Maruti Alto

The current Alto is one of the oldest selling cars in the Indian market. This fifth generation Suzuki Alto was launched in September 2000 and since then, there haven’t been any radical changes in the way it looks. Dimension wise, it is one of the smallest cars in India with length, width and height of 3495, 1475 and 1460mm respectively. It does wear clear lens headlamps and sparkling tail lamps but the fact of the matter is that most other cars in the same price band look better! Over the last eleven years, the Alto has aged well and today, it does look a little bland and boring from the outside.
The K10 though came as a more than welcome change as far as looks were concerned. Although the chassis and under-body is same as the Alto’s, it is marginally a bigger car with length, width and height of 3620, 1495 and 1460mm respectively. It looks sportier, younger and muscular with a revised front as well as rear end.  Premium features like fog lamps, usage of chrome and stylish wheel covers have gone a long way in making the K10 stand out in this price band of cars.
Both the Alto and the K10 are sold in six different color options and while the Alto wears 12-inch steel rims, the K10 gets larger 13-inch steel rims with slightly wider tyres too. The Alto gets sold in three trim levels of Alto, Alto LX and Alto LXI while the K10 is sold in two versions of LXi and VXi.
 

Both the Alto and K10 have the same kind of suspension set-up. At the front, McPherson Strut with torsion type roll control device do the job while at the rear, the cars get coil spring gas filled shock absorbers with three link rigid axle and isolated trailing arms. Infact, this type of set-up is the most commonly used system by most small cars these days.
The Alto comes with power-steering as an option in the LXi model which both the two trim levels of the K10 gets a standard power steering system. In slow traffic, this is a boon and combined with the small size of the cars and short turning radius (identical, 4.6m) make driving them in city a breeze. Ofcourse you can’t expect very good comfort over bad roads, but they do the job pretty well. The K10 feels a tad better due to taller and wider tires.
Highway duties in both the cars are possible even with a full load. Again, the K10 feels much better and well plated. At triple digit speeds though, you do feel cross winds easily but then, at this price point, expecting anything more would be un-fair.
Both the Alto and K10 are meant for city use and hence do the job well as far as daily commutes go. Worthy of a mention is the fact that both the models come with tubeless tyres for added peace of mind.
 

 Both the Alto and K10 have the same kind of suspension set-up. At the front, McPherson Strut with torsion type roll control device do the job while at the rear, the cars get coil spring gas filled shock absorbers with three link rigid axle and isolated trailing arms. Infact, this type of set-up is the most commonly used system by most small cars these days. 

  The 800 cc 47 PS version has an ARAI rated economy of 19.73kmpl and the K10 has an economy of 20.2kmpl (ARAI rated). These figures are fantastic plus the CNG (company fitted) further decreases the cost of ownership and easily makes the Alto the cheapest ways of transport posible by car.

The petrol mileage on highway of Alto is 22kmpl and in city it gives 16kmpl. The overall mileage is 17.5kpl.

The Alto CNG gives 14.5 overall while on highway  it is 18.3 and in city it is 13.6. The ARAI certified mileage of Maruti Alto is 26.83.