[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Engine
Midrange acceleration- 50-70 km/h took 10 sec

Was this in kick-down mode or liesurely acceleration on a mild foot?

Originally Posted by ajmat

1 and 2 are low and close, 3 and 4 are very high and close. This means a big gap between 2-3. Exiting Delhi, the car was in third and only went to fourth at around 60. With the slow moving traffic and our press on attitude, we ended up overriding and using second a lot. Kickdown was not bad in my opinion. It is slow to react but it compensates by being overeager to shift. one thing I liked was, unlike other small automatics, it did not whine as much.

When in manual mode (3,2,L), did the car stick on to a gear at the limiter (like say the City and Cruze) or did it shift like in other automatic cars?

Do we have a comparison of i10 AT vs A-Star AT.

Also, do we have the acceleration and kick-down details?

[Mpower]

Euro NCAP rating for A-star

May 2009 Euro NCAP 3-Star rating: 55% adult, 46% child, 35% pedestrian, 29% safety assist.*

Source: honestjohn.co.uk

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

The primary reason why many dealers refuse 'A-Star Automatic' booking is that the waiting period is huge.

and now it would be the dealer's headache to find another customer.
Finding a customer for Auto-gear may not be as easy as finding one for a Manual gear.

if the waiting period is huge, then demand must be good..so it must be pretty easy to find another customer.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Mpower

if the waiting period is huge, then demand must be good..so it must be pretty easy to find another customer.

I think the long waiting period is more due to production constraint than due to excessive demand. In case of a cancellation the dealer is stuck with the booking. So the dealer has to find a customer, else if he transfers the booking to another dealer he would loose the dealer cut.

[sushir]

I got mine delivered to me yesterday (31st Jan). Got it from RNS motors in Bangalore. My first impressions about the driving experience is really nice. The car handles superbly and is very nippy. Got the tank full and have set the trip meter to 0 for mileage calculations. Looks like MSIL has upped the quality and finish of the plastics on the dash. The test drive vehicle, did not have this good quality plastics.

Will start an ownership thread soon.

[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by sushir

I got mine delivered to me yesterday (31st Jan). Got it from RNS motors in Bangalore. My first impressions about the driving experience is really nice. The car handles superbly and is very nippy. Got the tank full and have set the trip meter to 0 for mileage calculations. Looks like MSIL has upped the quality and finish of the plastics on the dash. The test drive vehicle, did not have this good quality plastics.

Will start an ownership thread soon.

Great Sushir. Congratulations on the purchase.

I got mine on the 28th. Covered 960 kms so far and the 1st service done. Drove from Kerala to Bangalore. Got 15 km/l (tankful - tankful) from Namakkal to Bangalore section. Pretty good, considering the terrain, average speed and the 1.5 hour traffic jam near Thoppur.

So far, I am happy.

[sushir]

Originally Posted by scuderiaferrari

Great Sushir. Congratulations on the purchase.

I got mine on the 28th. Covered 960 kms so far and the 1st service done. Drove from Kerala to Bangalore. Got 15 km/l (tankful - tankful) from Namakkal to Bangalore section. Pretty good, considering the terrain, average speed and the 1.5 hour traffic jam near Thoppur.

So far, I am happy.

Congrats scuderiaferrari. The mileage you got is superb. Cannot wait to get the same on mine. Just did 60 kms so far. btw, how long was the wait period for you? For me it was exactly 91 days.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by sushir

I got mine delivered to me yesterday (31st Jan). Got it from RNS motors in Bangalore.

When did you book it? I booked the A-Star Automatic on 03 Dec 2010, and I am still waiting.

[supremeBaleno]

@jinojohnt, waiting won't get you the car, as the experience of many here (including me) shows. You need to raise the issue with MSIL folks - their office is at Tvm, drop in or call/email and push your case. Unfortunately, this seems to be the only way to get faster deliveries of a newly-launched car which is not in demand even in MT version.

@sushir/scuderiaferrari, what tag does your A*-AT have at the rear ? Is it "Automatic" or "Vxi" ?

[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by sushir

Congrats scuderiaferrari. The mileage you got is superb. Cannot wait to get the same on mine. Just did 60 kms so far. btw, how long was the wait period for you? For me it was exactly 91 days.

Not much. Less than a month. Followed supremebaleno's advice and got in touch with the company. They were very helpful and got me my preferred color itself. Being a Maruti customer for a very long time helped.

Try and get in touch with MSIL itself and they will definitely help.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@sushir/scuderiaferrari, what tag does your A*-AT have at the rear ? Is it "Automatic" or "Vxi" ?

It says Automatic and then there is the ABS badge too. No mention of the VXi part anywhere.

Maruti probably should look at their QC more and ensure consistency.

[sushir]

Originally Posted by scuderiaferrari

It says Automatic and then there is the ABS badge too. No mention of the VXi part anywhere.

Maruti probably should look at their QC more and ensure consistency.

I waited for exactly 3 months (to the day). Booked the vehicle on Oct 27th. And the car was ready in the showroom on 27th Jan. I got delivery on 31st Jan.

I didn't do anything to get it faster, just kept bugging the RNS guys all the time. RNS tried delivering me a 'white' colored vehicle in early December, but I refused and had to wait extra for 'bright red' that I had booked.

[jinojohnt]

February 2011 issue of "WHAT CAR?" magazine has a comparison between A-Star Automatic and i10 Automatic. Here are the main points:

Maruti A-star VXi: Rs 4.76 Lakhs
Hyundai i10 Sportz: Rs 5.53 Lakhs
Hyundai i20 Asta: Rs 8.35 Lakhs

CITY DRIVING:

The cute little A-Star feels the best in town, showing a lot of enthusiasm off the blocks. There is no lag from the automatic four-speed gearbox and the car moves forth smartly. However, once it is past the initial tug of power, power delivery is flat and you have to be patient for the car to gain momentum. Nevertheless, for city use, it feels adequate and the A-star is at its best in stop-start traffic. Its compact dimensions and light steering make the A-star the easiest to drive in the city.

The i10's four-speed gear box, in comparison, is not that responsive. The torque converter takes its own sweet time to spool up power and the acceleration off the line feels pretty laid back. But the potent 80bhp Kappa2 engine works well to hide this minute shortcoming. Once on the move, there is loads of power on tap and the i10 moves ahead smartly. The little kerb weight also helps here and the car feels quite peppy to drive. Though the shifts are slow and the gear ratios quite tall, it never feels short on power and is more than adequate for city driving.

The i20, on the other hand, with 1.4 litre engine is the most powerful of the three. But this doesn't mean it is the most effortless to drive. The four-speed automatic box feels ridiculously slow to respond and the lack of low-end torque from the engine accentuates this further. You have to flex your right foot to extract decent performance from the 100bhp motor. In stop-start traffic too it feels lethargic and the performance at best is just about adequate.

HIGHWAY DRIVING:

While the A-star shines in the city, it dissapoints on the highway. The small 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine is the least powerful of the three cars here and out on the highway this deficit shows through. Throttle responses are very blunt and the A-star takes time to gain momentum once on an open road. Though the gearbox is pretty good at downshifts, the lack of sufficient torque and tall gear ratios hamper the small Maruti's progress on the roads beyond city limits. Also, overtaking on single-lane highways needs to be planned well in advance.

The i10, on the other hand, feels much peppier at higher speeds. Its relative lack of weight and good power from the tech-laden Kappa2 motor works wonders here. The midrange is strong and the i10 never feels short on power. The four-speed auto gearbox though is slow to shift, compared to that of the Maruti, and could do with quicker shifts. But overall the i10 does a commendable job out on the highway.

The i20 surprisingly feels lethargic to drive, compared to the i10. Yes, it has much more power but the 1.4-litre engine develops most of it towards the top of the powerband. And you have to rev the bolts off the engine to extract respectable performance. The gearbox is very slow to downshift too, which doesn't help while overtaking on two-lane roads. The i20 feels the best while cruising on a multi-lane highway.

[scuderiaferrari]

I read the article too.

My car has now completed just over 1200 kms. Last filling gave 11.93 km/l in Bangalore traffic with moderate AC usage. Also included the 1st free service.

I felt the gearshift was quick (as mentioned in my earlier post too), very surprising. A lot better than the i10.

In city conditions, a very good car.

On the highway, you will have to accept that this is a small car with less than 70 bhp on tap. Then you will be content.

For me, in city it would be the A-star and on the high way the Baleno.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

An executive came to me yesterday to accept a check of 5000 Rs for booking A-Star Auto Vxi in Trivandrum.

I had booked on 03 Dec 2010, got a call yesterday from my executive (3.5 months later) that a Red A-star Auto would be available in 2 days if I am ok with the color. I decided to wait further for my 'silky silver'.

[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

I had booked on 03 Dec 2010, got a call yesterday from my executive (3.5 months later) that a Red A-star Auto would be available in 2 days if I am ok with the color. I decided to wait further for my 'silky silver'.

At least good to hear some cars are trickling in... With whom did you book the car?

[noopster]

Nice to see so many A*star ATs being picked up. Maybe I get to drive one sometime! I really like the look of the car and think it's perfect for the city.