2010 Maruti Alto K10 : Review

Oreen · 24th January 2012, 12:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by avishar

Does anyone of you like driving bare feet?I dont know but i find it more comfortable driving bare feet.

my wife does that and once had her shoe stuck under the clutch!! ensure your shoes are on the passenger side or tucked under the seat properly

Sutripta · 24th January 2012, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

This must be an interesting car to drive..something to replace my older 5 speed mpfi m800 with ..if I ever want to replace it.

Keep both. I have. If only the 800 had a better AC!

Regards
Sutripta

chetanhanda · 25th January 2012, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by theMAG

If you can sort out the high-speed handling, this is one mean rocket that doesnt disappoint. That understeer and lack of any steering feel are the two most frustrating aspects that I remember in this otherwise great package.

my 800 too behaved similar but by upgrading to slightly smaller/wider rubber and putting fresher/stiffer rollbar bushes it felt a bit better..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Keep both. I have. If only the 800 had a better AC!
Regards
Sutripta

this maybe going OT ..but when I was in India I installed a new AC from dealership and it worked pretty well..

Aroy · 25th January 2012, 13:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

this maybe going OT ..but when I was in India I installed a new AC from dealership and it worked pretty well..

Yes the dealer AC works well, but no where near the Alto 800. The AC of Alto K10 is way ahead. The AC in my opinion is the reason why Alto had over taken the M800 in sales.

Sutripta · 25th January 2012, 21:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

my 800 too behaved similar but by upgrading to slightly smaller/wider rubber and putting fresher/stiffer rollbar bushes it felt a bit better..

this maybe going OT ..but when I was in India I installed a new AC from dealership and it worked pretty well..

Hi,
Felt the handling of the M800 was way better than that of the Alto VX. And I rate it higher than the K10s handling.

Didn't your M800 come with a factory fitted AC?

Regards
Sutripta

chetanhanda · 27th January 2012, 03:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
Felt the handling of the M800 was way better than that of the Alto VX. And I rate it higher than the K10s handling.

Didn't your M800 come with a factory fitted AC?

Regards
Sutripta

It was a factory option for the 5 speed 12 valve at that time..
being my 1st "new" car (also new job)couldn't afford the extra expense

Just love that 800's handling - probably the Alto K10 would also feel better if it came without power steering for a more direct "go kart" handling.

volkman10 · 27th January 2012, 08:22

Alto becomes the world's Best selling small car!

"The Alto sold over 310,000 units in India during the year and was the only small car in the world to have sold over 300,000 units, the . It was followed by VW Gol in Brazil (293,454 units), Fiat Uno (Brazil, 273,537) and VW Golf in Germany (258,059)."

Maruti Alto world's best selling small car

Sutripta · 27th January 2012, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by chetanhanda

It was a factory option for the 5 speed 12 valve at that time..

When was this? (Mine had both a heater and an AC. Even had a brake servo!)

Regards
Sutripta

chetanhanda · 31st January 2012, 01:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta

When was this? (Mine had both a heater and an AC. Even had a brake servo!)

Regards
Sutripta

2001 : 5 speed, 12 valve, F8D engine

satanic_dude · 1st February 2012, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta

NVH: I find there is significant wind noise at highway speeds.

I guess this is because of the massive panel gaps (more than just an eyesore). Mine has a huge one between the front left door and fender (a few mm wider than the right side). Besides, I feel panel gaps also increase the drag at high speeds!

The design being more than a decade old, its time the dies have started to wear out more. Thankfully there are no rattles till now, and no water leakage after driving through knee-deep Madras floods!

- AVI

Sutripta · 2nd February 2012, 21:15

^^^
Might be. But I think it is due to the new nose design, which was not wind tunnel validated.

My car has a couple of (very annoying) squeaks. No rattles so far though.

Regards
Sutripta

theMAG · 5th February 2012, 12:02

Drove a colleagues K10 last week. Noticed some differences with the test drive car I had driven for this report:

1. Gear change quality: much improved - even crisp. Maruti seems to have taken my observation on the pathetic gearshift quality on the test drive car constructively.

2. Gearing: not happy with this change. I remember the test drive car being very tractable through the gears. Now, they seemed to have altered the gearing - probably for mileage considerations, and the car was not enthusiastic through the lower gears.

Sutripta · 11th February 2012, 21:26

^^^
My car (Sep 2010):
Gearchange could be better, but no real problems. Far better than say the old WagonR's.

If the lower gears have been made higher, without engine characteristics (LET) changed, city driving will become unpleasant.
Can this gearing change be confirmed?

Regards
Sutripta

Aroy · 12th February 2012, 09:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by theMAG

Drove a colleagues K10 last week. Noticed some differences with the test drive car I had driven for this report:

1. Gear change quality: much improved - even crisp. Maruti seems to have taken my observation on the pathetic gearshift quality on the test drive car constructively.

2. Gearing: not happy with this change. I remember the test drive car being very tractable through the gears. Now, they seemed to have altered the gearing - probably for mileage considerations, and the car was not enthusiastic through the lower gears.

Yes the torque at lower end can be improved. But then this is a high revving engine, so you can safely go to higher speeds in each gear without affecting the fuel efficiency. I normally change to second at 10, then to third at 25. That said when ever I want hard acceleration the second revves happily all the way till 80+ and the third beyond 100, extremely useful for zipping past slower vehicles on the highways.

For normal city driving the changes are at
1 to 2 : 10
2 to 3 : 25
3 to 4 : 40
4 to 5 : 55

this gives enough zip to go past most.

shamik.bose · 6th March 2012, 19:51

We got our K10 in Dec' 11. 15th Dec, to be precise. It has done almost 1900 kms.
Got a couple of questions:
1. We have been getting a mileage of ~10 kmpl. Is this normal and does it increase post 3k kms? Driving has been completely in the city.
2. Does the factory-provided engine oil work fine, or should it be changed? If it needs to be changed, what brand should be chosen?

Thanks in advance,
Shamik

P.S. The K10 is a bundle of fun!

27th January 2012, 08:22	#622
volkman10 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: -- Posts: 25,141 Thanked: 76,527 Times View My Garage	re: 2010 Maruti Alto K10 : Review Alto becomes the world's Best selling small car! "The Alto sold over 310,000 units in India during the year and was the only small car in the world to have sold over 300,000 units, the . It was followed by VW Gol in Brazil (293,454 units), Fiat Uno (Brazil, 273,537) and VW Golf in Germany (258,059)." Maruti Alto world's best selling small car
	() Thanks

2nd February 2012, 21:15	#626
Sutripta Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,668 Thanked: 6,230 Times	re: 2010 Maruti Alto K10 : Review ^^^ Might be. But I think it is due to the new nose design, which was not wind tunnel validated. My car has a couple of (very annoying) squeaks. No rattles so far though. Regards Sutripta
	() Thanks

5th February 2012, 12:02	#627
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,219 Thanked: 1,820 Times View My Garage	re: 2010 Maruti Alto K10 : Review Drove a colleagues K10 last week. Noticed some differences with the test drive car I had driven for this report: 1. Gear change quality: much improved - even crisp. Maruti seems to have taken my observation on the pathetic gearshift quality on the test drive car constructively. 2. Gearing: not happy with this change. I remember the test drive car being very tractable through the gears. Now, they seemed to have altered the gearing - probably for mileage considerations, and the car was not enthusiastic through the lower gears.
	() Thanks

11th February 2012, 21:26	#628
Sutripta Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,668 Thanked: 6,230 Times	re: 2010 Maruti Alto K10 : Review ^^^ My car (Sep 2010): Gearchange could be better, but no real problems. Far better than say the old WagonR's. If the lower gears have been made higher, without engine characteristics (LET) changed, city driving will become unpleasant. Can this gearing change be confirmed? Regards Sutripta
	() Thanks

6th March 2012, 19:51	#630
shamik.bose Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 1,684 Thanked: 133 Times	re: 2010 Maruti Alto K10 : Review We got our K10 in Dec' 11. 15th Dec, to be precise. It has done almost 1900 kms. Got a couple of questions: 1. We have been getting a mileage of ~10 kmpl. Is this normal and does it increase post 3k kms? Driving has been completely in the city. 2. Does the factory-provided engine oil work fine, or should it be changed? If it needs to be changed, what brand should be chosen? Thanks in advance, Shamik P.S. The K10 is a bundle of fun!
	() Thanks