the fact is I still rank the ASTAR as the next best thing to drive after the swift (among hatchbacks, obviously).

If the Alto can sell thousands of units a month with that rear seat, so can an A-star. Agreed it is not a roaring success by MSIL standards but it is outselling the Punto!

[abhi413]

This car is internally codenamed the YE3. Currently trials are on at Maruti's Gurgaon plant. This car has been under development for India since last October. I am made to understand that this is an Alto replacement (New Alto), and not the replacement of the Estilo (unfortunately) or A-Star (no way!). Bluntly put, it will take on the Eon in the market and sport the K-series engine.
[Source: Some contacts at MSIL]

[indivic]

Originally Posted by abhi413

This car is internally codenamed the YE3. Currently trials are on at Maruti's Gurgaon plant. This car has been under development for India since last October. I am made to understand that this is an Alto replacement (New Alto), and not the replacement of the Estilo (unfortunately) or A-Star (no way!). Bluntly put, it will take on the Eon in the market and sport the K-series engine.
[Source: Some contacts at MSIL]

Any idea about the launch ?

[jimmzbond]

Originally Posted by indivic

Any idea about the launch ?

I am also interested. Wife wants to book Alto this month, and there are discounts of about 20K+, but i was wondering it will impact resale value.

If this is getting launched in 2 months, i can ask her to wait, nahi to need to book this in 1st week of January only.

[romeomidhun]

I think the car in question is the Japanese Alto which is brought to India by Maruti for developing the new car mentioned in http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...uti-800-a.html

Once the development stage was over, they may have sold it to some Maruti internals...

[sharath1234]

Hey guys , I spotted camouflaged Maruti today on M.G Road . It had a temp Gujarat registration number plate and some Japanese people were sitting inside the car. , it was following a Maruti A-Star .

Sorry no pics .

[yogesh.janghel]

Originally Posted by sharath1234

Hey guys , I spotted camouflaged Maruti today on M.G Road . It had a temp Gujarat registration number plate and some Japanese people were sitting inside the car. , it was following a Maruti A-Star .

Sorry no pics .

Hi Sharath
I also saw one, having 3 rows. I didnt notice the number.Only front and back were covered, the middle part was spotted with blue dots. Saw it in whitefield.

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by abhi413

This car is internally codenamed the YE3. Currently trials are on at Maruti's Gurgaon plant. This car has been under development for India since last October. I am made to understand that this is an Alto replacement (New Alto), and not the replacement of the Estilo (unfortunately) or A-Star (no way!). Bluntly put, it will take on the Eon in the market and sport the K-series engine.
[Source: Some contacts at MSIL]

The YE3 is / was supposed to be the replacement for the M800 and not the Alto. It was supposed to be designed from scratch by Maruti engineers at their R&D facility here in India to keep costs in check with inputs from Suzuki Japan. If this is indeed the YE3, then a lot has changed from the original plan.

Pulling the plug on the current Alto is highly unlikely in the current situation. What they need is a replacement for the M 800 which is likely to end its glorious run by March 2012. If this is indeed the YE3, then the current Alto might see some drop in prices closer to current M 800 levels and the YE3 might take the current Alto's position (head on with the Eon).