Team-BHP - Maruti Alto 800 : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by romeomidhun (Post 2956600)

Yes, GTO is to Team-BHP, is what Maruti is to car industry!

GTO, please don't mistake me on this statement - I was mentioning about the popularity of Maruti among the masses, and nothing else! And this popularity also transforms to the popularity of the thread you are starting.

Reading the news about the new Alto800 bookings flooding Maruti showrooms: I take back my words that "they should continue to sell the old one along with the new one". I was proved wrong in that.

And I wish those sales numbers (and also the way new Swift and WagonR attract sales) give Maruti the confidence to discontinue old models when new ones arrive!

I had a chance to look at the Alto 800 in the blue shade. To me it looks like an eye sore especially in the blue shade. Quality of interiors is better, but space is still a constraint. The seating is too low; after having been in Wagon R, SX4 and Ertiga, this is very difficult to get in and out. Overall,I did not find it any more exciting than the previous Alto 800.

In the November issue of Overdrive they have reviewed the Alto 800. They are saying ABS & Airbags are options on the top model, while our review says that only Airbags are an option.

Can anyone clarify this ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by quadbike (Post 2956825)

They are saying ABS & Airbags are options on the top model, while our review says that only Airbags are an option.

Can anyone clarify this ?

There is NO ABS on any of the Alto 800 variants and only the top variant comes with 1 Driver Airbag as an option (not 2 'airbags'). For more details kindly refer to company website here - http://www.marutisuzukialto800.com/

What is the power for the CNG variant or how much has the kerb weight gone up. I dont find this info in the opening post neither on the Muruti site.

Considering a power (max hp) loss and the weight addition, I think the power to weight ratio is going to go down by 20+ % for sure. This should be easily felt. Maybe thats the reason Maruti is not providing the CNG for a full review.

As posted by multiple people, WagonR CNG at < 50k more OTR makes wayyy more sense.

Fantastic creation by Maruti. Personally I think the styling is hitting the sweet spot...not funky like the Beat and Eon and not bland/generic like the old 800.

THe K10 motor cannot be squeezed into the A800. Remember they have to lengthen the nose to make it fit and thus created the Alto K10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mpower (Post 2957370)

Fantastic creation by Maruti. Personally I think the styling is hitting the sweet spot...not funky like the Beat and Eon and not bland/generic like the old 800.

I think you expressed exactly what I thought about this car. The perceived "ugliness" of the car IMHO is nothing but not being used to this. Remember, most of us didn't like the original Swift when it was launched?

This looks like it was thrown together in a hurry. Looks more like a startled reaction to the Eon. Where did they lift that front of from, the Figo and/or the new i10/Eon? The side profile looks a bit A-Starish but the back seems weird in some areas. Or maybe it's just the puny tyres that are killing the looks.

It just looks weird in some sense. Not good considering that this is the largest selling hatchback in the country. Dole out enough of these bugs month on month to our blind Maruti loving nation and one will easily start to get tired of these cockroaches running around :).

Well at least they've managed to keep the quality levels as bad as the recent Altos so we know that they've not forgotten everything they're known for.

I think they've gone a bit too far by reducing the rear legroom even more. Looks like they did not learn their lesson from the A-Star. I think many folks might opt for the K10 if this sold along with the new Alto 800.

When the Alto was first launched in Maruti (I mean the 'ALTO' brand name, not the Maruti 800 :) ), it looked ungainly - especially compared to the chic Zen and M800.

Now that one looks much better compared to new Alto800. May be something else will come along in future which will make this one beautiful!

Quote:

Originally Posted by subratasenn

The perceived "ugliness" of the car IMHO is nothing but not being used to this. Remember, most of us didn't like the original Swift when it was launched?

Exactly. It grows on you, once you've been with it for long enough. The new Dzire CS also had the same effect on me (although THAT car is still on the negative side of the looks scale for me - just that after seeing so many, it has somehow gone from "eew, eeks!" to "alright, not so bad" in my books). Maruti cars I feel tend to be like that. Their design philosophy it seems works on sheer familiarity, not on outright beauty. :-)

The New Alto 800 ad from Maruti today, published in several dailies in Kolkata (must be in other cities too) says: the New Alto is being booked every minute. A record breaking 38,792 bookings in 3 weeks.

I think this figure settles all issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vivek Jayan (Post 2959715)

Is it just me or does anyone else feel the new Alto's front grille looks too much like that of the Ford Figo's?

Did you get a chance to go through the entire thread?

Almost all the 'postees' had mentioned about it. Wonder why didn't you see it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by manij (Post 2954688)

4) Will probably need to fit in the extra rear bumper guard/bull bar to prevent damage to the rear considering low rear bumper overhang. Good business potential here, I guess.

Yes, but Ford is doing this business better than Maruti, using Figo! Its hatch door bulges out than the rear bumper!

The Alto 800 LXi cost 3.88 lacs on road in Bangalore and does not come with two ORVMs. Shocking to say the least.

Not convinced with the build of this car. But all I see is people are queing up to buy it for the sake of fuel efficiency and tight budget.