[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by Shome

The rear window visibility is less due to mist but that is the last thing you should be worried about. the spray from your own tires will render the rear windows totally opaque

I had been through light drizzles and heavy rains, but never had this issue. Do you have the (standard) mud flaps?

[Shome]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

I had been through light drizzles and heavy rains, but never had this issue. Do you have the (standard) mud flaps?

yup, the standard mudflaps. In mumbai, along with the rains, the roads themselves are dirty/muddy due to the different constructions (Metro/monorail etc). I have seen other A-stars facing the same issue during the rains here. A rear washer and wiper is an absolute necessity, especially in small hatches.

[blackasta]

Congrats on the new Astar.
Nice pics and great explanation of the features.
Any planned mods?

[supremeBaleno]

Nice review jinojohnt. And like others mentioned, detailed description of the smaller but significant features.

You get 15kmpl in TVM city traffic with 50% a/c, which is great for city traffic. The overall FE for our car (mis of highway and town runs) is just about what you get in city.

You mentioned 3 friends who get only 7.5kmpl on their i10AT. Are those cars also running in TVM too or some other city ? A friend near my town in Kerala has bought an i10AT recently, but I believe his FE is not as bad. Not sure how much it is (will check next time), but if it was that low, he would have surely brought it up.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Any planned mods?

Thanks blackasta, as of now the only mod that I have in mind is the wireless reverse camera. Doing some research on this before finalizing.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

You get 15kmpl in TVM city traffic with 50% a/c, which is great for city traffic. The overall FE for our car (mis of highway and town runs) is just about what you get in city.
You mentioned 3 friends who get only 7.5kmpl on their i10AT. Are those cars also running in TVM too or some other city?

Thanks supremeBaleno. My office commute is generally during off-peak hours, and traffic in Trivandrum is light (not much reverse/tight parking too).
My 3 friends who report 7.5 kmpl on i10 AT are from Trivandrum only. I know another friend in Trivandrum who claims 12 Kmpl for his i10 AT, but I would like to think of it as an exception rather than the norm.

[humveeguy]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

Thanks supremeBaleno. My office commute is generally during off-peak hours, and traffic in Trivandrum is light (not much reverse/tight parking too).
My 3 friends who report 7.5 kmpl on i10 AT are from Trivandrum only. I know another friend in Trivandrum who claims 12 Kmpl for his i10 AT, but I would like to think of it as an exception rather than the norm.

Hi guys.. I have a question on the AC performance. Today I made a short trip to Mysore road from Bangalore city at noon on my new astar AT. Loaded with 2 adults. Though the hatch easily took most of the bad roads, I found that the AC is very very feeble and not enough to chill or put us in comfortable driving atleast the front seat passengers!. I end up putting blower in top with lot of fan noise. Whats your opinion ?

On top of that I was not able to move the car above 40 kmphr most of the time..overtaking is almost impossible with AC ON. Well I was using D mode only, as most of the road inclinations are less. Im thinking whether, do I need to put in D3 or 2 mode while in AC :(

hg

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by humveeguy

Though the hatch easily took most of the bad roads, I found that the AC is very very feeble and not enough to chill or put us in comfortable driving atleast the front seat passengers!. I end up putting blower in top with lot of fan noise.
On top of that I was not able to move the car above 40 kmphr most of the time..overtaking is almost impossible with AC ON. Well I was using D mode only, as most of the road inclinations are less.

The maximum I have driven in one shot is a 200 km trip (to and fro), but I never felt that the a/c is inadequate or power-sapping.
I think the inability to go above 40 kmph / overtake has more to do with getting used to the 'automatic' way of driving. What say, folks?

[humveeguy]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

The maximum I have driven in one shot is a 200 km trip (to and fro), but I never felt that the a/c is inadequate or power-sapping.
I think the inability to go above 40 kmph / overtake has more to do with getting used to the 'automatic' way of driving. What say, folks?

thanks. I was worried on buying this car. But I will check with service centre.
BTW, Im quite new to automatic driving. IS there some points that you can share. That will be helpful . For instance , is it ok for the engine, if we do full throttle to get instant torque ? Also, is it needed to brake before switching to 1 or 2 from D mode.

hg

[KPS]

Originally Posted by humveeguy

On top of that I was not able to move the car above 40 kmphr most of the time..overtaking is almost impossible with AC ON. Well I was using D mode only, as most of the road inclinations are less. Im thinking whether, do I need to put in D3 or 2 mode while in AC :( hg

For normal city traffic use the D Mode only. Let the car do the downshifting not you. You will need to come to the lower gears if you are in the mountains and you want the car to remain in a particular gear band.

If you want to overtake floor the accelerator, as this action will downshift the gears automatically.

I own an i10 Auto. In heavy Bangalore traffic I get a FE of 9 KMPL. On the highway I have got a FE of 16 KMPL. If you want to get the best mileage in a AT you must watch the rev counter.

Cheers

KPS

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by humveeguy

is it ok for the engine, if we do full throttle to get instant torque ? Also, is it needed to brake before switching to 1 or 2 from D mode.

I generally press the throttle only "50%" down maximum, that is sufficient for overtaking. I have floored the pedal only twice, but I felt uncomfortable because of 'too much power'. (There is also a very small rubber-band effect if you floor the throttle, you need to get used to it.)

No need to brake before switchng from "D" to "3, 2 or L". It has a safety feature which prevents downshifting if the rpm is outside the limit for that particular gear.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

Mileage update: Had another full tank today. Filled 27.6 liters of petrol when the reading was 418 km. That means a mileage of 15.14 km/liter for my daily office trip, with 50% a/c (tank full to tank full method).

More pictures below:
Jack storage area on the side wall in the boot. Maruti could have provided more boot space if the jack was placed along with the spare tire (like that in Alto).

The fuel tank cap is attached to the body of the car, so you won't forget to replace the cap at the petrol bunk.

If 15 kmpl for your AT is correct in city riding condition, its one of the best among AT cars. If you compare it with i10 which gives 6-8 kmpl only. I had also seen in some car show in TV, the Host used A-star auto for 1 week in Mumbai and reported mileage of 14 kmpl.

[phamilyman]

dumb question - why don't we see many A-Star ATs with CNG in delhi then? It seems like a brilliant car for CNG purposes in the city then!

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

dumb question - why don't we see many A-Star ATs with CNG in delhi then? It seems like a brilliant car for CNG purposes in the city then!

1. Not many (including me) are willing to experiment on this, for fear of losing warranty. This, clubbed with the general talk "Automatics are expensive to maintain".
2. Slight power-loss to AT would be aggravated by CNG (only slightly I feel).
3. 'Most' people convert to CNG when the car is old, and A-star AT is still not very old, considering the launch date.
4. The CNG tank would occupy the whole boot.
5. Automatic is already more expensive than the Manual by 50k, not many people may be interested in spending more on a CNG kit.

[jinojohnt]

Another feature: The alarm beeps if you open the driver door with the key in ignition AND the engine is off (This is more of an irritation than a feature).
Another feature that might have been discussed here is that you would not be able to remove the keys from the ignition unless you put the gear in 'Park'. This is a very useful feature that ensures that wheels are locked when you exit from the car.

[jinojohnt]

Here is a comparison from Feb 2011 issue of "WHATCAR?" magazine.

Maruti A-star Automatic Vs Hyundai i10 Sportz Vs Hyundai i20 Asta

In the hatchback segment, Hyundai and Maruti are the only two manufacturers to offer automatic transmissions in their cars. There are three hatches available with automatic transmissions - the Maruti Astar, Hyundai i10 and Hyundai i20. All three cars are powered by petrol engines and equipped with four speed transmissions and are targeted at those who mostly use their cars in the city where ease of driving is top priority.

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 city.

The i10's four-speed gearbox, 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 light 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 a 1.4 liter engine is the most powerfull 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 light foot to extract decent performance from the 100hp 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 liter 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.