Maruti Suzuki raises the bar with new Alto 800

The Alto has been Maruti's bread and butter for years, having taken over the mantle from its venerable 800 model.

Alto has also been a runaway success, thanks to its unique price positioning and reliability coupled with cost of maintenance. Now, Maruti has raised the bar with its new model, the Alto 800.

Maruti and its vendors have jointly spent over Rs 470 crore to develop the new Alto. The car will be available in three petrol and three factory fitted CNG variants.

Extensively redesigned, the Alto 800 sports what Maruti calls a new 'wavefront' design. The sides have been made more muscular, with the flanks bulging out, giving the impression of a larger car. Prominent wheel arches add to this look. The headlamps have been given a petal-shaped look while the bumpers look more vehicle look more aggressive.

The interiors have not been ignored either, and the overall room has been freed inside, including more headroom and legroom. The legroom has been significantly enhanced by 15mm, by scooping out the back of front seats.

Ingress and egress are now easier too, with doors which open almost till a 90 degree angle. Other improvements to the interiors include the choice of colours of brown or gray, silver coloured accents, bottle holders and even a new digital clock embedded into the speedometer cluster.

Speaking at the launch, Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said: "The new Alto 800 promises to be more significant (than its prede-refined driveability, combined with superior fuel efficiency of 22.7kmpl. The availability of CNG variants adds to its attraction. We are sure that the new Alto 800 will be cherished by value conscious customers."

Significant changes have also been made to the mechanicals.

At 22.7kmpl, the fuel efficiency is up by a whopping 15 per cent. Major factors that have helped here are an increased compression ratio and improved volumetric efficiency.

These are achieved through significant improvements in engine intake systems. The reworked engine now delivers a torque of 69Nm @ 3,500rpm, improved by 11 per cent, which will facilitate better pick-up and reduce frequent gear changes.

The transmission has also been improved with Diagonal Shift Assist which is claimed to lead to precise gear shifting and makes driving much more smoother. The use of new generation engine and transmission lubricants helps to reduce frictional losses and enhances performance.

In the CNG range branded 'Green', a patented intelligent Gas Port Injection technology can be availed of as a factory fitment, which achieves a fuel efficiency of 30.46km/ kg, an improvement of 13 per cent compared to the outgoing Alto Green.

In association with Auto Bild