Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 (2nd Gen) M.S.Dhoni Edition: Ownership Review

[Suhelmak]

Ownership Update:- The car has covered 64700 km as of now, in November it completes 5 years. Infact even in the pandemic condition the car completed 14700 km in the last 11 months. If it would not have been for the additional Tigor in the family which completed 60000 km in last 4 years, this Alto would have easily hit 1 lakh kilometers in 5 years.
The clutch gave up at 64000 km, infact the ride was absolutely fine till say 63700 km but was completely undriveable at 64000, although the clutch had hardened a few thousand km ago and car was giving ridiculously low average made us doubtful that clutch is acting up.
My dads driving style is to blame here he rides the clutch, the fact that there is no footrest near the clutch makes it difficult for him.
Was in a dilemma as to give it to MASS or my FNG. MASS quoted an expence of 7500 rupees for the entire job which included changing everything from pressure plate to bearing, clutch etc. My FNG gave a quote of 5000. Took a leap of faith, went with FNG, the clutch was opened, everything was beyond of its operatable condition, clutch plate was as smoothe as polished marble. Realease bearing was making noise, pressure plate had hardened like hell.
One good thing that my FNG mechanic does is always suggests MGP, and no jugaad second party spares. Got all the material, new clutch plate, new pressure plate, release bearing and other items, got it fitted after my approval.
Now the car rides like new, clutch is super light and feels like car has got a fresh punch of power.
Front suspensions were making noise so removed them and FNG mech did some suspension service and the noise has vanished completely.

Here is the engine bay opened up for the job

The flywheel, we retained it.

The worn out pressure plate and clutch plate, the other side of clutch plate is just plain smooth, unfortunately forgot to take pic of the other side.

Just look at the groove in pressure plate caused by the rivettes of worn out clutch.

The new material and the old

As I type this post it just hit me that its exactly one year and 14k km since the last major service was done, due to hectic schedule the service schedule got overshot, next week will get the annual service done.
What a reliable car has the K10 been, this is our first ever car that we have retained for more than 4 years, dad usually changes car at the 4 year mark, but given the smoothness of alto and the way it is serving us, we will keep it for much longer time.
Next I am going to try a DIY foot rest install near the clutch, there is some space to accommodate it, so my dad rides the clutch a little less.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

@Suhelmak , Try getting Old Santro Deadpedal.

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Hi Suhelmak,

Excellent review on the K10 you own, drive and enjoy.

Actually Alto K10 (first gen, in 2013, the bigger one than what you drive) was in my cards, when I was shopping cars in 2013. However, looking at the fluidic design of EON at that point of time, March 2013, I took a test drive in Chennai at a Mela and booked it (EON Petrol D Lite plus, blue colour, final agreed on road price of INR 3,59,000.00, excluding the assured corporate discount of INR 3,000.00, which would bring down the actual cost to INR 3.56L). I was asked to book the EON by paying 20k. I wrote them a cheque for 50k, and the receipt was made. In no time, Dad happened to look at a Hyundai Santro GL Plus that was kept as a display vehicle there (it was actually booked by the owner of the Petrol bunk, where the Mela had been organized). Dad instantly fell in love on the Santro (silver colour), and was sold for its bigger size, taller road presence, high seating position, and what not.

The sales rep was motivated and he voluntarily offered me the keys of the Santro (he appreciated the upgrade, possibly for some bonus incentives). We did a test drive of Santro, and everyone in my family (me, my wife, my first daughter and my dad) fell in and were sold for Santro. What next - booking of EON was upgraded to Santro, full payment was made in cheque the next day, and next 15 days, the car was delivered.

We enjoyed Santro Xing 2013 GL Plus Petrol for 100 full months (8 years and 4 months) and sold the car for a bigger one in July 2021. The car was an awesome family car, and we used it primarily for our highway trips like - Chennai - Tuticorin, Chennai - Kanyakumari, Chennai - Rameshwaram, Chennai - Karaikudi, Bangalore, Velanganni, Tirupathi, Kalahasthi (AP), Trichirapalli, Karur, etc.

Santro was never my daily ride, and it was driven only on highways. Out of the 41,800 kms I had on the odometer while selling it in July 2021, 95% of these kilometres were on highways and less than 5% was in cities.

Happy to mention that my Santro (erstwhile car) is being pampered and well-worshipped by its second owner.

The rationale behind comparing my Santro Xing with your Alto K10 was, the way we both loved (love) our cars were found to be similar.

Further, I was favoring Alto K10, which was costing around 3.66L on road in Chennai in 2013, and with full fittings / accessories, it came around 3.96L, I loved its refinement. I would say out of my experience with both cars (my close friend / colleague has a 2012 K10), K10 engine has more refinement in highway drives, especially at 100-110 kph, and I love that smoothness more than the same in my Santro Xing, even though it is a 4 cylinder.

If I had not gone mad with the fluidic design of EON (new at that period of time - 2013), I would definitely have ended up with an Alto K10, and I would really have enjoyed the car to the fullest, for its refined engine (even though 3 cylinder), and would also have been benefited by its better mileage.

My Santro too wasn't that bad in mileage:

Inside Chennai city it would deliver around 12.5-13 kpl in AC, little more till 14.5 kpl when without AC.
The best highway mileage I have extracted from my Santro Xing were:
1). 20.96 kpl when the car was pretty new, with just 300+ kms on odo, when I drove with my family to Bangalore and back, with speeds not exceeding 60 kph upward journey, and within 80 kph during return. The AC was completely off, that is ZERO % AC.

2). The best mileage record with 100% AC was when I drove sometime back in 2015 / 16, from Chennai to Tuticorin on NH45 and then NH45B from Tiruchirapalli (which is an excellent road to drive), with speeds not exceeding 90-95 kph, I extraxted 19.4 kpl.

In other highway trips, I used to get varying mileages like 17.5 kpl - 18.5 kpl, depending on the speed.

As and when I hit 120 kph, I would end up with mileage around 16 kpl with AC on highways too.

Overall, you have a sweet drive car, please keep it for long. For the way you maintain your car, it will last for more than 1.5L kms on odo.

I too loved my Santro, but the only reason I had to upgrade to something bigger was the need for a comfortable rear seat which can accomodate 3 ppl in my family in long 600+ kms one way kind of journeys and also I needed bigger boot space, as 218 L of boot space in my erstwhile Santro wasn't sufficient for my 1300-1500 kms round trip long drive to my native.

Thus, I was cornered to sell my lovely Santro.

But in your case, since you have another beast Tigor (3 cylinder, but a great car to handle with excellent 4 star build), you wouldn't probably have the necessity to sell off your K10 any time soon... Just a suggestion - keep your cars for longer period and extract your ROI on the money invested.

Best Regards
Kumar S
+91 7200067199

 

[Suhelmak]

Hi @Kumar_CarFreak, thanks for that wonderful insight. Yes I want to retain the car for as long as possible, maybe forever. As I know down the line I will be offered 40-50 k rupees for this car whenever we decide to sell it maybe 4-5 years later. So better I will just keep it. The Tigor diesel is taking care of most highway runs now, so this car will be pampered in city. This car has already survived a sale bid when dad thot of exchanging it for the New Wagonr back in Feb 2020. Maruti guys were offering a ridiculous 1.5 lakhs for a 3 year, 42k km run well maintained scratchless K10! At that point we just walked out, then the lockdown arrived, and our car got saved. The only aspect if this car will get sold is my dad, if he says he wants to replace it he will replace it as its his car and his money.

What I liked with the K10 is the car got more refined with the age, engine became more smoother, gear became more smooth, suspension became less bumpy and choppy. AC and steering are as good as day 1, interior rattles are there only on bad roads, color shine too has retained well. Only when I started getting the car serviced at FNG did I realise what a no nonsense car it is.

Thanks!

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Hi @Kumar_CarFreak, thanks for that wonderful insight. Yes I want to retain the car for as long as possible, maybe forever. As I know down the line I will be offered 40-50 k rupees for this car whenever we decide to sell it maybe 4-5 years later. So better I will just keep it. The Tigor diesel is taking care of most highway runs now, so this car will be pampered in city. This car has already survived a sale bid when dad thot of exchanging it for the New Wagonr back in Feb 2020. Maruti guys were offering a ridiculous 1.5 lakhs for a 3 year, 42k km run well maintained scratchless K10! At that point we just walked out, then the lockdown arrived, and our car got saved. The only aspect if this car will get sold is my dad, if he says he wants to replace it he will replace it as its his car and his money.

What I liked with the K10 is the car got more refined with the age, engine became more smoother, gear became more smooth, suspension became less bumpy and choppy. AC and steering are as good as day 1, interior rattles are there only on bad roads, color shine too has retained well. Only when I started getting the car serviced at FNG did I realise what a no nonsense car it is.

Thanks!

Correct bro. 1.5L for a 3 year well maintained K10 is peanuts. But after 4-5 years, your car will be appraised more, and not the 40-50k rupees as you have mentioned. There is always a want for Maruti as Indians have soft corner for this brand. And a well maintained 10 year old K10 would fetch you quite a decent money. If you were from my city (Chennai), after next 5 years - by 2025-26, I would happily pick it up from you for around 1L, provided you have revised tyres and the car in the same pristine condition.

I

Hi @Kumar_CarFreak, thanks for that wonderful insight. Yes I want to retain the car for as long as possible, maybe forever. As I know down the line I will be offered 40-50 k rupees for this car whenever we decide to sell it maybe 4-5 years later. So better I will just keep it. The Tigor diesel is taking care of most highway runs now, so this car will be pampered in city. This car has already survived a sale bid when dad thot of exchanging it for the New Wagonr back in Feb 2020. Maruti guys were offering a ridiculous 1.5 lakhs for a 3 year, 42k km run well maintained scratchless K10! At that point we just walked out, then the lockdown arrived, and our car got saved. The only aspect if this car will get sold is my dad, if he says he wants to replace it he will replace it as its his car and his money.

What I liked with the K10 is the car got more refined with the age, engine became more smoother, gear became more smooth, suspension became less bumpy and choppy. AC and steering are as good as day 1, interior rattles are there only on bad roads, color shine too has retained well. Only when I started getting the car serviced at FNG did I realise what a no nonsense car it is.

Thanks!

I am also interested to know more about your ownership experience of your Tigor Revotorq. How is it in terms of performance and maintanence, any teething issues after 60k kms, you had mentioned you had achieved on odo sometime last year. 1.05L diesel is too small an engine, and people say it attracts engine related issues sooner. Is that true?

By the way, please advise if you have a similar ownership review on your Diesel Tigor. Would love to run through it.

 

[Suhelmak]

Tata Tigor XT Diesel [2017] Copper Dazzle: An Unbeatable Workhorse

@Kumar_CarFreak there you go, there is a detailed thread on the same updated a few days ago. That 1.05 diesel is small, though I have never felt it really slow, obviously not a rocket like 1.3 mjd, but believe me I find the performance on par with what I got on my 2009 Ritz lxi or even our earlier 2013 Ertiga vxi. I have done a nonstop Mumbai Indore 700 km run on that car and it didnt feel a bit underpowered. The tigor 1.05 diesel engine unnessesarily gained bad mouthing, this was done by those who never even drove it, just looked at the specs on paper.

Let me give you one more thing to read if interested, below is my detailed ownership thread of my 2012 Classic 350
Royal Enfield Classic 350 (2012): My Life Companion

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Tata Tigor XT Diesel [2017] Copper Dazzle: An Unbeatable Workhorse

@Kumar_CarFreak there you go, there is a detailed thread on the same updated a few days ago. That 1.05 diesel is small, though I have never felt it really slow, obviously not a rocket like 1.3 mjd, but believe me I find the performance on par with what I got on my 2009 Ritz lxi or even our earlier 2013 Ertiga vxi. I have done a nonstop Mumbai Indore 700 km run on that car and it didnt feel a bit underpowered. The tigor 1.05 diesel engine unnessesarily gained bad mouthing, this was done by those who never even drove it, just looked at the specs on paper.

Let me give you one more thing to read if interested, below is my detailed ownership thread of my 2012 Classic 350
Royal Enfield Classic 350 (2012): My Life Companion

Yeah - just happened to read your review on the 1.05L Tigor Revotorq. I was curious to know how it performed, since I have never personally driven a Diesel Tiago / Tigor, but have driven Tiago and Tigor in petrol a lot. Too many negative comments came up about the 1.05L Revotorq stating we have to face engine issues sooner than the bigger diesels like 1.3, 1.5, etc. Some say, bigger the displacement of diesel, higher are the chances of fuss free ownership. But somehow, I have a friend in Bangalore who has been using Tigor 1.05L Revotorq Diesel in Bangalore for the past 4+ years, and he has driven more than 50k kms now, and has never faced any engine issue. Now and then, the regular wear and tear replacements, and periodic maintenance services are the only occasions he has spent on the car, apart from his fuel and insurance expenses. He drives mostly in Bangalore city, with a daily drive of around 80-100 kms, and sometimes he drives down to Chennai, to Coimbatore and Trichy. He's quite happy with his Tigor. He has a Polo GT TSI as well, for his enthusiastic tastes and needs (performance shots) .

And yes, definitely I shall go through your RE 350 review tomorrow. You seem to present a honest and bias-free review and you seem to be technically strong in automotive engineering . So I shall follow all your three reviews.

Even I have been reviewing my TVS Victor 2016 and Honda Activa 2014 in TAI for sometime, but very few people comment their opinions. Now and then I feel demotivated thinking that this is because I own and ride / drive inexpensive vehicles, however there are a couple of regular readers who are following both my reviews.

I also have a review on my erstwhile Santro Xing 2013, which I have sold a couple of months back, and that describes my pleasant moments along with odd hours I have faced with Santro Xing (not because of reliability, but due to incidents).

 

[Suhelmak]

@Kumar_CarFreak I really have very less experience in automotive stuff and gaining knowledge just through the forums.
Please paste your links here will like to go through, in fact in a few months I am going to put up my Honda Dio 2009 review, it is still running good.
For a true enthusiast there is nothing such as expensive or inexpensive vehicle, believe me a well maintained Suzuki Max 100 R excites me as much as an Interceptor, everything has its own charm.

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

@Kumar_CarFreak I really have very less experience in automotive stuff and gaining knowledge just through the forums.
Please paste your links here will like to go through, in fact in a few months I am going to put up my Honda Dio 2009 review, it is still running good.
For a true enthusiast there is nothing such as expensive or inexpensive vehicle, believe me a well maintained Suzuki Max 100 R excites me as much as an Interceptor, everything has its own charm.

Hondas are Honda's. They are always next to reliable. But for the very rate breakdowns, you can blindly buy their vehicles, as they are Honda.

I loved Dio as well in 2014, when I was shopping for a scooter for my wife, those days, Dio was achieving its peak market. I could see in Chennai that many male guys started shifting to Dio from their manual transmission bikes.

I too loved Dio and proposed one for my wife, however I felt Activa would be tad better for its metal body over / rather than the plastic body of Dio (Dio owners not to be offended here, as its my personal choice), and I never went wrong, especially when Activa's metallic body saved my wife from two accidents.

I have personally ridden my neighbor's and friends' 2012 Dio (full yellow body), and trust me it was great. The kind of instant pickup it delivered was awesome. Add to it the monoshock rear suspension set up, you can simply play with Dio in any mad traffic in the city.

New TVS Victor (2016): 15,000 Kms Ownership Experience

Honda Activa 110: Our Purple Queen & Daily Work Horse

Hyundai Santro Xing GL Plus (2013): Ownership Review

Above are the links of the vehicles I own / owned.

Santro's review has to be ended and the homework is in progress. Just lack of time...

I almost completed going through your review of your Classic RE 350. You really rock in your reviews, especially the kind of love and care you have for your RE.

RE deserves all the love & care you pamper on it. But as I always say, please ride safe. Was discussing with wife last night about your RE accident, when you couldn't stop your vehicle from 70 kmph, when the dog suddenly crossed your path. Even her brother (my BIL) has the same model RE Classic 350 (I guess 2017 or 18, unsure), and he too does long distances such as Bangalore to Karaikudi (one way 450 kms). He also has a plan to do a Leh and Ladakh trip in his RE from Bangalore and we all have a strict "No No" for that . But my BIL doesn't take that much care of his bike in terms of maintenance, which is a sore point of his ownership.

Yet to complete reading your review on the ROYAL ENFIELD.

Even I have an idea of upgrading to RE sooner or later. I loved the earlier Thunderbird in 2017 post a test drive. Then Thunderbird 350 X in the recent years. And very recently I test drove a Meteor from RE which was awesome. OTR price was around 2.25-2.3L in Chennai.

The sore points on this bikes as informed by the showroom reps were:
1). Bike needs full service every 6000 kms or 6 months whichever is earlier and the approx cost of such a paid service would be INR 6k, which would make the annual maintenance cost to be more than INR 12,000, add to it the yearly insurance of around 3-3.5k, which works out to be around INR 16,000.00 per year excluding petrol, which would block a significant sum of money in my budget.

In competition, I tried (TDed) Honda Hiness 350cc, which I liked more, due to its Honda Engine, a refined engine, and the maintenance cost per service on paid services, was assured to be around 3 - 3.5k INR, which is almost half of what RE charges (6k per service).

I don't have an urgency to upgrade, as right now I have been working from home since April 2020, and so I don't badly need a bike now. But if I decide to upgrade to an RE Meteor / Classic or even Honda Hiness 350, my fuel cost would be as below:

Monthly run - 1100 kms for office commutes, another 100 kms for non-official runs, makes it 1200 kms per month, and the fuel cost for this usage keeping the Chennai city fuel efficiency from either of these bikes be 30-35 kmpl, with average petrol cost of INR 100.00 (less than what today Petrol costs in Chennai - 103+ INR per litre), I would require 40 litres of petrol a month, which would be INR 4,000.00, which works out to be INR 48,000.00 per year. Any unexpected price hike or rise in usage could increase this amount to around 50,000.00 INR (which is half a lakh and a significant portion of my CTC ). Adding the above mentioned maintenance and insurance, would increase by another 16,000.00, which would end up in around INR 65000.00 per year, just for owning and riding either RE Meteor / Classic or HONDA HINESS 350.

The same calculation in my current TVS VICTOR 110cc , if I do calculate, here's the illustration:

1200 kms per month, with 60 kmpl mileage, with petrol costing INR 100.00 per litre, equates to 20 litres per month, which is INR 2,000.00, which is INR 24,000.00 per year, which may extend due to unpredicted circumstances such as fuel price hike, reduced FE at some point of time, and hence the overall usage expense with my TVS Victor would be INR 25,000.00 annually. Adding the insurance cost of approx. INR 1,000.00 (third party along with reasonable OD coverage), and maintenance (AMC - INR1,300.00 + 4 oil changes = INR 1,200.00 + Misc parts INR 500.00), which is around INR 3,000.00 for maintenance.

Hence yearly budget for owing and riding Victor would be 25k fuel + 3k maintenance + 1 k insurance, which is INR 29,000.00. Keep another INR 1,000.00 for any unexpected miscellaneous expenses with bike, it works out to be INR 30k per year.

So calculations are in cards, since I am on tight budget and belong to a lower middle class and low income group.