Hi readers
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I am so happy to say that I had gifted myself and my family our first car and our new guy is a Torque Blue Alto 800.
First, Let me thank the dealership CARS INDIA, Nandanam, Chennai for coordinating and getting the Car delivered though there was huge fuss between myself and SBI to whom the dealership directed me for loan. I lost cool after a week's torture by the bank guys and went for Canara with whom my accounts existed. Believe me, I got the loan process approved in an hour.
On Saturday, 11 May 2013, I got my Car delivered and watched the whole family smiling at their first car.
Coming to the review
I have driven the old Alto but driving this new guy gives a much better feeling.Initially I was little confused between Alto 800 and Eon. The Eon looked attractive at first sight, but as days passed it did not make me curious. I felt Eon's road presence is lesser when compared to Alto 800. To my eyes, The car looked good in Granite Grey and Torque Blue. TB was my family's choice.The car is spacious enough to accommodate a family of 4. 3 at the back is also possible for not-so-long travelling needs. When you key in and start, the ignition is smooth and the car does not vibrate like the old alto. The sound proofing has improved but not the best though. You could feel a huge difference in terms of noise (engine + traffic) between the older and new Alto. The gear shift is short and smooth. The Gear knob feels good to hold and placed conveniently. The car is not for 100+ flying. This is the best city car available today. At 60's and 70's the Car feels amazingly smooth. The Steer Wheel is placed a little bit lower than the old alto. This increases the maneuverability of the vehicle on congested roads of Chennai. The Steer Wheel also has a silver tint which gives a premium feel. After seeing this definitely you would straighten your back, raise your eye brows or in other words feel proud :-P. Though solid, the dashboard could have had a small holder as in the old alto. To me the power window switch position below the gear seems to be logical. One can use a hand out of the window while using other to open/close it. For me, Getting in and out of the vehicle felt the most inconvenient instances. I am 5' 10 and People with such frames should think before owning this car. The engine does not lag at lower speeds on higher gears.
This is one vast advancement from the old alto. We could easily feel the effort from MS engineers in tuning the engine for providing a ride quality of this level. I personally felt that roof rails could have been a good add on to the vehicle which would have reduced the gap between Eon and Alto 800's exterior design to some extent. At a price tag of 3.5 Lacs MS could have provided a basic multimedia player with 2 speaker setup. Personally, It turned out to be a good thing for me as I was able to choose the type and brand of the music system I needed. I went for Alpine head unit with JBL 4 inches round speakers on front doors and 6 inch ovals on my rear tray (usually custom installed). I am not diving into the technical spec's of the car but for sure, I feel rear suspension has improved and thereby improving the balance and driving experience. Turning at higher speeds are little pain as the car tilts way too much. It was little hard to digest the fact that we need to pay extra 1200 rupees to get passenger side rear view mirrors installed. The first service costs you around 900 Rupees for Engine Oil and Filter change. Boot space is large enough for a family outing. The doors are not the same old push-it-hard to lock type. The doors lock when pushed smoothly, with minimum effort. If not optional , there could have been a provision for fog lamps. The wheel caps looks really good on the wheels. Antenna is the same old pull out type. Since the headlamps twisted upwards, new drivers can assume the bonnet's length. The AC does a good job of cooling even in searing Chennai heat. But AC reduces the engine's power to an extent. One can easily identify the difference of the pull while driving up a flyover.
On the whole, Alto 800 is a great choice for first time car buyers and I won't disagree Eon is also a good choice. But I personally feel that Maruti's proven engine, service and resale cost are right in the sweet spot of the middle class. Alto 800's target market is the middle class who are most likely to own cars with lesser maintenance cost. They might also be paying an EMI towards the cost of the car. To satisfy this type of customer, the product is not expected to have any wow and oomph factors in its overall design. The product has to assure him on the level of dependency and trust the owner can have on it. MS has already won many millions of hearts in this regard and Alto 800 is no different to this.
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