[five46]

The Alto 800 became Alto again and donned the K10 interiors. Then the S Presso was launched in the price space more or less in the K10s territory. Then, the Celerio and the Big Wagon R also weren't far from reach, specially in EMI terms.

Something had to give.. Only if MSIL isn't thinking otherwise and thinking of giving the K10 the reworked 999cc heart that does duty in the S Presso and the new BS6 Celerio along with a nip and tuck to the styling.

Hope this is a rumour only and the pocket rocket keeps chugging.

Source

Here's a quick glance at the strengths of this little speedster from the official review thread:

What you'll like:

• A much improved Alto K10 at the same price point
• The cheapest automatic car available in India. VXI AMT starts at merely Rs. 3.80 lakhs
• Power-to-weight ratio of 91 BHP/ton makes this one peppy li'l hatchback
• More fuel-efficient than before. AMT variant is also an easy sipper @ 24.07 km/l
• Compliant low speed ride quality. Soft suspension is absorbent
• Convenient city car: Light, agile & easy to drive (especially the AMT variant)
• Driver-side airbag & factory fitted CNG kit available
• Maruti's excellent after-sales service & fuss free ownership experience

[vivekgk]

The rumor seems to be true. I was looking for a new automatic car for my sister, and my friend who works at a dealership has informed me that the S-Presso is now Maruti's entry-level automatic since it is at the same price level as the K10, and better in every way.

I think it's a sensible decision on MSIL's part. The S-Presso is a runaway success, and upgrading the K10 doesn't make sense.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

I think it's a sensible decision on MSIL's part. The S-Presso is a runaway success, and upgrading the K10 doesn't make sense.

It will be sad to see the Alto K10 axed. Really like the car for what it is, mechanically simple, cheap to buy own and maintain and a real pocket rocket for when you feel so. The newer version also put in the new fangled gizmos in it to make the travel easier and that chiller of an AC.

Had owned one for a brief period before having to sell it off...

[rajshenoy]

While it will be a practical move for Maruti, I would have wished this car to continue. Having owned one for almost 2 years now. I am pretty happy with the car for city only drive. I would any day pick AltoK10(with good bits taken from S-presso).

k10 is very nimble and agile and can put most of the cars south of 15L to shame in city speeds. It also scores perfectly in a city like Bangalore which ranks at top of the world when it comes to traffic jams

[GTO]

I'll be most unhappy if this news is true as the Alto K10 is one of my favourite cheap city cars. It's quick, tiny and immensely chuckable. Plus, the Alto 800 is quite lame & feels terribly under-powered. Irrespective of the S-Presso entering the arena, the K10 should remain for Alto fans.

[rajushank84]

My favorite cars right now: the K10, the JTPs, Punto... looks like they're all seeing the axe one by one.

It is all some cosmic conspiracy to get me into a Hyundai.

[Storm2.0]

Instead of having two different models for Alto just keep one model with 2 engine options something similar to what all other manufactures did eg: Renault for Kwid and Hyundai for Eon . Someone should give Maruti Suzuki a class or two in optimization.

[Torino]

Could be true. Recently one of my friend wanted to get a K10 AMT as his second car and only few showrooms in Chennai had it in stock and in limited colors with discounts upto 70k. Couple of SA's hinted that the production has stopped.

Originally Posted by GTO

It's quick, tiny and immensely chuckable.

100%

[romeomidhun]

I'll say, it is high time Maruti to do this. The first gen K-10 was much better-looking than the then-Alto, but the current gen K-10 is as boring-looking as the present Alto. In fact, they have to get rid of the Celerio as well. Instead, they can launch a low-slung car as "Zen" with a 1/1.2L engine. Currently, it's all tall boys in the lower end of their hatchback range. A low-slung sporty car will be a welcome addition.

Also, Maruti should launch more models in the higher segments. While they have too many models in the hatchback segment, they have only one model each in the higher segments - whether it is DZire, Ciaz, Brezza or S-Cross.

My wish list:

Zen - 1.2L engine, low slung, positioned below Wagon-R as a sporty hatch.
A sub-4m 7-seater positioned below Ertiga as the Triber challenger and people mover for cities.
A bigger "Grand DZire" with 4.2m length as a proper sedan for cities.
International Vitara to sit along with / replace S-Cross
5-door 4m Jimny in the Brezza range

[NiInJa]

Although its understandable from Maruti's standpoint as it will overlap with S-Presso, I don't think it would hurt Maruti to keep the car going for some more years as they already have the production line and components in place, heck they have the 800 BS6 ready so its not like they would need some major structural changes to the K10. If someone does not like the looks of S-Presso but likes the engine, he can get the Alto K10 instead.

[volkman10]

It is likely true as the Japanese press has released a render of the 9th Gen Alto due in late 2020 and will be built on the same Heartect platform.



Link

[RitanRex]

I think the writing was on the wall when Maruti didn't update the K10 with dual airbags as an option even on the top VXI(O) variant while the lower 800 got it. Also, this is a rare Maruti product that has gone without even a cosmetic refresh since 2014. The 800 has had 2 updates in the same period.
As a proud owner of a bright blue K10, this is one terrific car to drive in the city.

[vivekgk]

I loved the old K10 because it had a clean, understated and sporty look and had enough power to embarrass cars two levels above it. It looked and felt like the Zen had been reincarnated. I have never owned one, but I've always loved it whenever I got to drive one. The gearshift was not as fun as the Zen, and neither was the handling, but man that thing could move when you put the pedal to the metal!!

I helped a friend accessorise one with fat rubber and -ve offset wide lipped wheels, and it was an awesome looking car.

I could never stomach the new K10's styling. And I've always felt that MSIL only made it so they could sell it to Alto customers who wanted something more premium, and they couldn't afford the Celerio and the WagonR. Since the top-end automatic was just 60k less than the WagonR and the Celerio, it didn't really make sense unless you were really that tight on budget. It was the cheapest Automatic that they had, but dealers were always more prone to pushing you towards the Celerio or the WagonR. And once you saw the two cars side by side, you'd never give the K10 a second glance, especially if it was your only car. I've shopped for one in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and it has always had a permanent cash discount of 25k and an exchange bonus of 20-25k. The Celerio and the WagonR had discounts of 35 and 30K at the time, which brought it within reach of the K10 buyer.

Sadly, once MSIL began their work on the S-presso, they never bothered to update the K10. The Alto 800 in the later Avatars looked more premium and contemporary in comparison.

I hope that they launch the next Alto with a BS6 K10 as standard and finally give the F8D some well-deserved rest. Or, maybe they could downsize the K10B to 800cc.

[ChiragM]

In January 2020, we had reported that the Alto K10 would be discontinued. The car has now been removed from the Maruti Suzuki website.



The K10 did not get the upgraded BS6-compliant 1.0-litre engine which powers the S-Presso. It is said that dealers cleared the old BS4 stock in December 2019 itself.

The car was launched in 2010 and in 2014, it received a facelift. In 2019, Maruti added additional safety features to the hatchback.

The Alto K10 was powered by a 998cc K10B engine that produces 67 BHP @ 6,000 rpm and 90 Nm @ 3,500 rpm. The engine was paired with either a 5-speed manual or 5-speed AMT. The car also came with a factory-fitted CNG kit.

Link to Team-BHP News

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

In January 2020, we had reported that the Alto K10 would be discontinued. The car has now been removed from the Maruti Suzuki website.

Yep this was inevitable. The poor man's pocket rocket is now discontinued. I have this car and love throwing it around once in a while. A car with better power to weight ratio than the Polo TSI. Who would have guessed it?

For the SPresso to get a proper headway into sales charts, the Alto K10 surely had to go. Had they thrown in a few items like touch screen head unit - this car would have kept on selling IMO. Not something very good for the SPresso's fortunes then. So the inevitable just happened. SPresso sure gives better rear seat space than the Alto. Makes it more of an all round option for first time buyers (at higher price!).