[agambhandari]

I think we all agree that the design of this car is a mash up of various cars from different manufacturers.
While i am able to digest that(to some extent), what really bugs me is the height and the high ground clearance, which is quite disproportionate for such a small car.
While it would be helpful in Rural India, it would only worsen the performance where its meant to be driven i.e., the Road. It even spoils the look to large extent.

[agspins]

Yesterday visited a dealership and yard to have closer look at the car. Car is kinda okay for a entry level car. The space on the inside is decent for a 4 seater. Boot space is decent. Brown interior looks, feels nice & roomy. Roof looks nice. tail lamps look good. Lxi has front power widows and only driver side manually adjusted ORVM. Design on fabric design looks inspired from fiat 500.
Now Bad bits, As earlier said confused styling in front, doesn't really gel with rear which is IMHO nice looking. That pronounced crease line is nice, but couldn't really get how it gels with rear. Needs a better footwear. Seat adjustment handles felt plastic-ky/tacky. Power window switches are oddly placed. exhaust pipe looks weird, like a auto rickshaw.

5 colors will be available initially ( i couldn't spot the 5th one, its metallic blue similar to swift).

Now the most crucial thing price,Dealers landing price for Lxi is Rs.2,62,541 here in Nagpur.

[MHG]

Originally Posted by agspins

5 colors will be available initially ( i couldn't spot the 5th one, its metallic blue similar to swift).

The white color looks rather smart!

Now the most crucial thing price,Dealers landing price for Lxi is Rs.2,62,541 here in Nagpur.

What does this price signify ? Could you compare with current Alto F8D Lxi ?

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by agspins

Now the most crucial thing price,Dealers landing price for Lxi is Rs.2,62,541 here in Nagpur.

The price could be around Rs.2.9-3 lacs ex-showroom, thereby the on-road price could be at least Rs.3.25... Little higher than the Alto for the improvements.. OK IMO.

[agspins]

@MHG Cardeep has answered your queries. White colour looks smart in picture, but i felt red was better, and blue is too mild. one more thing to be noticed was no space for fog lamps.

[rajeev k]

Maruti is giving prominence to 800 than the Alto name now. Similar to what they did when the Estilo was face-lifted.
So does it confirm the exit of M800 too soon.

[MHG]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

The price could be around Rs.2.9-3 lacs ex-showroom, thereby the on-road price could be at least Rs.3.25... Little higher than the Alto for the improvements.. OK IMO.

I doubt that counts as a little higher. Current Lxi ex-showroom is 3 lacs as per maruti website. So price is identical. Wonder if this is the version with or without driver airbag though....

Originally Posted by agspins

@MHG Cardeep has answered your queries. White colour looks smart in picture, but i felt red was better, and blue is too mild. one more thing to be noticed was no space for fog lamps.

I hope the headlights are sufficiently bright then. They may need an upgrade I suppose to be highway friendly.

[carzone]

Originally Posted by agspins

Yesterday visited a dealership and yard to have closer look at the car. Car is kinda okay for a entry level car. The space on the inside is decent for a 4 seater. Boot space is decent.
.........
Now the most crucial thing price,Dealers landing price for Lxi is Rs.2,62,541 here in Nagpur.

Am I seeing things? Are two choices of interiors offered?
The two pics depict this:
This with the brown interiors and this with the black ones.

[Ramon]

[quote=RavenAvi;2928620]First official images released.


Front :-

Attachment 998600

In this picture it seems to have a Rear Defogger.
And none of the pictures show a keyhole on the left front door.

[agspins]

m I seeing things? Are two choices of interiors offered?
The two pics depict this:
This with the brown interiors and this with the black ones.

Yep as per SA there will be a choice in interiors. I think choices will be for LXi variant only and standard will come with the black/grey interiors.

[deetjohn]

Some minor tweaks here and there would have made this car look much better. Why doesn't MSIL care about the overall beauty of a car?

Couple of first drive reports here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHeFPS0kpV8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9Qbab0Lp4M

[MHG]

Was that a typo or did the overdrive report say it has optional ABS and Airbags ? We know it has driver airbag but ABS ?

[romeomidhun]

I remember reading somewhere Maruti mentioning that the Autocar scoop in page 1 is not an 800-replacement, and a new car is coming below WR. So, hopefully I believe, they are not replacing 800 and AltoF8D with this car.

IMO, what Maruti has tried to do is to defame Figo, i10 and i20, by offering these cars' design cues and elements in a much cheaper segment.

With so much design cues taken from A-Star, they should have designed this car in the A-star platform itself, with 1600mm width and 1L K-series engine and a boot capacity of 220 - 250L, atleast. I will, at any day, prefer such a car over A-Star, WR, Estilo, Santro, Eon, Spark and the likes.

Originally Posted by arjab

Why this obsession with gaping grilles, ridge lines on the sides i wonder? These cars do not have the length to carry these kind of feature lines

Exactly my thoughts! That's why the fluidic design in Eon and i10 looks absurd, while that in Elantra looks nice. These small cars don't have the space for the design themes to 'play'!

Originally Posted by MHG

Was that a typo or did the overdrive report say it has optional ABS and Airbags ? We know it has driver airbag but ABS ?

Not a typo, but a blunder, IMO!

[adits]

Originally Posted by viggienomad

It's actually a straight lift from A-Star. Overall silhouette is more like A-Star.

Looks like motorbeam.com agree with you in their first look - http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/excl...350034911.html

Their salient points -

1. After 12 long years, Maruti Suzuki is finally updating the Alto, calling it the Alto 800.
2. The company has taken heavy influence from the A-Star and the Japanese Alto. The length of the car has been reduced marginally while the wheelbase of the Alto 800 is the same as its predecessor.
3. The height has been increased and so has the ground clearance. This makes the Alto 800 look out of proportion.
4. The rear seat offers a marginal increase in legroom, courtesy of the scoops made on the back of the front seats. The Alto continues to remain low on space at the rear.
5. The instrument cluster has gone digital. There is a large speedometer, with all the tell-tale lights placed on the left. A digital readout gives fuel level, trip meter and odometer reading.
6. The Alto 800 drives marginally better than the old Alto.
7. Riding on high profile narrow rubber, the Alto 800 is no driver’s car. The vague steering and average braking make the Alto 800 a car strictly for city usage.
8. Powering the Alto 800 is a 3-cylinder, 796cc unit, which has many hardware changes. This results in an increased power output of 47.5 BHP at 6000 RPM and torque output of 69 Nm at 3500 RPM.
9. Mileage of the Alto 800 is now 22.7 km/l (as per ARAI), which is an improvement over the previous Alto.
10. The Alto 800 feels more eager than the old Alto. Low end response is good and there is enough grunt for city driving. Some amount of vibrations is still present though.
11. The new Alto 800 though a minor upgrade, offers quite a lot more to the buyer than the model it replaces. At a premium of Rs. 30,000 over the old Alto, the new one will definitely appeal more to first time car buyers.

from their comments looks like the Alto 800 will replace the current F8 Alto and retain the current K series version.

[romeomidhun]

Had the top been slanted towards the front like WR, this would have been a good looker, IMO.