Maruti A-Star review + test Drive

[abhinav.gupta88]

Hey Sid. Thanks a tonne for the review.
Would really help prospect buyers

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

Sid,

Great report (as always, eh?).

I was driving by one of the MS showrooms in Bangalore Bannerghetto road(sounds alright for the condition of the road!) and there was this car on the window in (now trademark color of MS) Sunlight Copper.

It reminded me on a large frog sitting on a potty seat! An ugly one at an ugly act.

The rear window reminded me of porthole window of a rundown cargo ship carrying industrial waste to Cambodian shores. Even Koovam river of Chennai seen from it, will lighten up the spirits for the passengers.

And there is some one in the forum who hard braked from 70 kmph in a ZXI and guess what, it skidded big time. Happened the two times he tried it. Compromised ABS-EBD? I am happy that we bought a Spark recently.

19.xx kmpl? Well that should make the whole pitch credible for us Indians, eh? I have a feeling, it is going to sell like hot cakes, just like everyother Maruti.

BH.

@ froggy thing.

lol..!! yup car skids twice when i hard braked at 60 and 70 kmph (ODO).

[bhojraj]

Suzuki and Maruti knows what indian wants and they also knows how to
play arround indian mind set. Their marketing strtegies are unique.
Their USP is FE and A S S.

One good thing is they cant fool TEAM BHPANS.

Great review. We can wait for the ownership reports. Once owner writes
a review, that will be different. But on the whole it is disgusting.

[mtnrajdeep]

Originally Posted by Gangsta

lol..!! yup car skids twice when i hard braked at 60 and 70 kmph (ODO).

When you say that the car skidded, did you stop and get down to see skid marks on the road? How long were the skid marks? Was there any loss of control over the car? Or, are you going by the screeching sound that you heard on hard braking?

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by mtnrajdeep

When you say that the car skidded, did you stop and get down to see skid marks on the road? How long were the skid marks? Was there any loss of control over the car? Or, are you going by the screeching sound that you heard on hard braking?

I havnt got down on that time, so no comments on skid.

Slight loss of control, as in the first skid, car was going to the left.

In the 2nd skid, car just ran over a pothole on the road, while braking and very loud sound "THUUUUUDDD".

Car took long distance to stop. Then, talking of the screeching sound, at 60-70 kmph car with ABS wont make a loud screeching sound from the tyres like A-Star did.

[ravibhat]

Today sat in A star and realized it might have designed from 2 door hatchback version because it appeared rear seats and rear doors are artificially fixed.

Front seats are awesome with great space but tilt steering is must because front visibility is poor. Quality material used are cheap very much give artificial touch.

Car looks bit od to be very frank.

Boot space is less than M800/Alto and rear seat leg space is less slightly better than Alto/M800 but nothing great.

+ve:

Maruti feeling
Funky looks
Excellant front seats
Good features in top end
Good thud sound of closing doors.
Aerodynamic.

-ve
Odd Looks
Strange boot/not good rear leg space
Dashboard has eaten up more space
Overpriced.

If they launch Diesel version then only it can compete else there are many better cars in its segment.

A Star won't come close to i10 its different segment all together. Lets hope their next launch give better compete with i10 so price of i10 would come down by 20k.

Regards,

Ravi.

[emkay456]

Tutu Dhawan just appeared for the review on Aajtak between i10 and A*. He appreciated the better engine in A* in terms of FE and not much of difference in terms of power. Another plus for A* he mentioned the less Insurance and registration charges. But he finally concluded that i10 is more an ideal car for the Indian family because of the inner comfort and accommodation. A* is for a niche segment and both should not be compared in that sense. He gave 8 out of 10 for i10 and 6.75 to 7 for A*.
As mentioned by someone here, A* is a good car for a couple with maybe one child !!

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by emkay456

Tutu Dhawan just appeared for the review on Aajtak between i10 and A*. He appreciated the better engine in A* in terms of FE and not much of difference in terms of power. Another plus for A* he mentioned the less Insurance and registration charges. But he finally concluded that i10 is more an ideal car for the Indian family because of the inner comfort and accommodation. A* is for a niche segment and both should not be compared in that sense. He gave 8 out of 10 for i10 and 6.75 to 7 for A*.
As mentioned by someone here, A* is a good car for a couple with maybe one child !!

not much of difference in terms of power? nothing new by Mr. TUTU DHAWAN. lolzz Shocker

"But he finally concluded that i10 is more an ideal car for the Indian family because of the inner comfort and accommodation."

damn man haha

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

If they launch Diesel version then only it can compete else there are many better cars in its segment.

We haven’t seen entry of diesels into this segment – I would believe that manufacturers themselves are unsure. But Maruti is doing its bit with LPG variants and could do the same thing with A* also at a later date.

[aseem]

^^He might be comparing it to i-20 1.1 in terms of power. In any case like someone had pointed out, there is a difference between writing a review or making fun of something just caz its not per your expectations.

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by isodope

People in cities will worry more about parking space than boot space.

People in cities do shopping as well, so they will need decent boot space as well!
Unless, you want only couples or singles to buy this car, then they can dump all the bags in the rear seat.

Had dropped in today to see the A* at Popular Mamangalam, Cochin. The showroom was rather busy and we had to wait a few minutes just to get a chance to sit in it. Have asked for a TD this monday. The dealer claims a 4 month waiting list in cochin. Is this true in other cities too?
We'll wait and see if all this is launch hype, or whether this is a sustained demand.

My 1st impression-
Car looks nice(to me) let me rephrase that- it looks stunning!
Loved the interiors
Front seat was nice, ergonomics good
Rear seat- who cares?!! I never sit there, and I can always borrow dad's or bro's cars if I need the extra seats.
Boot was shockingly small

Waiting for that elusive TD vehicle.

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by aseem

^^He might be comparing it to i-20 1.1 in terms of power. In any case like someone had pointed out, there is a difference between writing a review or making fun of something just caz its not per your expectations.

it's i10 1.1 not i20 1.1, typo mistake dude cheers:

now, we all know we can compare it with i10 1.1 only, not 1.2L. still performance of i10 1.1 is superior than A-Star. Thats what i felt. Power on papers doesnt mean the car actually can perform what had written on the papers.

Even if we compare it's 3 pot 65+ hp DOHC engine with Wagon R's 64 HP engine. Wagon R is much quicker than A-Star.

[SkyWalker]

for a different perception, check out BS Motoring Review of A Star.

Top Story - A-Star car? - Business Standard Motoring

They feel the engine is peppy, city drive is good and have an overall very good impression of the car.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

for a different perception, check out BS Motoring Review of A Star.

Top Story - A-Star car? - Business Standard Motoring

They feel the engine is peppy, city drive is good and have an overall very good impression of the car.

Looks like more than one journals have given good opinions about this car but some enthusiasts here think otherwise.
Anyway you cant please everyone. But I think Maruti have a winner here. For 90% of small car customers FE and Maruti name are the most important thing. It will sell (even that super ugly WagonR sells like hot cakes!!!)