[Mafia]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I tend to disagree. Both are based on the same platform and are effectively four seaters only. An Alto owner might see the Wagon R as an upgrade, not the A-Star.

But I would not call it's sales figures as "dismal". They are still more than those of the best sellers from, say GM, aren't they?

Not true anymore! Astar sells lees than the Beat or even the Spark.

Thought there are so many design similarities between the A star and the Beat, the Beat is a much better priced and better looking car.

[xingamazon]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I tend to disagree. Both are based on the same platform and are effectively four seaters only. An Alto owner might see the Wagon R as an upgrade, not the A-Star.

But I would not call it's sales figures as "dismal". They are still more than those of the best sellers from, say GM, aren't they?

Hey I guess you mistook my intentions. I am not saying its right, I am saying thats what most of the people think about that product.

For. e.g. one of my uncles was recently looking out for a car, within his budget were WagonR and Estilo, when I mentioend A-Star he mentioned that he is no longer an youth to buy that sort of car. In fact he went on to say that people might make fun of him telling that he is not buying according to his age. I laughed in my heart, but in fact most of the people in end 30s surely see this car like that.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Mafia

The issues i see with the A-star:

Cramped Rear
Lack of head room and small windows
Ugly rear
high Dash
Small car for the price of a mid sized hatch by competition or even more than the Wagon R
The diminutive size has made buyers feel it is an over priced Alto

I quite agree. Perhaps MUL should advertise the A-Star as a replacement of the Alto vxi. Better still, they should bring out a coupe version (2-door). People who buy coupes know quite well that back space will be limited.

Given its good driving dynamics (someone said it is as good as the old Zen), a coupe would be the best strategy.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by Mafia

The issues i see with the A-star:

Cramped Rear
Lack of head room and small windows
Ugly rear
high Dash
Small car for the price of a mid sized hatch by competition or even more than the Wagon R
The diminutive size has made buyers feel it is an over priced Alto

A-Star is one of the sales disasters for Maruti in India. It is surviving only because of exports to UK/Europe as Nissan Pixo. It never did the job it was expected to do, i.e., replace/overtake the Alto.

There was speculation that 1L K series engine will be made to run the Alto, which would have been the best option for Maruti. But, they opted for upgrading the 0.8L G series engine & now they have injector problem in the BS4 Altos's too.

[mpksuhas]

Alto is an entry level car, a post M800 used occupy till few years back. Compared to M800; Alto is better to drive and better looking new model for almost the same price. So a person who was previouly thinking of getting a M800 would opt for Alto. Advantage Maruti.
Now A-Star, even though better than Alto in most if not all category is still a 'Small car' which looks even more tiny and remember its not that cheap. So from a buyers point of view he may go for a Santro,Beat, WagonR and all. Yes all those are in same price category. But what I meant to say its it doesnt have the power to pull customers from its lower/ Upper models since apart from the smooth engine and safety features (which are the two most important features) there is nothing much. And for a regular car buyer its the other things that matter more. Things like boot space, leg space, looks etc.
But A-Star becomes a great second car for city driving and I guess of the around 3.5K cars getting out of Maruti production line major part of buyers is in that category after the exports.

[shortbread]

Suzuki is recalling Alto (A Star) in Europe again, this time due to problems with tail lamps. There is no such recall in India, Strange since I cant find any diff. between the European or Indian Altos.

[shamanth]

How can a two seater car sell well in India (If front guys sit in normal comfortable position, there is absolutely no space in back even to keep legs).

[sunil_k_u]

When Suzuki introduced A Star in the international market as a replacement for its Alto model, it was a released as a new model in Indian market where Alto is still the top selling model.

The high price tag spoiled the show right away. Other reasons mentioned are the cramped interior, lack of boot space etc. One wonder what space are we talking about in a hatch back which is meant to be that way only. The key here is that there are too many competitor's cars out there in the market for a sensible customer to compare feature-by-feature before taking a final decision. In many aspects the competition wins (in terms of interior sapce too, eg: Ford Figo) and A Star clearly lost the race.

[anjan_c2007]

Last heard they are offering a discount of Rs 35 to 40 K on the A Star. Despite the sops,not many new ones are seen on the road.The entry of the Figo, Polo have made things tougher and soon the Nissan Micra's entry may further worsen the A Star sales. MSIL is'nt too worried it appears as that their Wagon R (blue eyed), Estilo (emerged out of its fake Zen hangover ) and now the new Eeco (with the K Series and no longer advertised by the Bachchan family who all were shown travelling once to advertise the older Versa) are collectively doing well and giving the competition a tough time.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Maruti is now up on the docks.

They are just churning out old / dated and cramped like hell cars.

The present Indian consumer is now spoilt for choice, Maruti is no longer the first car when it comes to anyone's mind.

About the A-Star, they (Maruti's) need to stop faking by calling it a 4 seater, the only way they can sell this car is.

1) Make it a 2 door car
2) Get some nice chunky alloys
3) Give it a sports badge


Only then , they can expect some spoilt rich college going kids buy a few to clear their stocks.

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

About the A-Star, they (Maruti's) need to stop faking by calling it a 4 seater, the only way they can sell this car is.

Sir, according to them A-Star is a 5 seater

[Gansan]

I think the numbers are low only by Maruti standards and nothing to be sneezed at. Have a look at this May'10 figures:

Spark : 2812
Beat : 2296
A-Star: 2637

So how come Maruti is considered to be "losing the plot" and GM to be "succeeding"!

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I think the numbers are low only by Maruti standards and nothing to be sneezed at. Have a look at this May'10 figures:

Spark : 2812
Beat : 2296
A-Star: 2637

So how come Maruti is considered to be "losing the plot" and GM to be "succeeding"!

Well, surely you must know the difference in marketing reach between Maruti and GM. 800 odd dealerships vs. 100 or 150 odd. Seen in that light, it's a rather shameful performance isn't it?

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

About the A-Star, they (Maruti's) need to stop faking by calling it a 4 seater, the only way they can sell this car is.

1) Make it a 2 door car
2) Get some nice chunky alloys
3) Give it a sports badge


Only then , they can expect some spoilt rich college going kids buy a few to clear their stocks.

It is very much a 4 seater if an Alto can be called as a 4 seater. The rear is not cramped unless the front seats are pushed all the way back. The rear window does give that cramped feeling when vewed from the outside, but rear seats are higher than the front, so view from the back is fine. Most of the people are put off by the high dashboard than rear space.

Nowadays i see a lot of rich spoilt middle aged college going men buy the AStar for whatever they see in it, sales are better than before. Of course not great by Maruti standards.

[sidd25]

My view about A-Star not a big success is because of looks.
I personally don't find the looks appealing. Just look and the back window, its just too small in size.