Team-BHP - Maruti Alto K10 : Official Review

Great Review!! Five stars for sure!!!

I like the looks of the older K10 better. The new one will sure be mistaken for the Alto 800, and would lose its identity. Good job by Maruti to make the K10 logo bigger than the Alto. I own the old K10 and have lost count of how many times I have explained to people that the k10 is a far more powerful and different car than the Alto 800. I use to own a Maruti 800 earlier and I should know the difference :)

I would also take those claimed mileage figures with a pinch of salt. The old K10 isn't really a very fuel efficient car (though not too bad either).

Excellent review. Thank you very much. Rated 5 stars.

Happened to see a car in Red today, I thought it looked quite good. Looking at the difference in paint color between the body and the bumper, I had assumed the owner had got the bumper painted (after buying a version with unpainted bumper) -thanks for the info that this (differing matt finish paint on the bumper) is actually factory fit.

I understand the 2010 K10 feels more planted and confidence inspiring at higher speeds, I guess that is a price to pay for more vertical space.

lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2!!! (Post 3594894)

The brake pedal felt better than the Alto 800...it isn't as spongy. Braking is at par with its competitors. Translated, it will do the job with a regular driving style, but isn't suited to hard driving. Considering that Maruti is offering an optional airbag & automatic transmission on the Alto, ABS should've been on the list too. The thin tyres are prone to locking easily under emergency braking conditions.

160 mm of ground clearance is the same as before. Due to its short wheelbase, usable ground clearance is sufficient. Owners of the ol' Alto never complained of scraping either:

Wrong! My 1st gen Alto K10 has scraped quite a few humps with 4 people onboard - Its not the ground clearance per say but the softer suspension to blame. The extra load causes the soft suspension to compress more, resulting in the underbelly scraping (or gently kissing) a badly designed road hump. The same softer suspension makes the ride on potholed city roads bearable, but causes significant body roll while taking sharp turns, or on ramp exits/entries with a bend. Necessary Evil Perhaps?

The current K10 too has very (just below) average braking. Braking has a really "soapy" feel to it, specially when you want to stop suddenly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2!!! (Post 3594896)

Other Points:
• Rattles are part of standard equipment. Both our test cars (MT & AMT) had some rattles from the doors. These examples had <2,000 kms on the odometer!

I have some rattling issues on my K10 too. I am very much interested to know how well the doors on the new K10 close. I have never been successful in getting the doors shut in one go on my K10. Push it too hard and it creates a big sound (though latching correctly) and push it gently and it latches half way. Open the door again and push it in with a stiffer nudge! I am really keen to know if Maruti has corrected this issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2!!! (Post 3594899)

The petrol Alto K10 has a PSI recommendation of 35 while the Alto CNG has it at 32 PSI:

Hmmmm interesting indeed. I have the same stock tires of the same specification on my 1st gen K10 and the recommended pressure is 32PSI. Am now starting to think whether they are playing it smart by bumping up the pressure to gain that extra km/litre mileage. I am now tempted to go in for 35 PSI on my 1gen K10 too! I'm aware it will result in faster (and uneven) tire wear and the suspension will take a beating ... may be just for the one fueling cycle, to see if it improves mileage in any way! :D

Brilliant review.

Baring the body shell complaints, this is a wonderful package at this price point.

I would suggest to keep out Wagon R and Spark out of its chief competitors. They are a level above both from refinement as well as packaging perspective.
Datsun Go doesn't even come close to a Maruti or Hyundai reliability :uncontrol. So keep that aside too.
Eon and Celerio should be the chief competitor, considering Santro is no longer sold.

Overall, providing an AMT for the masses is a big thing, and Maruti has done it. :thumbs up

Excellent review!

I am already an owner of the AMT. This is my first car and here are my observations.

The noise insulation is below average. It doesn't shut off the outside world like premium cars do. The engine noise is fairly audible too. Not a comfortable ride sound-wise.
The paint quality is really poor as pointed out in this review. Initially, from a distance, I was sold on the tango orange colour until I saw it from close. With such poor paint work the orange looked tacky. The shoddy paint job wasn't that apparent in the silver and white colours - I settled for white.
The car does look good. Much more contemporary than its predecessor, while not too quirky. Somehow I hated the side body molding and felt glad the AMT came without it. The concave bonnet looks great, as do the headlamps. On the day of delivery, I realized the side profile looks great as well - with the sidelines.
Something is really wrong with the wheel arches. A lot of vehicle parts could be seen through them while we were seating in the showroom.
The interiors have been really spruced up. Dashboard looks premium - really well designed, I say this even after I am a fan of Hyundai car interiors. Seats are not really comfortable. A family member who is on the heavier side said riding this car will be an ordeal. But those with a slight frame won't complain.
While I miss the cupholder in the AMT, the rear bottle holder is something I am pleased to see.
Tomorrow morning I will check if I was given the extra H4 lamps and whether the RFID shielf is there on the windscreen!

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2!!! (Post 3594891)

Hill starts require that you use the correct procedure in order to minimize rollback. There's even a sticker on the driver's door advising you to use the handbrake to aid starting on an incline. When starting off on a hill, switching your foot immediately from the brake to accelerator will result in the car rolling back....before it engages the clutch and moves forward. On a steep hill, the car can roll back as much as 3 feet before moving forward. It's dangerous, and also bad for the clutch in terms of wear & tear and overheating. In fact, there's a special 'transaxle overheating' warning light just for this. Thus, it's best to use the parking brake when starting off on an incline. This results in only an inch or two of rollback and a very gradual start-off. A 'Hill Hold' braking function would have been a neat addition, but we can't complain too much considering its affordable price tag.

I am scared after reading this! I think I will have to use the parking brake a lot in the flyovers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ank.nsit (Post 3595207)

Isn't the santro out of the market now?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 (Post 3595448)

Brilliant review.

I would suggest to keep out Wagon R and Spark out of its chief competitors. They are a level above both from refinement as well as packaging perspective. Datsun Go doesn't even come close to a Maruti or Hyundai reliability :uncontrol. So keep that aside too. Eon and Celerio should be the chief competitor, considering Santro is no longer sold.

The Santro is on its way out but still hasn't been discontinued. It still appears on Hyundai's India website. The same goes with the Spark.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2!!! (Post 3594891)

The AMT - Automated Manual Transmission

• If you're in Drive and pull up the handbrake (say, at a traffic light), the clutch will automatically disengage. This is far more convenient than shifting to Neutral each time you stop. To start moving again, you need to lower the handbrake and press the accelerator. If you don't press the accelerator, the clutch will remain disengaged and the car could roll forwards or backwards (depending on the slope of the road).

• Further to the point above, for regular usage, there is no need to use Neutral, other than for starting the car. Even when you're stationary in 'D', just engage the handbrake and it's as good as Neutral. Do remember to completely press the brake pedal to start the car; partially pressing it won't help.

Then how to move the car forward when it is in the slope, and the hand break engaged ( Because handbrake engaged means = Neutral ?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speed-Gladiator (Post 3595639)

Then how to move the car forward when it is in the slope, and the hand break engaged ( Because handbrake engaged means = Neutral ?)

The trick here is that when the car is standing still on a slope, keep the handbrake engaged in 'D' mode. If you're in 'N', and want to start moving, engage into 'D' mode with the brake depressed (obviously) -> keep the handbrake engaged and only then release the brake and press the throttle -> when you can sense that the car is pulling you forward, release the handbrake. Honestly, it is no big deal. Many people adopt the same trick on their manual cars too (as an alternative to the half-clutch technique).

With time you will get used to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speed-Gladiator (Post 3595639)

Then how to move the car forward when it is in the slope, and the hand break engaged ( Because handbrake engaged means = Neutral ?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by S2!!! (Post 3595658)

The trick here is that when the car is standing still on a slope, keep the handbrake engaged. When you want to start moving, engage into 'D' mode with the brake depressed (obviously) -> pull up the handbrake and only then release the brake and press the throttle -> when you can sense that the car is pulling you forward, release the handbrake. Honestly, it is no big deal. Many people adopt the same trick on their manual cars too (as an alternative to the half-clutch technique).

With time you will get used to it.

Wouldn't this mean that the strain on right leg is still in same in traffic since you have to toggle between A & B pedals? Agreed that the left leg gets rest but it is certainly not as stress free as a proper automatic where you just need to release the brake and press it when driving in bumper to bumper conditions.

My experience with AMT was not really something that could replace a proper automatic with torque converter, probably because the smallest Auto I've driven was a Cruze and the biggest AMT I've tried is Celerio. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenren (Post 3595678)

No, not really. Only when moving off from a slope would you have to toggle between the A & B pedals. But any automatic car without the hill-hold function would require the same exercise.

In traffic conditions (flat roads) it is a different story altogether. In fact, in bumper to bumper conditions when average speeds don't cross 10 km/h, you don't even need to press the throttle. Just lift your leg from the brake and the car will crawl forward in 'D' mode. Also, at a traffic light, you don't necessarily need to shift to 'N'. Remain in 'D' and pull up the handbrake and the car will not move ahead till you release the handbrake and give it some throttle input. So, it is very convenient there too. As a city car, there is little to complain about the K10 AMT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 (Post 3595448)

Brilliant review.

Baring the body shell complaints, this is a wonderful package at this price point.
====
Overall, providing an AMT for the masses is a big thing, and Maruti has done it. :thumbs up

Do you have any data on reliability concern of a Datsun GO? Is there any way to prove its less reliable than a ALTO or EON. I own a Alto myself. The left headlight fuses almost every 2-3 months and its 7years now. None of the dealers have been able to fix it.Needless to mention the way it fell apart after 50K.