[ash22]

Excellent thread ashwinprakas.
Hearty congratulations

I hope your Alto comes with ABS and 2-airbags standard ?

I own 2007 Alto F8D and the engine never fails to impress. Even with 1 Lakh Kms done, It is still peppy and happy to rev.

I completely agree on your point on the Tiago's engine. I'm planning to add a car with good structural saftey and we considered only Tiago & Polo in the budget of 6 Lakhs.
Somehow, After owing Alto these years, Tiago's engine is not as smooth as F8's. But Polo's new 1.0 MPI is a worth try when compared to Tiago. But need to spend 2.5 Lakhs more than the new Alto for the structural safety features.

[Udit]

Congratulations on new car. Alto has always been the favourite city car of Indians. I own BS4 2017 model and I love the FE figures. If driven sanely, it beats many motorcycles. Although, F8D is a legend in itself for sure, but I kinda dislike this engine. I haven't experienced BS6 engine, but BS4 variant is just one of the most underpowered NA petrol engine I ever drove. It's not as revv happy as other maruti engines are. It become very rough and vocal in higher rpms. With AC and all seats occupied, it becomes very lithargic. Alto is strictly a city car, if feels very unsafe on the open highways and should not be driven beyond 80 kmph because of those brakes, skinny tires and ultra light build.

[coolmind]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Ownership Experience:

Out of the showroom I was told they’d filled 5L of fuel but I had to refuel, on refueling the car consumed 33.5 Liters.

Fellow enthusiasts advised the usage of Fuelio app and that is what I did over the next few days, these are the results I got from doing the same;

Attachment 2085579

Isn't the mileage of 14.4 kmpl too less against its claim of 22 kmpl?
Even my G I10 gives the same range of 12.5-13 kmpl.

[bharatmarch]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Kudos friend!

Is yours branded Alto 800 or just Alto? Mine is missing the 800 tag which I've been told is because after K10 was phased out they've renamed it to the new Alto.

I do feel your excitement, in spite of the downgrade this car really is fun to drive.

It is written "Alto" Indeed Alto puts a smile on my smile every time I crank her. Compact size, Excellent power even with 4 passengers and a fantastic AC is all that is needed. Needless to say I just love the fonts in the speedo-console. Congrats again for making a wise decision of buying an Alto

Mod note: For the correct way to quote, please see this thread.

[bharatmarch]

Mine is written as "Alto". Had to forgo Ameo Highline (P) as it was my company's leased car. I wanted to buy my own one. My other ride is a Celerio VXi AMT and I have been a big fan of Marutis for their flawless performance and smooth engines. Needless to say maintenance is very economical. Bought my Alto on 2nd Jan 2020 and have driven 9100 kms till now including a hill ride to Pachmarhi. Alto performs exceptionally well for a small engine. Adequate GC and a peppy motor brings smile to my face every time I crank her. I follow LeoShashi's posts and have done same DIY of day-night IRVM.

Hearty Congratulations again on a wise buy. It is endearing to see someone like me still trusting the basics of an automotive engine and buying it rather than stretching for gizmos. BTW, I wanted the same red that you have bought, but MS dealer at Nagpur said the delivery will take 1 month and I could not wait, so settled for White.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by ash22

Excellent thread ashwinprakas.
Hearty congratulations

Thank you!

I hope your Alto comes with ABS and 2-airbags standard ?

Nope, the LXI variant comes with a Single Airbag, whereas the VXI(Mine) variant comes with Dual Airbags. There is one more option called the VXI+ that comes with everything on the VXI plus a touchscreen infotainment system.

I own 2007 Alto F8D and the engine never fails to impress. Even with 1 Lakh Kms done, It is still peppy and happy to rev.

Kudos! That's quite a figure you've got there.

But Polo's new 1.0 MPI is a worth try when compared to Tiago. But need to spend 2.5 Lakhs more than the new Alto for the structural safety features.

One thing I missed to mention about German's are that I hate their blinker lever placement, it is just not safe for spirited driving.

Between the Polo and Tiago, I'd go for the Altroz.

Just saying cause you've already decided on the budget since you're contemplating a Polo, wouldn't the Altroz be a better buy? Just asking. I know the Altroz with that engine is just plain sad, only mentioned cause its 5 Star rated and you're focusing more on safety.

Originally Posted by Udit

Congratulations on new car. Alto has always been the favourite city car of Indians. I own BS4 2017 model and I love the FE figures. If driven sanely, it beats many motorcycles. Although, F8D is a legend in itself for sure, but I kinda dislike this engine. I haven't experienced BS6 engine, but BS4 variant is just one of the most underpowered NA petrol engine I ever drove. It's not as revv happy as other maruti engines are. It become very rough and vocal in higher rpms. With AC and all seats occupied, it becomes very lithargic. Alto is strictly a city car, if feels very unsafe on the open highways and should not be driven beyond 80 kmph because of those brakes, skinny tires and ultra light build.

Please do give the BS6 variant a go, just for the heck of it.

At first I thought it was me, but having asked fellow enthusiast I came to know that they shared the same opinion.

Originally Posted by coolmind

Isn't the mileage of 14.4 kmpl too less against its claim of 22 kmpl?
Even my G I10 gives the same range of 12.5-13 kmpl.

It sure is low, the only reason I'm not complaining is cause the other rides return about half of what the Alto does, and that being with acclaimed FE of 16kmpl for the Zen and 19kmpl for the Estilo. Neither of them have returned FE over 10kmpl when driven in the same B2B conditions.

Originally Posted by bharatmarch

It is written "Alto" Indeed Alto puts a smile on my smile every time I crank her. Compact size, Excellent power even with 4 passengers and a fantastic AC is all that is needed.

Amen, at times I still cannot believe that this is a 800cc machine, the way the car is tuned is simply amazing, rarely do I face issues and that is mostly due to the RBW lagging than an actual want for displacement.

Originally Posted by bharatmarch

I wanted the same red that you have bought, but MS dealer at Nagpur said the delivery will take 1 month and I could not wait, so settled for White.

White is what I wanted, but my mother would have nothing of it.

When it comes to DIY touch-ups and repainting costs white makes life easy.

Not to mention statistically a white car is more safer than all other colors.

All considered a good buy I'd say.

Regards,
A.P.

[DicKy]

Now that was a roller coaster car choosing ride.

If it was known that the end user would be you, instead of the "middle aged gentleman that I know " would have recommended just one model.

Eeco.
Case closed.

But then, we know how mothers are about the social aesthetics that cars entail.
just wish Maruti would put a PS on the Eeco.

Glad to know you are enjoying the Alto, also pleasantly surprised the F8D has improved with BS6.
Personally felt the engine being so constrained and jerky, especially starting from the late 2000s.
Looks like BS6 has made manufacturers go for the best compromise, instead of just max kmpl.

Looking forwards to all the DIYs that are inevitably going to come.

Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials and hope to see the Red one accompanying you on another GQ run with your better half.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Now that was a roller coaster car choosing ride.

Buying a car for oneself is one thing and buying it for someone else is an entirely different ballgame, add to that a couple of societal expectations and whoop!

My brain was on overdrive until I was told the car was for me, even then managing my mother was a challenge on its own, add to that my impulsive dark comedy that always makes an already challenging situation even worse. Rollercoaster indeed!

If it was known that the end user would be you, instead of the "middle aged gentleman that I know " would have recommended just one model.

Eeco.
Case closed.

The Eeco is still a very good proposition, later on I did the math with the Alto's FE estimated at 15kmpl and the Eeco's at 10kmpl, to do the GQ Drive the Eeco would cost me 22k over the Alto for fueling.

So not really anything saved if I sleep in the Eeco to save on hotel costs in spite of double the average accommodation costs accounted for cars over motorcycles taking into consideration parking being a mandate requirement.

In short for my point and shoot driving/riding style the Alto makes more sense as the premium cost incurred for fueling the Eeco can be used to book good rooms for overnight stay and then the remaining used for other consumables, in short a more comfortable drive.

Then again, if I have good company and take things at a slower pace say about 200~300km's per day instead of 750~1000km's per day absorbing more of the transit lifestyle then the Eeco offers an invaluable proposition, maybe along the lines of what Gangadhar sir is doing by homeschooling his kids, that would be a priceless advantage that the Eeco would offer over any other proposition in the market.

Hopefully one day.

But then, we know how mothers are about the social aesthetics that cars entail.

Amen!

just wish Maruti would put a PS on the Eeco.

The Manual Zen has ruined PS for me, so I was a little glad to know that the Eeco didn't come with it.

Glad to know you are enjoying the Alto, also pleasantly surprised the F8D has improved with BS6.
Personally felt the engine being so constrained and jerky, especially starting from the late 2000s.
Looks like BS6 has made manufacturers go for the best compromise, instead of just max kmpl.

In all honestly even if the performance was like before I would've still contemplated the car, the Splendor and 800 have a special place in my heart.

Irrespective of sentiments love'em or hate'em you can't ignore them, the number of units sold is simply mind bogging.

Speaking of fuel efficiency, I've noticed a slight improvement;



Not much but a slight positive nudge of roughly 1kmpl over the previous record, currently FE stands at 15.5kmpl.

Car is driven on the NH66 between Kollam and Alleppy with a majority of the time spend in Kollam B2B traffic. On open roads speeds are between 80~100kmph, otherwise between 60~80kmph unless puttering in traffic.

Looking forwards to all the DIYs that are inevitably going to come.

DIY was the plan but Shashi has advised against using Rimula on the car, since I've already stocked up on a few 3L bottles of the same during the last discount sale.

Since opting for the expensive MS oil I'm contemplating giving the car to MASS and in between I'd do my own DIY changes at 5k intervals complementing the 10k oil changes as per MS. Win win, or so I hope.

P.S. First Service is due to happen tomorrow!

Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials and hope to see the Red one accompanying you on another GQ run with your better half.

Fingers Crossed!

[ashwinprakas]

First Service Done! - Horrible Experience with Sarathy Service, Kollam!



I'd clocked 1000km's a few days ago and wanted to get the first oil change done, I'd contemplated DIY'ing but in the end decided to maintain service record, a mistake I'd regret for a long time to come.



Here's my SA checking my Car before the service;



Before I start here's the escalation matrix for Sarathy Autocars, sharing in the hopes that it would be useful for someone stuck in similar circumstances as myself.



They asked me to come at 7:00AM as they promised to get the work done within 1.5 hours if I came early but as you'd guessed it that didn't go as expected, I reached there at 7:00 Sharp and they me go at 10:30AM, that's 3.5 Hours for an Oil Change and wash. A toddler could do the same in half the time if trained well, the delay was mostly due to poor organization resulting in a lot of cars being piled up for the washing;



In the meanwhile I'd insisted that they use 5W30 oil as per the manual and not any alternatives as I have an experience of another ASC using the wrong grade oil in my Zen, they ensured that they've poured the right oil and I believed them. They also tried selling me underbody coating for a generous 2k, using something that came in 3M bottles costing 477/- per bottle, I did comply but Leoshashi was quick enough to let me know that the same was useless, so before they could apply the same I opted out of it.

Once done I paid the following bill and left the showroom, something was amiss but I carried on not knowing what, might just be my gut acting up due to letting untrustworthy people touch my ride.



Anyhow, the moment I got home I took a good hard look at the car and noticed a deep scratch on the bonnet, I WA'd the same to my SA and called him to inform the same, gave him some time expecting a response and when I didn't get any I sent out an email including every one in the escalation matrix, I was that pissed.



They called me back to the showroom and I took the car over, they wet sanded and polished the scratch but that didn't do it, finally they offered to repaint my bonnet and gave the same in writing;



They'd asked me to leave the car and take a replacement Swift, but I didn't take any of that. I didn't want a replacement car nor wanted to have anything else to do with those people, so I left at the earliest.

On getting back home I decided to review my Dashcam footage cause my camera seemed tampered and that definitely was the case, seems while wiping down the car the guys had messed with it and muted audio input by error, anyhow on reviewing the footage I got to know that;

1. They'd had two separate conversations about 5W30 not being available and that they use 0W20 even in Maruti 800's due to unavailability of 5W30. I'd asked my SA about it but he promised that they used 5W30 in my car as the same was billed and unless they'd used the same they wouldn't be able to bill it. I like the logic cause as per the invoice they say they've used 3 Washer Fluid packs but in the surveillance footage they've only used 2.

2. While my car was held up for washing, they'd actually used my bonnet to wash all their rags, like literally they put rags one by one on my bonnet and washed them. At first I presumed they were dampening the rag to wipe by car with but then I saw them taking the washed rag to some other part of the ASC.

3. They'd wet sanded the scratch on my hood taking the car to the nearby Nexa Workshop, now at this point the audio was muted so I couldn't listen in on the heated conversation they were having.



When back home I did peer down and observe that the oil filter was indeed new, that set my heart at ease. The oil was new and level was right but the viscosity was concerning but since I paid a premium for this crap I'd be using it for 4k more km's before replacing it with my trusted 15W40 HDEO.



Take away? Trust none!

DIY is the only way forward, I'f I'd DIY'd then the total cost would've been 750/- for oil and filter change, and from the remaining if I pay 200~250/- I could've got the car washed at a decent water service center. That brings total bill to 1k, remaining 300~400/- I can put in a post office savings account for future maintenance!

This really is something to think about cause what we need to keep in mind is that this is a free service and they've not accounted for labor charges, if that would've been included then the total will would easily be twice what I'd paid them.

Yes I'm pissed, the scratch is insignificant for me, what irritates me is how they ruined car ownership for me with this one bad experience.

On the bright side, while driving to the ASC I met a friend and fellow biker who was on his way to Kochi to get his Harley Serviced.





That's all for now folks! Will keep you guys posted.

[ashwinprakas]

In under a month she has clocked over 2k KM's, so far touchwood, I've spent about 13k on her for fuel.

The best FE to date is 15.58kmpl and worst being 13.93kmpl.

Personally I'd say it's not that bad cause some spirited driving was involved. Though recently I've decided to drive Indian style and see if I can actually get a decent figure cause as of now Shashi's XL6 has twice the displacement and yet returns well over what MS claims the Alto would and that's giving me some insecurities.

In other news I'd take back my earlier comment on the FuelSmart tyres, though I do recall GTO mention somewhere that MS sources these for under 500/piece, what caught my attention was that during my previous ride to Pathanamthitta district we had driven through some windy roads at speeds exceeding the limit and yet there wasn't any audible tyre squeal or chirping something that would've definitely happend with the Zen and the Ceat Milaze tyres it sports. So for the time being I stand impressed.

The inconsistency with fueling is still present and at times the car takes a couple of cranks more to fire up, something I've not experienced with my 15+ year old Zen to date. But once she's up and running it's quite easy to forget that she only displaces 800cc's cause on the roll fueling is spot ON!

I'm yet to experience the infamous AC Lag, which is something that speaks volumes about how MS has improved the product. To date haven't driven without AC, though I do randomly turn it Off and On to see if it puts load, but to be honest I'm yet to catch the car struggling which feels out of place on such a small motor, and what's even more puzzling is that the cooling is stellar, so it's a bit unnerving cause I'm not really able to put a finger on where compromises have been made.

Other than that there isn't much to update, life remains to be beautiful and I kinda enjoy driving the Alto, don't get me wrong I'm a true blue biker on the inside but the Alto feels more at home cause I see her as a Quad rather than an actual Car, a notion reinforced when I was able to squeeze her into a motorcycle parking spot a few days ago, proudest moment of my driving life if I may say.

Cheers,
A.P.

[Kosfactor]

What happened at the dealership during servicing is a concern, did you eventually get the bonnet painted? I would recommend that you Insist servicing be done in your presence and never wash the vehicle at the dealer even if it's free.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

What happened at the dealership during servicing is a concern, did you eventually get the bonnet painted? I would recommend that you Insist servicing be done in your presence and never wash the vehicle at the dealer even if it's free.

Nope not yet.

Most probably I won't bother going back and would rather maintain the car myself, already on the lookout for a reasonably priced Trolley Jack. Stands I've already procured a long while ago.

Then again the car is just a month old and I've already done the 1st Service, so I have about 3k km's and 5 more months to decide whether to maintain warranty and get bonnet painted or not.

I don't mind the painting bit but leaving my car with those people is something I cannot come to convince myself to do.

Lets wait and see what happens.

[sreejithkk]

You could raise a complaint through Maruti web site. It is much more effective than complaining through escalation matrix provided by dealer. Myself and my colleagues had used the same for various issues, and these complaints are tracked till closure by Maruti.
Here is the link for the same.

https://www.marutisuzuki.com/corpora...t-us/complaint

[ashwinprakas]

So guys, sharing my experience with respect to my Fuel Efficiency Log, after having clocked the lowest ever FE at around 13kmpl I decided to change my ways and be a new man.

Shashi(XL6) and Adarsh(Alto) used to get way more FE than me and the funny part was that one was a 1.5L Van which clocked higher figures than what MS claims the Alto would and the second was the exact same model Alto as mine and yet his FE was hovering between 18~20kmpl.

I did recall that MS mentioned in the Alto's manual that for best FE speeds of 55kmph has to be maintained, did some more reading on the same and figured out that the best speeds to move against wind resistance is 50~80kmph, and that was as per NRCAN, their website does have some valuable info;


Natural Resources Canada

So after going through all this I decided on the below speeds to upshift;

2nd Gear - 20kmph
3rd Gear - 30kmph
4th Gear - 40kmph
5th Gear - 50kmph

Other changes made to driving is that I'd turn off the motor while waiting for signals and extended breaks like dropping/picking passengers etc.

One thing I couldn't follow is limiting the use of the AC, KL is hot and the crampedness of the Alto does none any favors so even when I'm going on errands early in the morning or late into the night I still need the AC to be running.

I generally cruise at under 60kmph now which is a far cry from my pervious speeds, but the advantage of doing so is that now I needn't use 'Radarbot' to keep track of upcoming speed cams, so a huge win I'd say.

Anyhow, enough talking, here's my FE Log, see for yourself the results!



So to reiterate, this is purely inter/intra city driving cause we don't have decent roads down South of KL. AC has been ON the whole time, engine remains OFF when idling for more than 10 seconds.

So that's all there is for now, next time I'm aiming to break the 22kmpl barrier, Shashi bro! I have my eyes on your record!

Originally Posted by sreejithkk

You could raise a complaint through Maruti web site. It is much more effective than complaining through escalation matrix provided by dealer. Myself and my colleagues had used the same for various issues, and these complaints are tracked till closure by Maruti.
Here is the link for the same.

https://www.marutisuzuki.com/corpora...t-us/complaint

Yes Sir! That's what I had done, and I believe that is also the reason everyone at Sarathy Autocars were on their toes when it came to resolving my concerns.

Though next time if at all there is one I'd keep to the retailers escalation matrix cause MS has no mercy when coming down on their employees, plus I later got to know that any damages would be recovered from the Service Advisor and that is something that doesn't sit well with my conscience, hence why I might not get the same repainted.

Regards,
A.P.

[ashwinprakas]

Went on a New Year drive with the Alto, clocked just about 400km's and had quite a bit of fun exploring Idukki. Here's the route plan;



Funny thing being I cannot recall having driven myself to Idukki before, if you've read any of my travelogues you'd be familiar with the following location;



The twisties were fun but after the 3k mark the tyres have slightly started breaking traction, on the fast corners they did squeal quite a bit, but one incident I recall is me coming down approaching a tight corner and breaking traction before the apex due to momentum and at the same time an Ertiga came the other way, I had to make fast corrections and the tyres were screaming quite a bit but if I'd lost anymore traction or if the tyres had lost composure all at once I would've T-Boned the Ertiga.

A good save it was, but again a real close one as well.

Next time I'm definitely going for Michelins!









Some of these places were quite cold that I had to Turn the AC OFF at times, wanted to drive with the windows down but didn't want to risk getting Covid.







Sathram is a place famous for its trails and I've been wanting to visit for a really long time, as far as driving to the place is concerned, there's not much to see than the below, though the route was quite fun on the Underpowered Alto as it kept me quite engaged.







Factory Outlet for Plantation Products, I felt a bit touristy so got some souvenirs for home;



And now comes the expense log;



I was fairly surprised at the FE as I'd redlined the motor a few times the previous day and had done some fairly high speeds while on some family errands, hence was expecting a FE of around 14~15kmpl or worse, guess driving with the AC only intermittently ON did boost my FE considerably.

The last fill-up was for around 2k and after the drive I had almost twice the number of bars that was there when I started the drive, so that roughly translates to about 1k worth of fuel to clock about 400km's, which would return a higher figure than what my P220 usually returns, even discounting error by digital gauge and my own calculation the result is still surprising and can put a Duke 390 to shame.

Overall, I simply love the Alto! Period.

Regards,
A.P.