Maruti A-Star review + test Drive

extreme_torque · 20th November 2008, 22:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

I have not driven Maruti A-star till now and I think that not many have driven A-star, so we cannot comment on engine being inferior or superior to Spark or not.

Well Sid's review is pretty nice and I trust him completely. That aside I cant see how a 3-Cylinder engine can be better than a 4-Cylinder engine of the same capacity, power and torque. The engine in spark is amazingly refined.

rahul18348 · 20th November 2008, 23:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Well Sid's review is pretty nice and I trust him completely. That aside I cant see how a 3-Cylinder engine can be better than a 4-Cylinder engine of the same capacity, power and torque. The engine in spark is amazingly refined.

If common sense prevails then spark is a much better option than a* considering the price vis-a-vis features. I don't think a* mileage will be as good as an alto & with that price it is neither here nor there.

I was waiting for a* but from what i've seen & heard i am now planning on buying a spark.

pras.oct25 · 21st November 2008, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahul18348

If common sense prevails then spark is a much better option than a* considering the price vis-a-vis features. I don't think a* mileage will be as good as an alto & with that price it is neither here nor there.

I was waiting for a* but from what i've seen & heard i am now planning on buying a spark.

A huge ad on the last page of "The Hindu" today. An entire page dedicated to the A*. Theyve quoted 19.6kmpl for its mileage and a starting price of 3.47 ex showroom and that too for non metallic colours. Looked rather funny as well.
I suppose the car would be perfect for a family of 3 (husband, wife and small kid).

toiingg · 21st November 2008, 10:41

the looks remind me of "gappu" my bubble eyed goldfish.
on this car, the headlights look out of place\shape. Just too ugly IMO

enter · 21st November 2008, 14:14

I did a TD today.
These are my comments

1. The handling of the car is awesome.
2. The front leg room is good and better than other cars(i10, santro) and dont even compare it with Alto pls.
3. The back seat is as crampy as in Alto or an i10(slightly better)..
4. The back seat can be folded easily to give way to more luggage and boot.
5. I dont know how can people compare Alto and A*. Alto is a much smaller and less refined engine than this, and yes they both have same mileage. For the little less leg room and little more mileage, you are paying 30k less for a* than i10.

emkay456 · 21st November 2008, 16:24

Think we need to see some TV Channel Experts giving their review in the light of contradictory opinions coming in here - the two TDs oscillated from "disastrous" to "awesome" !!

Eddy · 21st November 2008, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by emkay456

Think we need to see some TV Channel Experts giving their review in the light of contradictory opinions coming in here - the two TDs oscillated from "disastrous" to "awesome" !!

TV channel experts, you must be kidding me. The reports here are as genuine as you will find anywhere. TV guys are people who do cosmetic reviews and those too are biased most of the time.

emkay456 · 21st November 2008, 16:38

I did not mean totally depend on TV experts. Just get another angle to the whole issue considering what has been discussed here. I do not believe that the present two TDs here are helping us form an opinion either way except for the consensus on the rear space.

S_budhiraj · 21st November 2008, 16:46

Folks the A-star to me is like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, have seen the car in Flash on launching, liked few things and disliked few things as well.

My wife was after my life for this A-Star after seeing the concept in Auto-Expo and know after seeing this she is also very much disappointed.

crn12 · 21st November 2008, 16:53

Here you go guys:

ZigWheels, Maruti Suzuki A Star test drive - Truveo Video Search

Thats the TD video of Astar, the colour surprisingly looks soothing

Cheers
Nitin

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 21st November 2008, 18:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by enter

5. I dont know how can people compare Alto and A*.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...lace-alto.html

Quote:

Alto is a much smaller and less refined engine than this, and yes they both have same mileage.

And the Indian Alto has far more aged fuel system.

Quote:

For the little less leg room and little more mileage, you are paying 30k less for a* than i10.

That is rather subjective. Which variants are you comparing.

Technocrat · 21st November 2008, 18:56

Well technically the M800, Old Zen & the Alto are all nothing but the different generations of Suzuki Alto

Quote:

And the Indian Alto has far more aged fuel system.

What do you mean by This?

finneyp · 21st November 2008, 19:13

Just saw the Zigwheels video posted above, the side of A* resembles the Santro old version, the front looks odd with those snooty headlamps, only rear looks decent....!

jalsa777 · 21st November 2008, 21:29

saw that video.

kinda liked the looks initially, but all the good feelings went away once they zoomed in.

i think they should have done something to the headlights,
something like on the concept.

orange indicators or some thing.
-------------------------------------------

and about FE being a priority for indian customers:

people ask me 'average kya hai?' for our single seater race car.
i mean...i m out of words here.

vijayk · 21st November 2008, 21:44

Like some of you, I am also looking for a small hatchback and analyzing different models for last one year.

I have just seen this car yesterday morning in ABT Maruthi showroom, Chennai and got into it. But it was not given for TD. There are two variants in display. One is Red, ZXI, the higher end and the other one is black lower end.

Here is my view on this A* (ZXI).

Exterior:

At my first sight, it looks cute as it has big tyres for its size. The front view is peppy and the back view looks neat. When I opened the door and closed it, I feel the built is better than Alto. Overall the look of the car is not odd but peppy for me.

Space and comfort:

When I entered into the driver side, I feel comfortable but it is not like Santro’s high seating position to have the clear road view. The front passenger seat is very comfy and leg room is better. I can stretch my leg almost fully (I am 5.6 ft)

But contrast to the front, the rear seat is not at all comfortable. At back, it is not roomy and looks cramped by very less leg space and thick C pillars. When I sit there, my knew is touching the back of front seat. If the front passenger or the driver adjusts the seat to move back, it will be very difficult to the back seat passengers. One guy taller than me entered into the back seat and I found his head is just few centimeters from the roof. But the seat is OK for two or even for 3 childrens. The back seat is giving 3 seat belts and 2 head rests. And the whole back seat is foldable but not a split type.

The boot is very very small as mentioned by Sid. There is also a parcel tray to have small items.

Interior:

The steering wheel is good (thanks, its from swift) to hold but I feel it could have been better with height adjustable. The gear is well placed and it looks sporty. The instrument panel looks good along with the music system but the switches on the doors looks cheep in plastic.

Engine:

The showroom guy has tried parking the car on the carpet inside the showroom A/C hall and I was standing near the car. I feel the engine is very silent and I hear only like small pedestal fan sound even we were inside a silent A/C hall.

I don’t know about the performance and pickup, so I can not comment on it.

I hope we expect FE at least 15+ overall by seeing the figure in papers.

Overall:

I hope it will be a sure success even though it is slightly priced. Because…

* It is Maruthi
* May be targeted for a small family of 2+1 or 2+2 and for the youngsters going college.
* It will be a good urban vehicle considering small boot, peppy engine and good FE.
* Most of our people are ready to compromise on comfort but mostly not in FE with Maruthi.
* It will be exported to around 150 countries. I had been in Europe for few times. Mostly I see people drive cars alone (to office) or with their spouse or with one or two children. With good FE and peppy style, I hope A* opts for those people.

But….. for me?

I prefer i10 as of now…..

21st November 2008, 10:41	#79
toiingg BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 639 Thanked: 266 Times	the looks remind me of "gappu" my bubble eyed goldfish. on this car, the headlights look out of place\shape. Just too ugly IMO Last edited by toiingg : 21st November 2008 at 10:42.
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 14:14	#80
enter Newbie Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: delhi Posts: 20 Thanked: 0 Times	I did a TD today. These are my comments 1. The handling of the car is awesome. 2. The front leg room is good and better than other cars(i10, santro) and dont even compare it with Alto pls. 3. The back seat is as crampy as in Alto or an i10(slightly better).. 4. The back seat can be folded easily to give way to more luggage and boot. 5. I dont know how can people compare Alto and A. Alto is a much smaller and less refined engine than this, and yes they both have same mileage. For the little less leg room and little more mileage, you are paying 30k less for a than i10.
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 16:24	#81
emkay456 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 388 Thanked: 7 Times	Think we need to see some TV Channel Experts giving their review in the light of contradictory opinions coming in here - the two TDs oscillated from "disastrous" to "awesome" !!
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 16:38	#83
emkay456 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 388 Thanked: 7 Times	I did not mean totally depend on TV experts. Just get another angle to the whole issue considering what has been discussed here. I do not believe that the present two TDs here are helping us form an opinion either way except for the consensus on the rear space.
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 16:46	#84
S_budhiraj BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 275 Thanked: Once	Folks the A-star to me is like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, have seen the car in Flash on launching, liked few things and disliked few things as well. My wife was after my life for this A-Star after seeing the concept in Auto-Expo and know after seeing this she is also very much disappointed.
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 16:53	#85
crn12 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 184 Thanked: 5 Times	A Star - Test Drive Video on a website Here you go guys: ZigWheels, Maruti Suzuki A Star test drive - Truveo Video Search Thats the TD video of Astar, the colour surprisingly looks soothing Cheers Nitin
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 19:13	#88
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,716 Thanked: 319 Times View My Garage	Just saw the Zigwheels video posted above, the side of A* resembles the Santro old version, the front looks odd with those snooty headlamps, only rear looks decent....!
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 21:29	#89
jalsa777 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 732 Thanked: 1,678 Times	saw that video. kinda liked the looks initially, but all the good feelings went away once they zoomed in. i think they should have done something to the headlights, something like on the concept. orange indicators or some thing. ------------------------------------------- and about FE being a priority for indian customers: people ask me 'average kya hai?' for our single seater race car. i mean...i m out of words here. Last edited by jalsa777 : 21st November 2008 at 21:31.
	() Thanks

21st November 2008, 21:44	#90
vijayk BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ChEnNaI Posts: 178 Thanked: 125 Times	Like some of you, I am also looking for a small hatchback and analyzing different models for last one year. I have just seen this car yesterday morning in ABT Maruthi showroom, Chennai and got into it. But it was not given for TD. There are two variants in display. One is Red, ZXI, the higher end and the other one is black lower end. Here is my view on this A* (ZXI). Exterior: At my first sight, it looks cute as it has big tyres for its size. The front view is peppy and the back view looks neat. When I opened the door and closed it, I feel the built is better than Alto. Overall the look of the car is not odd but peppy for me. Space and comfort: When I entered into the driver side, I feel comfortable but it is not like Santro’s high seating position to have the clear road view. The front passenger seat is very comfy and leg room is better. I can stretch my leg almost fully (I am 5.6 ft) But contrast to the front, the rear seat is not at all comfortable. At back, it is not roomy and looks cramped by very less leg space and thick C pillars. When I sit there, my knew is touching the back of front seat. If the front passenger or the driver adjusts the seat to move back, it will be very difficult to the back seat passengers. One guy taller than me entered into the back seat and I found his head is just few centimeters from the roof. But the seat is OK for two or even for 3 childrens. The back seat is giving 3 seat belts and 2 head rests. And the whole back seat is foldable but not a split type. The boot is very very small as mentioned by Sid. There is also a parcel tray to have small items. Interior: The steering wheel is good (thanks, its from swift) to hold but I feel it could have been better with height adjustable. The gear is well placed and it looks sporty. The instrument panel looks good along with the music system but the switches on the doors looks cheep in plastic. Engine: The showroom guy has tried parking the car on the carpet inside the showroom A/C hall and I was standing near the car. I feel the engine is very silent and I hear only like small pedestal fan sound even we were inside a silent A/C hall. I don’t know about the performance and pickup, so I can not comment on it. I hope we expect FE at least 15+ overall by seeing the figure in papers. Overall: I hope it will be a sure success even though it is slightly priced. Because… * It is Maruthi * May be targeted for a small family of 2+1 or 2+2 and for the youngsters going college. * It will be a good urban vehicle considering small boot, peppy engine and good FE. * Most of our people are ready to compromise on comfort but mostly not in FE with Maruthi. * It will be exported to around 150 countries. I had been in Europe for few times. Mostly I see people drive cars alone (to office) or with their spouse or with one or two children. With good FE and peppy style, I hope A* opts for those people. But….. for me? I prefer i10 as of now…..
	() Thanks