[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Kpzonwheels

Brakes on my alto is feeling spongy. The pedal travel is very long and it only have bite in the lower end. It has run only 2000 kms. Car is only one and half months old. What would be the problem?? Can anyone using alto BS6 model comment on their brake pedal travel and bite

Bleed the brakes and see. On my XL6, brake feel is awesome but on the S Cross, it was very spongy. Got it fixed at a known FNG since dealer workshops were busy with deliveries and fixing accessories.

Regards,
Shashi

[Kpzonwheels]

Brake feel in our baleno is also good but in alto, it is outright spongy. Yeah, dealer workshops are very busy these days, I should go there early morning itself inorder to get their attention.

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Bleed the brakes and see. On my XL6, brake feel is awesome but on the S Cross, it was very spongy. Got it fixed at a known FNG since dealer workshops were busy with deliveries and fixing accessories.

Regards,
Shashi

[KPR]

Brought home last Friday a Red VXI Alto 800 in BS6 avatar. The selection of this car is detailed here in this post of mine.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-...ml#post5056043 (Punto 90HP replacement | Ford EcoSport vs Maruti S-Cross)

Few images of the car








Take door delivery of the car like a courier parcel as compared to 2009 where I had to take a day off from my work for the occasion.



Thanks to all posts in this thread. I've changed to Wagon R IRVM and fitted cabin filter immediately post delivery. Also I did a DIY installation of my old coaxial speakers in rear parcel tray. The car is real fun to work with

[KPR]

Updating my BS6 Alto experience here:

After I had taken delivery of my Alto 800 in last week of May’21, lockdown was imposed here in TN from beginning of 2nd week of April ’21. I had utilised this time to carry out few DIY projects in this little car to keep myself engaged in car hobby.
1. I had installed a pair of LED strips as foot well lights first in white colour and then changed them to Orange colour. Both the images are attached for reference.


I liked the illumination of orange.


2. My BIL had a pair of Alpine co-axial speakers lying idle at his home. So lifted them before lockdown itself and installed them in the rear parcel tray of Alto. Here I would like to thank fellow BHPian @Reinhard for his very useful thread.https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...ml#post4842827 (DIY - ICE ICE Baby! Audio System Revamp in my Alto K10).
As explained in the above thread I had plugged the rear speaker wires to the OEM socket using matchstick wood. The trick is working really well.

3. My family always wanted VXI+ that came with touchscreen system. But when I was purchasing Alto, VXI+ model was not available in stock with any of the nearby dealers. So I had to select the VXI model. In first week of June ’21 I had installed a 9” android touchscreen system with reverse camera fulfilling family’s wish. This system gives great output to speakers than the stock Nippon system. Cost to the pocket was around INR 11K. Image of the setup is attached below:



The first free service (1 month or 1000km whichever is earlier) was carried out at nearby ABT Maruti Arena with a lockdown delay of 15 days. Odometer was at 836 km. Except change of engine oil (5W30) this service is merely a check-up. Total cost for first service was ₹1398/-.

As of now the Alto MID reads 980 KM on ODO. Here are my views on this humble Alto:

Positives
- First point to clarify here to all those who have owned/driven Alto before is that BS6 Alto pulls easily with AC in full 4 point fan speed with 3 full grown adults, a 9 year old kid occupied in the car. Surprise!!! Thanks to BS6 tuning on F8D engine done by MS. Those engineers deserve a raise.
- Dual Airbags + ABS is a welcome addition to safety.
- 0 to 70-80 kmph is absolute bliss in this car.
- Short dimension of the car makes it proper city runabout and can confidently go in and out of traffic, gaps at any given time.
- Presumed to have the cheapest maintenance cost among all 4 wheelers sold in India.
- Spot on ergonomics for driver.
- Stock Headlight throw is very good for this puny car. This is missing in many old / new cars costing 3–4 times more than than Alto.
- Abuse friendly! It is an Alto! No parking for car under shade? No Problem.
- Easy to fiddle with my DIYs unlike the other car at home viz., Punto.

Negatives (some consideration given for the budget price yet few negatives that needed to be listed here)
- Built to price for what we pay for. Misses like manual dimming of IVRM, AC cabin filter, rear power windows.
- Poor/Spongy brakes.
- Boot space is minimum.
- Lack of rear space which competition like Kwid, Redi-Go offer. Best suitable for 2 adults in front and maybe two small kids in the rear.
- No space for storing even 500 ml water bottles in door pockets.

Overall I would say that I’m happy about the small footprint of this car. It does the job of within city driving with aplomb.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by KPR

So lifted them before lockdown itself and installed them in the rear parcel tray of Alto. Here I would like to thank fellow BHPian @Reinhard for his very useful thread.
As explained in the above thread I had plugged the rear speaker wires to the OEM socket using matchstick wood. The trick is working really well.
In first week of June ’21 I had installed a 9” android touchscreen system with reverse camera fulfilling family’s wish. This system gives great output to speakers than the stock Nippon system.

Hey - thats really a neat result! I hope you enjoy it a lot. Its definitely worth the money spent & some. I'm glad the thread was of useful reference. Makes the effort worthwhile!
For the surrounding edge of the new head unit - you can order an EL wire with inverter and install it in those surrounding edges. I have installed it & the ice blue ambient lighting looks rather neat in dark. Definitely punches well above what an Alto is expected to have . Also fills up any potential panel gaps well. Here is a sample video I made -

EL wire ambient light in Alto K10

Originally Posted by KPR

- Stock Headlight throw is very good for this puny car. This is missing in many old / new cars costing 3–4 times more than than Alto.

Then HID projector fog lights should be your next DIY . I have a thread for that as well, you can look it up. Quite easy in the Alto again.

Originally Posted by KPR

- Built to price for what we pay for. Misses like manual dimming of IVRM, AC cabin filter, rear power windows.

Yes quite a bummer this. You can order the WagonR F10's flip-type IRVM and install it in place of the stock one. Its a straight fit. I have done this & its a very useful mod. I have also replaced the cabin light with LED while at it.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Makes the effort worthwhile!
For the surrounding edge of the new head unit - you can order an EL wire with inverter and install it in those surrounding edges. I have installed it & the ice blue ambient lighting looks rather neat in dark. Definitely punches well above what an Alto is expected to have . Also fills up any potential panel gaps well.

Thanks for the idea. It looks cool.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Then HID projector fog lights should be your next DIY . I have a thread for that as well, you can look it up. Quite easy in the Alto again.

There is a catch here. If you see the front bumper of BS6 facelifted Alto it has rectangular spot for fog lamps . There are few after market DRLs and fog lights available in amazon but I'm not interested much in them. Considering the mostly within city drives, currently I'm happy with stock HL throw in Alto. I will wait/explore further until I see a decent HID projectors for this car.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Yes quite a bummer this. You can order the WagonR F10's flip-type IRVM and install it in place of the stock one. Its a straight fit. I have done this & its a very useful mod. I have also replaced the cabin light with LED while at it.

Thanks to this official review thread and member's posts here. I've replaced IVRM with wagon R's alongwith cabin air filter on the very next day of delivery. Next on pipe line should be installation of decent component speakers for the front.

Update on Alto:
Meanwhile the car has run about 1400 KM on ODO. Last tank full mileage was close to 14.5 kmpl. Alto is fun to drive and super fun to squeeze and park in tight places like a boss.

Few more points on the car:
- Gear slotting is just perfect. No rubbery feel at all.
- AC is a chiller for sure. Given hot climate here at TN the AC chills the cabin within 2 mins.
- I'm more inclined to take Alto over my bike for all local errands given it's compactness. The day is not too far I may altogether give up riding my TB500 as I'm not doing any long rides in that.

[KPR]

5000 Km on the ODO update:

Within 200 days of purchase the car has done local runs of about of 4986 km on the ODO. Now it's time for free 5K inspection / service which I'm planning to do this week at Arena. The car has undergone the following DIYs:

1. Installation of JBL GTO 609C components for the front purchased at ~₹6500 during amazon sale.
2. Sound deadening using sound mats from front doors, rear boot. Consumed about 3 sheets of Vibrofiltr mats.
3. After market steering controls for the android unit at ₹2000.

I must say that 1 & 2 have transformed ICE to another level.
3 is also a much needed addition. The device is sturdy and gels well as if like OEM one.



Now coming to the performance of car:
No doubt that the car fits in Indian city traffic chaos like a boss. Power on tap, precise steering for city, very good all round visibility are the positives. Currently it returns a mileage of 13.5 KMPL as per tankful method in city conditions which is neutral. Negative is the suspension or head nod that I get from this Alto in sudden swerves, potholed roads which isn't great. Again no complaints here as the car is the cheapest new one sold in our country and the suspension system is built for cost. The car is definitely not meant for highway drives for sure.

On many days I had to park the car in open sun, rain, dust and in a rat-menace parking lot . Every time this car gave me a sense of satisfaction despite the open parking abuses it took.

Anything bigger than Alto in foot print simply overkills the beater car purpose for me. Every bigger car in city underestimate Alto and try to abuse in traffic from behind. But this little boy comes out as a clear winner. Simply steer the Alto behind an Auto and you're good to go and all other "SUV" drivers can only watch you disappear.

Edit: The car's AC is such a chiller that I get shivers to write about it. Truly a fan of new Alto's bone chilling AC even at 1 speed level in knob!

[KPR]

5K service (or rather inspection) was done at MASS Arena showroom near my home last Sunday. Company asked for taking up WA / WB for which I said I will get it done outside. I said them not to put cable ties to my car's wheel caps and charge ₹10x4=₹40+GST in my bill. Typical Maruti . They had charged some hygiene fee of ₹175 + taxes. Overall bill was ₹208/-
I couldn't see any difference other than cleaned interiors and exteriors which cannot be named as hygiene fee for sure as I smelled no sanitiser either.

Other points:

1. Planning to install 100/130W Hella Relay and put in Philips essential vision 90/100 bulbs that were removed last week from my other car.
2. JBL from Components are slowly getting better. Deadening is the key for very good output.
3. I'm back to stock system as the output and mic qualities from stock system are quite nice as compared to Android one.


Few pictures of DIY deadening that I've done using Vibrofiltr mats.






Considering rainy days since last fortnight here in TN, I'm enjoying Alto to the core. Be it early morning badminton drives or office drives or grocery runs I'm using this car only as it is raining everyday here like cats and dogs. The car is mostly driven by me with no other occupant. I enjoy the low slung relaxed seating position in this car.

One more weird stuff I had noticed is that parking staff/security are super helpful if they see an Alto . Twice I've been lucky to squeeze into some space which looked like security's waiting area in a famous restaurant in my town. It should be pity or feel good about such small unintimidating car.

[stallmaster]

A nice tribute to the 2nd most sold car ever in India.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRJqv7gpXUs

[docmoya2007]

Originally Posted by KPR

Within 200 days of purchase the car has done local runs of about of 4986 km on the ODO.


No doubt that the car fits in Indian city traffic chaos like a boss. Power on tap, precise steering for city, very good all round visibility are the positives.

On many days I had to park the car in open sun, rain, dust and in a rat-menace parking lot . Every time this car gave me a sense of satisfaction despite the open parking abuses it took.

Anything bigger than Alto in foot print simply overkills the beater car purpose for me.

The car's AC is such a chiller that I get shivers to write about it.

I can relate to the many things you said about the car. I too owned the 2017 Alto 800. And it's been a hassle free experience, ever since.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The biggest area of improvement is the peppier bottom end. The Alto's earlier jerkiness is nearly gone, and the engine feels livelier at low speeds.

The motor is sufficiently smooth at low revvs.

The Alto is agile and a lot of fun to throw around at low - mid speeds.

The torque and power delivery at low revs is a BIG decider for me. Living in the hilly terrain of Mizoram, where you sometimes have to climb at an inclined roads of about 45 degrees or more with full passengers, with not much runway space to speed up, the power at low revs is unimaginable for such a small car. It can easily climb where modern segment B hatches struggle to climb with full passengers.

Another bonus is the resale value. You will get exactly it's worth in price if you ever decide to sell your Alto 800.

Here is a small tribute video to the common man's dream machine of India.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FSvsdARkxg&t=117s

And yes, the stock exhaust sound is bad ass too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urphRmICmB4&t=158s

[anoop.u]

Originally Posted by docmoya2007

... And yes, the stock exhaust sound is bad ass too!..

Kapu, Chhelo ve.

Entirely stock or muffler delete?

[docmoya2007]

Originally Posted by anoop.u

Kapu, Chhelo ve.

Entirely stock or muffler delete?

Thanks. Entirely stock. As mentioned in the video, I stuck the lavalier microphone on the rear bumper just near the exhaust tip.

[BoneCollector]

I don't know if it's reported on the forum but Alto 800 gets the Smartplay Studio in its VXi+ variant. The only difference between VXi and VXi+ is the Smartplay Studio although reverse camera is missing. No idea when VXi+ was launched

Alto_Brand_Brochure.pdf

[KPR]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I don't know if it's reported on the forum but Alto 800 gets the Smartplay Studio in its VXi+ variant. The only difference between VXi and VXi+ is the Smartplay Studio although reverse camera is missing. No idea when VXi+ was launched

Yes it was launched in BS6 Alto under VXi+. I had bought a VXi in 2021. In fact the touch system becomes useless without steering mounted controls. I would anyday recommend VXi system that has physical buttons to attend calls, control music volume, source etc., Touchscreen is a welcome addition at just 25k more. I haven't seen one yet at Arena.

Meanwhile my Red boy has run ~9500km on the ODO in 360 days. The car is used almost everyday by me or by my wife. We have one behind another type of parking space. So we get to drive Alto or Punto randomly. Given frequent start-stops, traffic drives we get a mileage around 14 kmpl in tankful to tankful method for both F8D and MJD90 . Further add-ons that I've done to Alto are:
1. JVC KD X-472BT in place of stock music system. The JVC is a feature rich single din system with excellent Bluetooth connectivity and mic quality during audio calls. Several audio controls to play with until we get best out of speakers and woofer.
2. JBL 1000 watts boot sub woofer that was lying idle at home.

I'm more than happy with the output from above system, woofer, rear Alpine coaxials and front JBL GTO components.

[KPR]

15 months completed since I brought Alto home. ODO stands at ~12000 km. Car is running almost everyday for minimum 10km and maximum upto 50km with no issues. Some observations:

- No rattles.
- AC is a charm.
- Steering returns to center as it has a different setup I think.
- Steering has some weight unlike Ignis and so Alto feels more connected to road. Other car we use is Punto which has one of the best HPS steering. So this feedback for Alto comes from our Punto experience.
- Undulated road disturbs the car stability. Need to drive a bit slow there.
- Despite above point suspension is quite satisfactory.
- Gear box, clutch and engine combination is simply the best.
- Gear box is so sharp and perfect slotting type is a delight to operate. No rubbery feel at all.
- The small wheel base of Alto keeps the car so tight while driving in and out of traffic with some speed and accuracy.
- With more and more electronics among cars sold in market today, I like this simple, no nonsense, robust mechanicals of Alto.


Other expenditure:
- 10k km service was done in April 22. Costed me ₹2700 or so. No complaints with car and service as usual was great. MS is king when it comes to service.
- I had installed an after market TPMS to monitor the tyre pressure. It costed me ₹2550 for internal / dashboard mounted type. Fitting charge was ₹500 at a nearby tyre shop.
- Insurance renewed for own damage, zero dep and return to invoice as add ons at ₹5519.



I had installed a JVC KD-X472BT player (Costed me ₹6500 including installation). One of the best among single dins currently sold in market. 5 Phones can be connected via BT to stream music, 2 phones can be connected for talking via BT. Mic quality is excellent unlike Android players and some OEM players. Choice of Light colours, EQ settings, DTA settings, selecting HPF LPF to speakers and woofers and what not! True VFM player.