Photo Feature: Maruti Suzuki Alto 800

Detailed images of this year’s biggest small car yet. 

Maruti Suzuki’s latest small car, the Alto 800 is quite possibly one of the most eagerly awaited cars of 2012 and while it won’t hit the showrooms until October 16, those looking to get an up-close look at the new Alto can browse through the detailed photo gallery that we have put up. 

The front end of the new Alto 800 will remind you of a lot of cars. The eye-shaped headlights for one are similar in outline and design to those of the upcoming Ford Figo facelift; the gaping hexagonal grille looks like it came from the Hyundai i10. Overall though, the front-end looks quite drab and uninspiring. 

Move onto the side and you will notice that the Alto 800 takes heavy inspiration from the Alto/A-star sold in the Japanese domestic market (JDM) and it appears to be tipped-forward and relatively sporty as compared to the laid-back, textbook stance of the current Alto.

At the back, the taillights remind us of the i20, however these are taller and get the ‘crystal’ type reflectors. The rear windshield is large and so is the boot-lid unlike the A-star or the new Swift.

If we look into the cabin of the current Alto, the interiors look and feel like they belong to a car from the ‘90s (That’s because they do) However, in the Alto 800, the cabin looks way modern and the centre-console doesn’t look like a file cabinet anymore thanks to the tapering design which includes waterfall-flow inspired V-shaped lines on the dashboard. 

The dashboard plastics are better put together than the current model, but there are panel-gaps nevertheless and the quality of the plastics isn’t too great – after all, the Alto 800 is going to be marginally dearer than the Maruti 800.

The interiors can be had in two colour options – grey or beige. While the former is seen on the car we have tested, it is much similar to the colour combination found in the outgoing Alto. The beige and brown combination on the other hand gives the perception of a slightly roomier cabin but gets soiled easily.

The seats get fabric upholstery with printed artwork of what looks like two infinity symbols. The front seats are slimmer than the ones on the outgoing model; and like the Eon and i10, they get integrated headrests.

Under the hood, the Alto 800 gets a reworked version of the 3-cylinder 800cc engine that has been doing duty under the Alto’s hood for ages now. But there’s a light bump in power output – While the current model churns out 47PS of power and 62Nm of torque, the new Alto 800 engine produces close of 48PS of power and 68Nm of torque.

While the engine has undergone a weight loss diet, the rest of the car has gained weight – up to 15 kg over the outgoing model. The engine will be available with a choice of petrol and/or CNG propulsion. Despite the weight gain, Maruti Suzuki is claiming an ARAI certified fuel economy of 22.74 kmpl for petrol and 30.46 for CNG.

The engine comes mated to a 5-speed gearbox that gets a wire-actuated mechanism similar to the one seen on the Estilo, Wagon R or Swift. It is said to offer better shift action and feel less clunky than the outgoing model.

On the safety front, the Alto finally gets the option of an airbag (only driver side), which can be had at a small premium over the top-end LXi trim. However, it still doesn’t get ABS, not even as an option.

The Alto 800 will hit the showrooms on October 16, ahead of the festive season with an expected price tag of about Rs 2.60 lakh