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Old 13th July 2011, 09:20   #226
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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Originally Posted by pgsagar View Post
Is there any significant differene between your Export version A* and Indian version? I mean features-wise.

Even big cars feel the strain with 5 up. In fact, if A* is picking up with 5 up and aircon on, then it is indeed very commendable.
There is no difference in features between the car with Automatic badge and Vxi badge. In fact, nobody is sure why there is a difference in badging like this for the same car model.

The first A-star dispatched to us arrived in damaged condition. Delear called us to inform and my father went and saw the car before it being send back to Maruti. It was an automatic but with only Vxi badge at the rear.

Last edited by B103 : 13th July 2011 at 09:24.
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Old 13th July 2011, 09:37   #227
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

I doubt there are separate lines for the A*-AT (one for India and another for export).
Before A*-AT was launched in India, all the cars were being exported and hence no confusion. But with launch in India, there seems to have resulted confusion in badging (Vxi vs Auto) - also maybe because export would be the top version with airbags, while the AT here is the mid-version.

Reminds me that the "Automatic" logo is still with the dealer - did not get time to get it fixed. Anyone knows how they fix this ? Is it just glued on or do they drill holes ? Also, if they fix "Automatic", they might remove the "Vxi", which I have no issues with, but wondering if removal will leave glue-stains or holes there ???
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Old 13th July 2011, 10:49   #228
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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Reminds me that the "Automatic" logo is still with the dealer - did not get time to get it fixed. Anyone knows how they fix this ? Is it just glued on or do they drill holes ? Also, if they fix "Automatic", they might remove the "Vxi", which I have no issues with, but wondering if removal will leave glue-stains or holes there ???
These are just glued at the back. Also removing the old logo will not leave any mark. When you pull the old logo, it may leave some old glue (which will be like a rubber) and you just need to use petrol to wipe them.
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Old 13th July 2011, 11:29   #229
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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Reminds me that the "Automatic" logo is still with the dealer - did not get time to get it fixed. Anyone knows how they fix this ? Is it just glued on or do they drill holes ? Also, if they fix "Automatic", they might remove the "Vxi", which I have no issues with, but wondering if removal will leave glue-stains or holes there ???
Not sure. Is there any reason for you to believe the dealer other than him telling so ? It may be a farce from his side. Most of them are not very well informed about many details. As far as I know, these badges are coming as company fitted.

As you said, all cars might need to have atleast frontal airbags to sell in North America or West Europe. I don't know about the case of east european countries like Poland or Romania.
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Old 13th July 2011, 12:46   #230
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

@B103, the badge was delivered to the dealer based on my badgering MSIL. The dealer is just the guy in between who will fix the badge, which like you said should have come factory-fitted, but did not.
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Old 14th July 2011, 13:04   #231
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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Not sure. Is there any reason for you to believe the dealer other than him telling so ? It may be a farce from his side. Most of them are not very well informed about many details. As far as I know, these badges are coming as company fitted.

As you said, all cars might need to have atleast frontal airbags to sell in North America or West Europe. I don't know about the case of east european countries like Poland or Romania.
countries you have mentioned are left hand drive countries and for UK, Australia and south Africa, the tyre size is different than Indian A* and ground clearance is also less for these cars to be exported, therefore I think what we get is the one produced only for India. Its the inconsistency of badges are being put on the car at factory itself.
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Old 14th July 2011, 13:27   #232
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

A good review from Ajmat. For A-Star, I wondered the mileage given by ARAI and what people actually get has a huge difference. I had asked around 7 users, got a difference of around 5 Km from the standards. But normally, it matches for most of the cars.
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Old 26th July 2011, 13:10   #233
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Last week I got 2nd service done at 5000 Km ( 6 Months ) of the car, bill was nil.
Pick up of the car has increased around 20% as I feel. Till now no rattling from anywhere and feels solid and planted thanks to nicely weighted steering.
Fuel average is hovering around 10-11 and I feel its good because car is mostly used for short distances like dropping children to school and my office, which is about 3 km but it takes 10 to 15 minutes, therefore 10 to 11 in peak summer of Delhi is considered good.
I got sun films for side and rear but Ac is good at almost 2nd speed of Fan, occasionally you need to put on fan speed of three when its its standing in Sun at middle of Noon but for while till it cools down in few minutes.
Next service is at 10000 km, will be little expensive as All K-Series use synthetic oil of around Rs. 1200/- pl., it should be around Rs. 5000/-
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Old 26th July 2011, 22:06   #234
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

I am getting 15 km/liter for my office commute (75% A/C), but that's because the traffic at Trivandrum is light, and my return trip is mostly after 10 P.M. The fourth gear is automatically selected above 50 km/hr, so expect a good mileage if you are able to maintain speeds in excess of 50 km/hr.
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Old 27th July 2011, 09:20   #235
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

^^^
Rough calculations indicate that we are getting ~15kmpl in mostly town traffic, with the rare 80km run on NH47 (Mvlk - Kollam) and 100% a/c, with wifey at the wheel. Have set the tripmeter when last block on fuel-gauge started blinking last week and then fuelled for 2K - at the next blink I should be able to get a more accurate idea of the FE. Anyway, FE has been way beyond my expectations of what could be got from AT cars.

Last week, on a run to Kollam I tried "overtaking" the way it is done in AT cars by stomping on the A-pedal. While I got the hang of it after few tries, I still prefer the MT way - downshift and fly past.
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Old 27th July 2011, 12:48   #236
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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I am getting 15 km/liter for my office commute (75% A/C), but that's because the traffic at Trivandrum is light, and my return trip is mostly after 10 P.M. The fourth gear is automatically selected above 50 km/hr, so expect a good mileage if you are able to maintain speeds in excess of 50 km/hr.
As said my run is very short distances and that too during traffic hours in the bumper to bumper traffic. I once took it to the highway and think it must have returned around 16-18 kmpl, I didn't calculate as it was only about around 50 km.
Therefore, if it returns 10+ in Delhi's crazy traffic, one should feel happy.
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Old 27th July 2011, 18:00   #237
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

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^^^
Last week, on a run to Kollam I tried "overtaking" the way it is done in AT cars by stomping on the A-pedal. While I got the hang of it after few tries, I still prefer the MT way - downshift and fly past.
Now I am used to overtaking the 'AT' way. In fact, I have never used the '3', '2' or 'L' mode (for overtaking/climbing) in my A-star Automatic.
I was a bit nervous to floor the pedal during the first few days, but now as I have gained more control over the car, I am able to drive it at will, just like a manual car. This has really taken out the stress from my driving.

Last edited by jinojohnt : 27th July 2011 at 18:03.
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Old 27th July 2011, 23:03   #238
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jinojohnt
Now I am used to overtaking the 'AT' way. In fact, I have never used the '3', '2' or 'L' mode (for overtaking/climbing) in my A-star Automatic.
I was a bit nervous to floor the pedal during the first few days, but now as I have gained more control over the car, I am able to drive it at will, just like a manual car. This has really taken out the stress from my driving.
It is a funny feeling overtaking on my i10 AT as well. Flooring the pedal feels like pulling back the bowstring getting ready to release the arrow and them a sudden boom. Till I read your posts, I thought I was doing something wrong.
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Old 27th July 2011, 23:31   #239
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

Looks like everyone is having fun with their A* AT. I will soon get mine, too. Booked 10 days ago. Dealer said delivery in 30 days. Hmm... lemme see. Booked for a bright red one. I hope the shade looks ok outdoor. Wanted to book a white one but when I saw the bright red one in showroom, I changed my mind. It was sooo drool-inducing. Does it manage most of the runs and gentle gradients in "D" mode? What about 30 degree ramps? 2 or L?
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Old 28th July 2011, 08:48   #240
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Re: Maruti Suzuki A-Star Auto - Road Test

@pgsagar, colour-choice being subjective, we would never end up with a single choice as the best color. So if you like red, that is the best color. I would have preferred black or white or azure-grey. Check out sankar's white A-Star with white alloys - looks super.

The only time I used L, 2 etc was when in the hills (Idukki) - for normal city/town usage it is D and gradients are taken care of. One advantage of AT for beginners (even some veterans) is the fact that it does not slide back on slopes (eg., when waiting to climb up a subway or on a gradient) - it stays stuck to the road due to the forward 'creep' balancing the pull of gravity backwards.
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