[scuderiaferrari]

Finally got the car today. And got it registered too.

It had about 69 km on the odo, as the car was delivered at my place. Should be about 130 - 150 by end of day today and 900 by EOD Sunday.

Thinking of getting it serviced Mon / Tue next week.

So far happy.. Wife was happy too, since she will be the primary driver for this car.

The car has now run 960 kms. From Kerala to Bangalore.

First tankful test gave me 11.9 km/l. This was purely town drive in Kerala.

The next one gave me 12.75 (329.4 km in 25.82 l). This included some town, lot of hilly drive (from Pala to Cumbum, via Thodupuzha, Moolammattom, Idukki, Kattappana). It was a pretty interesting combination of roads, with some real good inclines and twisty bit. The car performed a lot better than I expected. I loved the handling. Lot more inspiring than the i10. Had the tail a bit loose on a couple of ocassions, where my entry to the hairpin was slightly faster. This was between Kattapan and Cumbum.

Found the lag between pushing the accelerator pedal hard and the box dowshifting to be very minimal. I feel it was better than even the ANHC. Definitely, it takes a lot lesser to downshift to a lower gear than my Cruze.

The last stretch from Namakkal to Bangalore (+ 1 day in Bangalore) gave me 15 km/l (346.5 km in 23.09 l)

Got the first service done. Since there was some vibration on the steering wheel, got a wheel balancing also done. Rs. 275 was the overall damage.

SO far, pretty happy with the car.

Attached 2 pictures. 1. It had the A-Star sticker. But not the VXi one. Does the A-Star come with the VXi badge too? Other - Cruze AT and A-Star AT.

[supremeBaleno]

That surely is fast. How did you manage it ? Pulled some strings at MSIL ?

BTW, FIL managed to reverse the car into a wall, while taking it out from home. All I can say is "Hota hai".
From what I hear, not much of damage. Will know when I go to Kerala next weekend.

[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

That surely is fast. How did you manage it ? Pulled some strings at MSIL ?

Used your suggestion sir. Wrote and spoke to some key ppl. Your advice was really helpful.

Now, waiting to get the car...

[pgsagar]

Congrats Scuderia! Good to see A* AT tribe increasing on teambhp. The sportiest looking hatch after Swift. Your opinion should help i10 lovers change their opinion at least one bit who seem to have the habit of ridiculing A*. I have seen guys not knowing a thing about cars suggesting me to buy i10. I think herd mentality is at work here. Anyway coming to A*, a sales guy told me MUL may launch A* AT in ZXI to boost sales. If so, the body-coloured ORVMs, door handles, fog lamps and a tachometer ( which cannot be fitted to a VXI ) will be a bonus. I hope MUL does that sooner than later.

And please, post more pix. Proper pix, I mean.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by scuderiaferrari

It had the A-Star sticker. But not the VXi one. Does the A-Star come with the VXi badge too?

Congrats on the car. Regarding stickers, I guess it is an either-or condition - will have either 'Automatic' or 'Vxi' - not both. Looks like I am the only one to get a Vxi - would have preferred the Automatic sticker though.

Originally Posted by pgsagar

I have seen guys not knowing a thing about cars suggesting me to buy i10. I think herd mentality is at work here.

I think this is more because for a long time i10-Auto was the only available option, so people automatically suggest it.

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Anyway coming to A*, a sales guy told me MUL may launch A* AT in ZXI to boost sales. If so, the body-coloured ORVMs, door handles, fog lamps and a tachometer ( which cannot be fitted to a VXI ) will be a bonus.

You are missing the best part of ZXi - Airbags.

[Mpower]

Congrats on the car. Nice to see more A-star ATs. Hopefully Maruti will get the message that a market exists.

Please use this thread to update us on how its behaving.

[scuderiaferrari]

So far, the car has done close to 1300 kms.

Fuel Consumption figures so far:

1st filling - around 11 km/l (town usage in Kerala)
2nd filling - around 13 km/l (ghat section)
3rd filling - 15 km / l (Highway + moderate AC + 1 day in normal Bangalore traffic)
4th filling - 11.93 km / l (Purely Bangalore traffic+ moderate AC + 1st service)
5th filling - 11.17 km/l (Heavy Bangalore traffic + 5 passengers + 90% AC)

So far, so good. This is similar to what I expected in the initial few 1000 kms... Now starting to drive with much more lighter foot, to see what really to expect.

Can other A-Star AT owners share your experience.

[Dippy]

Those are some decent FE figures scuderiaferrari. As you have mentioned in your post, do start driving with a light foot, you will surely better those figures. My light footed driving gets me around 10.5 in city driving in the OHC and between 15 to 16 kmpl on the highway so the A-Star should get more

Drive safe. There's nothing like an AT hatch. And do post some detailed pictures of your car.

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Anyway coming to A*, a sales guy told me MUL may launch A* AT in ZXI to boost sales.

If Maruti really wants to boost the A-star Automatic sales, it needs to reduce the ridiculous waiting period. Back in 1996 when my dad bought a Maruti 800, the waiting period was almost a year - and nobody was complaining because options were limited.

I booked an A-star Automatic on 03 December 2010, and I am still waiting. I am not pushing with higher ups in Maruti because I don't need the car immediately. Let us see how long it takes without any recommendations.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by scuderiaferrari

5th filling - 11.17 km/l (Heavy Bangalore traffic + 5 passengers + 90% AC).

Sweet! Thats a solid 2-3 kpl more than what an i-10 can do under the same conditions. Clearly advantage Astar in FE.

[supremeBaleno]

@scuderiaferrari, after how many kms of driving around do you normally do a tank-full to check the FE ?

As Mpower mentioned, the FE figures are pretty good for Blore conditions and 5 passengers. BTW, you mention 90% a/c - is it hot out there now ?

[manavdotcom]

Pls share OTR price, any discounts etc.

[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@scuderiaferrari, after how many kms of driving around do you normally do a tank-full to check the FE ?

As Mpower mentioned, the FE figures are pretty good for Blore conditions and 5 passengers. BTW, you mention 90% a/c - is it hot out there now ?

Generally around 150 - 200 kms (around or below half tank.), except on long runs...

For the 90% A/C, it was because I had 5 people in the car, travelling at noon. Did not want to get stuffy, nor inhale all the polluted air.

[scuderiaferrari]

Originally Posted by manavdotcom

Pls share OTR price, any discounts etc.

Bought the car from Kerala.

OTR was around 4.86 L, after the cash discount of 15,000.

Couldn't get the No Claim Bonus letter from Reliance in time. Got it today. Need to find out what can be done to avail the NCB.

Any idea, if I could get a refund, or need to wait till the next year?

This included accessories like Fog Lamp, Security System and Door Sill Guards... (have a 3 year old who loves to jump from the door sill every time possible).
Did sun film later (as A-Star AC is not the best one in Kerala... Surprisingly it turned put a lot better than I expected.)

No other accessories/ extras.

[sushir]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

I booked an A-star Automatic on 03 December 2010, and I am still waiting. I am not pushing with higher ups in Maruti because I don't need the car immediately. Let us see how long it takes without any recommendations.

It took me exact 3 months without pushing at all. Booked on 26th Oct 2010, got it on 27th Jan 2011.