[slackyboy]

My dad and I saw the first Celerio on road yesterday. It was a Vxi. It looked very skinny and unattractive. My dad who was thinking about buying it earlier, said right away that he wouldnt want to buy and drive this!. I personally feel that the i10 grand looks much better and surely has a premium feel to it.

[rageshgr]

Dear guys,

I am considering an AT which should ride and handle decently, have safety features at around < 6 lacs.

The fully loaded AT-Star AT ABS has some deals going and is available around 5 lac OTR. Which brings it bang in the territory of the lowest end Celerio AMT. My running will expense says that the extra fuel economy provided by the Celerio may not matter much in the long run. The LXI or even VXI AMT does not come with any safety equipment and no stereo either.

The only thing against the A-Star is the small rear space and the fact that A-Star might soon be phased out and replaced by Celerio.

Would it still be a good idea to go for the A-Star?

[bhardwhu]

I would say A-star is a better bet.

You have already identified the safety as one of the important determinant. ABS comes standard in A-Star.
The car also is more fun to drive as compared to Celerio.
In my opinion, I find it better looking and has more solid feel as compared to Celerio.

The downside is a possible phase out, which should not affect you for next couple of years with the reliable Maruti A.S.S.
The other negative is a possible lower gas average which might affect you if you drive extensively. The difference could be 15kmpl vs 20 kmpl approximately.

Rear seat space is based on your needs and if it is not going to be used majorly, why bother?

That is my take on the choice - A-Star!

[mints21]

A lot of threads on the forum exists that discuss this. Also, please be advised that Maruti has already discontinued the A-Star.

The AStar that you have mentioned you are getting may be out of old unsold stock that the dealer may be having at this stockyard.

Please do a little search on the forum and you will get an answer.

[amansanc]

If you are on a strict budget, i would advice you to get the A-Star AT. Although the car is old and might be phased out soon, it at least has the basic safety features. If i were in your place, i would have bought the A-Star. At 5 lakhs OTR, its extremely VFM. You get a lot more features when you compare it to celerio. And you can use the remaining cash for ICE, alloys and tire upgrades

Cheers!
amansanc

[manishkapadia]

Prices of AT hatchbacks seemed to have increased tremendously . I remember having purchased my i10 AUTO (Sportz ) @ 5.15 Lac OTR Mumbai in 2010.
i10 is used Only and Only within the Mumbai city. Juhu to BKC most of the time.

At prices touching 7.5 and 8 lacs OTR it makes sense to buy a structurally better car.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by manishkapadia

At prices touching 7.5 and 8 lacs OTR it makes sense to buy a structurally better car.

Till these NCAP ratings were done I don't think people knew the condition of these cars when crashed. Thanks to these ratings we have come to know their structural integrity.

Anurag.

[slicvic]

The A-Star sells globally as the Alto, is that version going to be phased out as well? If that continues then there will be no issues of parts availability from Maruti since it will continue to be produced in India.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Would it still be a good idea to go for the A-Star?

- Are you OK with the space offered by A-Star?
- Have you considered that angle?

Its quite sad that what ever be the price, ABS/ Airbags dont seem to be standard offering. From a space point of view I was about to suggest Grand i10 AT sportz. But realised, even after paying that much; ABS/Airbags are not a part of it. A-Star is definitely a good package. Just see if you are OK with the space it offers.

[rageshgr]

Thanks everyone

Originally Posted by slicvic

The A-Star sells globally as the Alto, is that version going to be phased out as well?

Thanks. I came to know that A-Star is discontinued in India atleast. Not sure if it is the case globally. Even then do you think Maruti will retract the spares or make them too costly?

Originally Posted by ampere

- Are you OK with the space offered by A-Star?

Thanks Ampere. The car will be used by me alone for the next 1 year, to go to office, after which also, too many family trips are not on the cards. We are a family of 4 now. We used to manage with a Santro Xing, as a family of 5. Is the A-Star even smaller than the Santro Xing on the inside?

If buying a discontinued is not a problem, then A-Star AT ticks ally my boxes with a big chunky TICK.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Is the A-Star even smaller than the Santro Xing on the inside?

Its way too small and the boot is next to non-existent. That was the reason I mentioned you should check about the space aspect.

Even I TD'ed the A-Star AT once while looking at change from my i10-AT (Had some trouble with the lease). I was really impressed by the drive and suspensions. But the space, esp coming from an i10 point of view put me off. Thankfully the lease problems got resolved and I am continuing with my Gen-1 i10-AT. A-Star is a perfect city car for 2 and a very good highway car for drive too. But nothing to mention about the boot.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Thanks everyone


Thanks. I came to know that A-Star is discontinued in India atleast. Not sure if it is the case globally. Even then do you think Maruti will retract the spares or make them too costly?

If buying a discontinued is not a problem, then A-Star AT ticks ally my boxes with a big chunky TICK.

I don't think availability of parts/spares will be a problem for the next several years. I bought a pre-owned zen the year it was phased out and during the 4 year ownership never had an issue with spares/service.

IN addition, a lot of the parts will be shared across cars and in addition if I am not mistaken, the AT box in the Astar is and will continue to do duty in the Dzire AT and also Ritz AT. So you should be good.

But as mentioned by ampere in the posts above, the A Star has very little space in the back and the boot is very small. It is definitely not as spacious as a Santro.

If you are ok with pre-owned, in the 5-6 lakhs range you may get more choices (For Eg: a 3-4 yr old Honda City AT).

[slicvic]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Thanks. I came to know that A-Star is discontinued in India atleast. Not sure if it is the case globally. Even then do you think Maruti will retract the spares or make them too costly?

Don't have a reference but have read on this forum itself, that once discontinued the spares availability will continue for 7 years.

Only problem is the resale of a discontinued model drops drastically.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

The only thing against the A-Star is the small rear space and the fact that A-Star might soon be phased out and replaced by Celerio.

I just booked a Celerio last weekend for my friend and was told Estilo and A-Star are already phased out and its just clearing of inventories is what they are concerned with(no wonder the discounts). So be rest assured its going out. And, the CELERIO AMT versions don't comes with any safety features at all. The sales-person told me as per the company this will be used only in city where people don't need safety features. Maruti, really?

BTW if space is something you prioritize Celerio is way ahead of A-Star specially for rear seat passengers though the under-thigh support is a downer. Infact I test drove the Grand i10 just after celerio and though it feels premium but spacewise Celerio takes the cake.

Originally Posted by rageshgr

I am considering an AT which should ride and handle decently, have safety features at around < 6 lacs.

The car rides decently and the AMT is a welcome change at that price. I have an Estilo myself with the same engine and it feels a tad bit quicker but again Celerio is heavier so its understandable. Chugging it around in the city would be breeze like any other maruti hatch. I noticed a sudden change in note at higher revvs(ofcourse in the MT version) which was kinda nice

Coming to safety features am disappointed to see Maruti didnt even give ABS as an option in VXi/ZXi (Ritz does come with that option in VXi). Only in ZXi-opt i.e. MT you get everything. Wish you all the best


P.S : For the 30k extra in Celerio ZXi over VXi you get quite a few stuff like Air-bag,Rear defogger/wiper,single din audio system with 4 speakers, Integrated turn indicators on wing mirrors to name a few. Hope this helps.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Thanks everyone


Thanks. I came to know that A-Star is discontinued in India atleast. Not sure if it is the case globally. Even then do you think Maruti will retract the spares or make them too costly?

If buying a discontinued is not a problem, then A-Star AT ticks ally my boxes with a big chunky TICK.

As per the government rule, vehicles that are discontinued/off production lines permanently SHOULD have ALL spares available till the next 10 years. Since the A-Star was stopped recently, spares should not be a problem and most of them are sharing with WagonR or some other car from Maruti stable.

Anurag.