Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Review

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), formally known as Maruti Udyog Limited, is a Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan subsidiary. It is India's largest passenger car-making company, headquartered in New Delhi, India. Initially, Maruti Suzuki was owned by the Government of India until 2003, founded in 1981, and sold to Suzuki Motors Corporation in 2003.

Till now, the company has manufactured and sold motor vehicles, spare parts, and components divided into three categories: passenger cars, vans, and utility vehicles. Here is a list of brands included in it:

• Wagon R
• Super Carry
• Baleno
• Celerio
• Brezza
• Ignis
• Eeco Cargo
• XL6
• S-Presso
• Ertiga
• Swift
• DZire
• Alto
• S-Cross
• Ciaz

Today we will review one of the Maruti Suzuki ALTO K10 products.

Maruti 800 was the king of Maruti cars because it is one of the most affordable and standard cars on Indian roads. But it was quickly replaced by Maruti Suzuki Alto, launched in 2000, and has found over 43 lakh homes over the past 22 years of records. This Alto car doesn't need any introduction when one might be across the lengths and breadths of our country. Nano car failed in front of the Maruti Suzuki Alto as it proved to be a people's car and did continue to be the same by providing joy of four-wheeled mobility to the masses. Maruti focuses on Alto, and in the latest 2022, Maruti Suzuki Alto launched inherent strengths with several updates.

Key specifications about the car

Pros and Cons of the car

Price of car

This car is launched with four variants with differences in prices. The Alto K10 model is priced 60,000 more than the older generation 800. The basic model cost Rs. 3.99 lahks.

Variants of Alto K10

• Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 LXI CNG Optional
• Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 LXI Optional
• Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 VXI AGS Optional
• Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 VXI Optional

Exterior of car

Looking at Alto K10, we first notice a new bumper, mirrors, fog lamps, headlight, and tail lamps, but it is 125mm longer and 55 kg heavier than its sibling. The company tried its best to give a modernized look to the car with all these changes but couldn't stand up to the expectations. Body-colored bumper and door moldings fitted with the car's overall design and have larger chrome strip runs on top of the front grille. The wheel color design looks decent, inspired by the Swift wheel cover, and the Chevrolet Spark inspires the rear tail lamp design.

Interior of car

Compared to exterior design, interior design has improved like a better instrument cluster (adding a tachometer and digital odometer). The best feature is the 3-spoke steering wheel that is comfortable to hold and internally adjustable controls for the rearview mirrors. It is embedded with blue color door inserts and fabric, but if you opt for seat covers, they get hidden. The major drawback is the poor quality of the plastic used in the car. Some drivers can face issues like their knee will hit the center console, and when it comes to ingress story gets worse. The improved interiors are not enough to make this car outstanding among competitive cars with similar prices because they offer more interior space. Where it has better air conditioning that cools the cabin faster, but the rear passenger still feels the heat. Alto K10 (214 L) is much bigger than Alto 800 (177 L), but as compared to Renault Kwid (279 L) and S-Presso (270 L), it is small. The rear seat can be folded down, and 6- foot passenger can sit comfortably with an equally tall driver.

Design and styling

It doesn't resemble the older car and is set up with a new ground design. Maruti offers these color options in the K10 car: Metallic Speedy Blue, Solid White, Metallic Granite Grey, Metallic Silky Silver, Metallic Sizzling Red, and Pearl Metallic Earth gold.

Fit, Build quality, and finish.

In the Indian market, Alto K10 is one of the cheapest and lightest cars available. Therefore, consumers must keep its expectation low. Alto K10 is much more improved than its predecessor with the quality of a typical economy-grade Maruti. It has large dimensions, an AMT transmission, a bigger capacity engine, lightweight doors, and flex in the panels that make it a lightweight car. The car has Panel gaps that could be more consistent but less complainable by customers.

Storage

Being small, it has storage issues, and options are available only for front-seat occupants. Passengers and drivers only have two cup holders and a small storage space just ahead of the gear lever, which means either you can place your phone or coffee cup, you have to bend forward to pick it up. Door pads have bottle holds that can hold 1L bottles and some little things. It has a small glovebox where you can place documents and sunglasses. There is no ventilation or illumination and compartments. In the secondary case, the rear passenger gets nothing, as behind the center console, there is only a tiny bottle holder whose weird shape makes it useless for independent purposes.

Safety

Regarding safety, the car has a dual airbag, driver + passenger seat belt reminder & pre-tensioners, ABS+ EBD, headlight leveler, and reverse parking sensors. The car has speed-sensitive auto door locks and a central locking system on select variants.

Air conditioning

The LXi and higher variants get a manual A/C, but the Alto base variant does not get air conditioning. The air conditioning cools the cabin within minutes due to its small size, but it doesn't remain chilly due to the larger glass area. During highway runs, you leave the air conditioning at maximum cooling. The blower interrupts with different speeds of the car just as it becomes noisy from 2nd speed, intrusive in 3rd and may irritate passenger at full speed.

Tires and wheels

Compared to model 800, Alto K10 has an upgrade wheel size which rides on a 13" wheel shod with 145/80 section tires. The car is assembled with JK Tyre Ultima Neo rubber with a top variant with wheel caps. All features are insufficient because grip levels could be better for the offered power. In raining season, speed should be checked. The brakes are easy to operate, the pedal doesn't offer much travel, and its steering wheel has a different kettle of fish. The driver needs to hold and keep a gimlet eye because steering doesn't self-center easily and felt to be a tad on the heavy side.

Ground clearance

Extremely short overhangs, short wheelbase, etc., proved that the car has a ground clearance level, and owners have no reason to complain about it.

Performance

Performance is the only reason why people opt. Alto K10 over Alto 800cc. This car motor produces 68PS of power at 6200 rpm and 90 NM of torque at 3500 rpm. It is armed with the same specs as the A-star, and according to its weight, this machine has a power-to-weight ratio of 88bhp per tonne. In terms of speed, the car is fast and fabulous in acceleration in any gear without any lag. Compared to the Alto 800cc, Alto 10 engine is refined and a little noisy below 4000Rpm, and even after crossing 4000rpm, the motor is quite audible, that doesn't consider a bad thing. It can easily touch up to 100kmph and cruise without fuss all day.

Driving position and ergonomics

This car is designed for the average Indian family, and its seats are uncomfortable as there is a lack of seat adjustment & steering rake/ reach adjustability. A person with above-average height will get minimum under-thigh support, and knees will remain upward, which causes discomfort. Tall person's leg's knees brush against the bottom of the steering wheel. Controls are placed in the expected place but with a significant exception to the placement of power window switches.

Engine, Braking, or Gearbox options

It has disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear. Without any drama, brakes perform their best with a grip provided by 145-section tires before ABS kicks in. This Maruti Suzuki has a K10 Dualjet, Dual VVT three-cylinder engine. The sports have a new 998cc powerplant that provides 66bhp at 5,500 rpm and 89 Nm of peak torque at 3,500 rpm. With the help of 5-speed AMT transmission or 5- speed manual, all the power is sent to the front wheels.

Sound Quality and Audio System

A variant of Alto K10 (VXi+) has Maruti's SmartPlay Studio system with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay connectivity and steering-mounted control with the system that is connected to 4 speakers. The sound quality could be better according to this budget car. It is unexpected and impressive for an entry-level car. Touch screen is user friendly without any lag that make it slick to operate. Under this price car experience is good, and the VXi model has a SmartPlay dock, but other variants have no infotainment options.

Warranty (standard & extended)

Alto K10 came with a standard 2 years/ 40,000 km warranty, extending to 5 years/ 10,00,000 km. It's warranty can be extended and buyers can take advantage of it for for added peace

Problems and Niggles

This car has some issues with AMT units, but still, it can be handled by Maruti Itself because the company has a wide variety of service networks and part availability. With an extended warranty, this problem can be demolished.

Driving Impression and real-world mileage

Being a driver, you can observe a good view with large windows and slim pillars, and with limited adjustability driving seat is suitable for almost all body types. It can hold 1.0-litre dual jet petrol with 67PS and 89 Nm. Car motor vibration is controlled through the wheel and pedals as it is audible also. It gives you feeling of typical small, peppy car ride feeling. Low revs make it easy and keep up passing through tight traffic effortlessly.

Conclusion

Overall, Alto K10 is an affordable family car. With irresistible interior and exterior features, this car gives a smile to many families. The car looks premium due to its colors and body contours. It is a car with low maintenance and is fully loaded with features. It never feels out of breath and no more sluggish. Lots of efforts & things are made to maximize the fuel economy, and its fuel economy is 24.39 km/ I (ARAI- certified). There is hardly any alternative to it, and Maruti Suzuki has opened a new segment named Econo-hot hatch. On this friendly budget, it is the best option car to go with.