2022 Maruti Alto K10 vs Renault Kwid vs Maruti Celerio

The 4-cylinder petrol gives the WagonR the best performance & refinement of any car listed here.

2022 Maruti Alto K10

Maruti Alto K10 Pros

• A much improved, well-rounded city car as compared to the outgoing generation
• Peppy performance with a healthy power-to-weight ratio
• Excellent fuel efficiency. ARAI figures: 24.90 km/l (AMT) and 24.39 km/l (MT)
• Convenient AMT available at a premium of Rs. 50,000 makes it the cheapest automatic car available in India
• Sufficient cabin space to accommodate four 6-footers
• Small dimensions, good visibility, light controls, AMT transmission & a tiny 4.5 m turning radius make it a great choice for city driving as well as first-time car buyers
• Good touchscreen ICE with Android Auto + Apple CarPlay + steering mounted controls
• Maruti's fuss-free ownership experience & widespread dealer network

Maruti Alto K10 Cons

• Significantly more expensive compared to the previous generation
• Narrow width makes it a strict 4-seater
• Basic ride quality. Feels wobbly over rough patches and can bottom out on when going over larger potholes
• Poor high-speed dynamics & NVH. Best driven at double-digit speeds
• Skinny low grip 145 mm tyres given the power on offer
• Missing essentials such as rear power windows, rear wiper/defogger, day/night IRVM, etc.
• Light, economy-grade build quality. Sibling S-Presso scored 0 stars in the GNCAP crash tests
• S-Presso offers a lot more at just ~15,000 more (greater space, larger wheels & tyres, body-coloured and electrically adjustable ORVMs, features like ESP with hill-hold (AMT)), etc.

Link to Review

Maruti Alto

Launch Thread

Renault Kwid

Launch Thread

Maruti Celerio

Link to Review

Maruti S-Presso

Maruti S-Presso Pros:

• Funky design stands out from the crowd
• Well-priced for what it offers
• Spacious cabin with enough room for four 6-footers, and easy ingress/egress too
• Fantastic engine & MT gearbox. Fun, driveable, rev-happy, fuel-efficient
• Optional AMT automatic available at an Rs. ~43,000 premium
• 180 mm of ground clearance & a tiny 4.5m turning radius aid practicality
• Boot has a practical layout. Rear seat does fold down when required
• Nice touchscreen ICE with Android Auto + Apple CarPlay + steering mounted controls
• Maruti's fuss-free ownership experiences & widespread dealer network

Maruti S-Presso Cons:

• 0 stars in the GNCAP crash tests (full discussion)
• Controversial styling with oddball proportions – you’ll either love it or hate it
• Basic ride quality has a distinctly firm edge to it. Can get bumpy
• Terrible highway dynamics & NVH at 100 km/h. Best driven at double-digit speeds
• Weird, poorly-calibrated steering has many flaws
• AMT, although improved, can’t match conventional ATs on smoothness & speed. Still gets jerky
• Narrow width makes it a 4-seater (not 5)
• Missing rear power windows, rear defogger & day/night IRVM
• Skinny 165 mm tyres or atrocious 145 mm rubber (lower variant). Fuel tank is just 27L in size

Link to Review

Maruti WagonR

Maruti WagonR Pros:

• Unbeatable practicality, with a value-for-money price tag
• Spacious interiors. Ingress & egress are effortless too
• 340-liter boot has almost doubled in size (compared to the old WagonR)
• Awesome 4-cylinder 1.2L engine costs just Rs. 20,000 more than the 1.0L
• Suspension offers a more compliant ride than the outgoing car
• Features such as the touchscreen head-unit, under seat drawer & well-priced 2nd airbag
• Maruti's fuss-free ownership experience & excellent after-sales service

Maruti WagonR Cons:

• Interior quality is budget grade. The Santro is in another class altogether!
• Thin & tinny sheet metal. The car feels lightweight when driving as well
• Lousy NVH package. Insulation is quite poor
• AMT – although improved – cannot match the Santro AMT’s smoothness
• Road manners make it more suited to the city than the highway. Keep your speeds in check
• Some misses like no alloy wheels, missing rear speakers & useless rear headrests
• Superior Ignis isn’t priced too far away, especially after discounts

Link to Review

Tata Tiago

Launch Thread

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Would spend a little more and go for the WagonR, with that wonderful 1.2L petrol engine. The 4-cylinder petrol gives the WagonR the best performance & refinement of any car listed above. Plus, the new WagonR doesn't look bad for a breadbox. Most practical, spacious, has a big boot and a comfortable ride. IMHO, it's the best out here and a perfect family-beater.

Here's what BHPian DicKy had to say on the matter:

It is Alto K10 vs Spresso vs WagonR 1.2 for me.

It is hard to choose between the Alto K10 vs Spresso, though in AMT guise S-Presso wins hands down with the hill hold and ESP.

WagonR 1.2 would have been my choice if the present WagonR had practical interiors like the previous generations. Yes, space is there, but storage spaces and cubbyholes are in such shortage, that the dashboard looks just like a glorified plastic tablet holder! Add to that, if you buy the WagonR 1.2, you will get the far superior Ignis for the same price. (if you don't care for stuff like touchscreens)

So my choice is the S-Presso.

Here's what BHPian agambhandari had to say on the matter:

A base model Ignis Sigma comes out to be cheaper than a Wagon R 1.0 and cheaper than Celerio VXI. And this is with the usual 20-25k discount. We bought one a couple of months back and if you drive these cars back to back, it's not even a contest. The K12 in the Ignis is miles ahead of the K10C and heck even the K12C in terms of power delivery yet returns very good FE. The equipment in the Sigma is also comparable to this VXi Celerio and Base WagonR.

So my choice would be the Ignis.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.