[blue_pulsar]

Congrats on the A-star AT 2012!

Originally Posted by simonkayar

A Star glides over potholes without a hint of rattle - a rarity for a Maruti car. It is definitely a premium feel - could be the reason behind its huge exports to Europe

Your decision of buying an A-star over i10 is completely justified. The ride quality is better than the i10, as in, its not bouncy. On the handling and dynamics front, A-star wins hands down. Just that i10 wins on the space and interior quality front. At 5.2L on-road with ABS, this car seems extreme VFM!


Yes the Kalyani dealership at Bannerghatta road are unprofessional. I took a TD of a WagonR from them couple of weeks back. I had to wait for more than 15 minutes before I got my hands on to the TD car. And the reason given? There are lot of cars in their parking lot and this car was 'stuck'. Lot of cars had to be moved before they could get this car out. Finally took the TD. Couple of days later, the sales guy called me to ask about my decision. I said I didn't like the car and am more satisfied with my present car. He suggested me to look at Swift. I replied by saying that Swift was priced out of my budget. Couple of days later, I get a phone call asking when I was booking the Swift. I told the sales guy that I didn't want to buy the Swift and it was conveyed to him during the earlier call. He asked me once again if I wanted to cancel my decision of buying. I replied in affirmative. In a somewhat disinterested voice, he said something and kept the phone down. IMO, these sales guys must be taught how to handle customers and what a 'TD' exactly means. If I TD, does it mean that I 'will' buy the car from them? Now consider if I'm willing to buy some other Maruti car in future, will I consider buying it from them? Never!

[sydras]

Thanks for the great write up and the pictures. I would've liked to have gotten the 2012 A-Star AT but I wanted to take advantage of the year end discounts so I wound up booking my A-Star AT in Dec 2011 for a 20K old car exchange bonus + 20K discount + 40K for my old Dec 1996 zen from Mandovi Motors, Bangalore.

(I was always interested in getting a replacement 2nd small car and had asked around a month and even a year before about the discounts on the A-Star. It was 15K exch. bonus + 15K discount in Nov 2011 for AT and 30K exch. bonus+ 30K discount in Dec 2010).

I registered my car and took delivery in Jan 2012.

I also own a Honda City AT and we have a Chevy Spark in the family and hence can't help but compare the three.
Some observations and gripes(note that these are unfair comparisons but just made for info) I have with the A-Star AT are:

i> The car does not have enough pick-up. I find myself shifting from D-3-2 often and slightly higher speeds. At lower speeds, even 2nd gear does not have enough pick-up and it takes a long time to pick up speed. I need to downshift to L on occasion and that is a circus with the gated gear shift. The gated gear shift also makes it difficult to shift when driving if you forget which gear you're in(You need to look down at the serrations).
I think that the poor pickup may be due to the 3 cylinder engine or due to the way the engine is tuned.

ii> I cannot rest my hand on the door sill of my A-Star AT when the driver side window is down as the beading digs into my arm. Not a major issue as I almost always drive with the A/C on but one might like to drive with an arm resting on the door sill in what is marketed a a sporty car.

iii> A/C is weak. The air blowing in is just not cold enough compared to my City AT. I don't know if it's a gas issue or if the 1L, 3 cylinder engine is just too puny to drive the compressor.

Also, the blower is very noisy in the 4th position. At this position, the fan noise increases and decreases in a wavy fashion and is probably indicative of a poor quality fan used.

iv> The plastic on the outside door handles of my A-Star AT seems to be of very poor quality and has lost it's finish. Internal buttons are not that great either. The smallest layer of felt seems to have been sprayed over the rear parcel tray and I often get my hands cut on it when accessing the boot area. The car overall seems to have minor quality control issues with materials used and fittings done. Typical of maruti who sub-contracts or sources some low quality parts from smaller manufacturers or workshops.
The Spark interior materials and fittings are of better quality. However, most door slam is required to properly shut the doors on the Spark followed by my A-Star AT and my City AT.

v> Compared to the Spark, the braking on my A-Star AT is much better but is little spongy and not as linear as my City AT.

vi> Reverse gear in my A-Star AT is very enthusiastic v/s the gradual engagement on the City AT and I have to be careful to quickly step on the brake and control it once it is engaged.

vii> Shudder on the AT gear lever when moving from R to N to D and vice-versa is more pronounced in the A-Star v/s the negligible shudder in my City AT.

viii> Ride of the A-Star AT and Spark are much stiffer compared to the City AT due to firmer seat cushioning and shorter wheelbase but not bouncy. This is expected.

ix> The Spark cabin is and feels more roomier and can actually accommodate 4 and the occasional 5th person relatively comfortably as compared to the A-Star. (A Spark AT, if it existed would probably be perfect for my requirements.)

x> In terms of mileage, the Spark gives the best mileage (12-13 kmpl). The surprise here is that my City AT (8.5-10kmpl) seems to be giving more mileage than my A-Star AT (8-9 kmpl). I need to find out if there is something wrong with my car or if it is due to driving style (the A-Star AT is used by my wife).

[saion666]

Originally Posted by sydras

i> The Spark cabin is and feels more roomier and can actually accommodate 4 and the occasional 5th person relatively comfortably as compared to the A-Star. (A Spark AT, if it existed would probably be perfect for my requirements.)

To this i would disagree...Having spent hours in both the cars(mine A-star and my friends Spark). Maybe the small front seats and the beige interiors of the Chevrolet make it feel roomy but its much less wider than the A-star and the 5th person is much more uncomfortable in the Spark than the A-star.(from my experience)

The spark's interiors too look very primitive than the Maruti.(hate that center console in the chevy)

[sydras]

Originally Posted by saion666

To this i would disagree...Having spent hours in both the cars(mine A-star and my friends Spark). Maybe the small front seats and the beige interiors of the Chevrolet make it feel roomy but its much less wider than the A-star and the 5th person is much more uncomfortable in the Spark than the A-star.(from my experience)

The spark's interiors too look very primitive than the Maruti.(hate that center console in the chevy)

We took a trip with 5 people and luggage from Mangalore to Bangalore in January this year. Except for having to really stuff 5 people's luggage in the boot area, folks in the rear were relatively comfortable. Also, I've done extensive comparision among the A-Star, Alto, Santro, Spark when deciding to purchase my 2nd car (no point anyway, wife wanted AT) and I found the rear bench of the Spark to be the most comfortable and spacious among the lot.

You may be right about the width but the cabin ceiling height and legroom in the A-Star seem lesser to me as compared the Spark. Maybe it's just perception though as I am yet to do a long distance journey with folks in the back seat of my A-Star.

[sumannandy]

We were planning to buy a star auto. My wife would be driving the vehicle primarily and we might also be using it for outstation trips. How is the performance of the car on steep inclines. Can it start on steep incline from zero?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

We were planning to buy a star auto. My wife would be driving the vehicle primarily and we might also be using it for outstation trips. How is the performance of the car on steep inclines. Can it start on steep incline from zero?

Answered you on the other thread where you posted the same query.

[simonkayar]

Update: Mileage in Bangalore is hovering at 10.5. Since my wife uses it, which includes short 1 km trips too, cannot complain as such. Of course as reported earlier the highway mileage was 17+. Will test the highway mileage again this weekend and update.

[living_fossil]

Hey Congratulation on your A-star.. Just today i test drove one myself and i found that from a stand still when you put on D and accelerate, the engine seemed to be revving high before it shifted to second gear.. Did that happen to you? Also after sometime i tried the same with a feather touch on the accelerator and everything seemed to be working fiine.. And as usual Sales guys had no idea about this...

[Mohitkumaar]

@Simonkayar, sorry for digging up this year old thread but I have a question since I have a 2012 January spiced up A-star automatic as well. Today after running 13,820 km I took my Dealers A.S.S. for a washing, to redeem a wash coupon he had given me. I had earlier experienced cases of tyre skids three times, once in a BP petrol pump where it left around 7-8 meter elevensies (skid marks) on cement tiles, then once more in university parking on similar tiles but no elevensies only skid. The third time it was on road on traffic signal, around a month or so back.
While I had gone only for a wash, i also told hem to check the brakes, SA told me that brake pads have worn and need replacement. Have you seen such issues and had pads replaced so fast?

[simonkayar]

No. But mine has done just 8000 km (mostly used within the city by my wife). No replacements. Just normal service. Recently went on a long highway from Bangalore-Chennai-Pondicherry-Bangalore. Around 750 kms and no complaints. It was a breeze to drive, gave about 18 kms per litre with A.C (80%). The entire drive was pleasant and we were fresh to drive more at the end of the trip. In most stretches in Bangalore-Chennai, I found out that I was crossing 110 km/hr without even realizing and force myself to bring the speed down. Nice capable chotu car.

[kaushikr]

Hi simonkayar,

Hope you are still enjoying the car. After reading multiple reviews on TBhp, we recently purchased an Astar from Pratham are quite happy with the car.

Originally Posted by simonkayar

Intro
I was pissed off and went back to Pratham where I had got my Estilo.
Pratham @ Outer Ring Road were a lot more professional. One Mr. Ravi Prakash (team lead) was the one taking care of us and he was prompt and honest in his approach. We booked the car with a 25K discount (Feb 2012) by paying 10k. He said Silky Silver, White and Brown (the new color) were readily available. But we stuck to Bright Red and he promised to deliver within 30-45 days.

We also had to deal with Mr. Ravi Prakash and have to agree with your views.

He was honest and did not try to oversell things. We wanted a car immediately and he offered us colors that were readily available and stuck to the timelines. He arranged for a PDI and there was no fuss made about us getting insurance from outside. The accessories we asked for was installed and the delivery process went on smoothly.

We found Pratham ORR to be professional and would definitely recommend dealing with Mr. Ravi Prakash.