AUTOMOBILE: Maruti Alto 800

Key features............

Here is the first look of Maruti's new Alto - Alto 800. The company is all set to launch its much-awaited budget car on Tuesday, October 16.
Visually, the Alto 800 is a completely new car. The headlights are mounted higher now and has black detailing inside. The grille is very Ford Figo-esque and has a chrome strip running right across the middle.
The A-star inspiration is evident at the rear with the new tail lamps and bumper which give the car a very distinctive look.
The all new front end is, well, all new and looks a lot like the A-star.
Rather than looking like an evolution from the previous Alto, the rear looks like it was inspired more from the A-star. What we don't get however are those two little kinks on either side of the Suzuki badge.
The dashboard too is all new. It is raised at the centre to accommodate the new aircon vents. The side aricon vents are now circular. The aircon controls however are the same from the previous Alto, while the steering wheel is all new. The LXi variant now get a driver airbag and optional ABS. The extra height in the car means more headroom inside. To be exact the headroom has increased by 15mm.
It looks like two dents and kind of hinders the flow of the rest of the bootlid. The side profile is again similar to the A-star. The rear window has become a bit smaller and the entire car has grown significantly taller.
Maruti is claiming a fuel economy of 22.7kmpl. The engine feels much smoother and more linear than before. There is ample low down torque and the typical three cylinder judder when starting from standstill has been eliminated. The car also feels much quicker than the older one.
The car no longer has that crashy quality that the previous Alto had. So overall, the Alto has become a fresher, more contemporary package.