The price cut comes at a time when the small car segment is witnessing a slump in sales.

Maruti Suzuki has reduced the prices of select variants of the Alto K10 and S-Presso this month. Prices have been slashed by up to Rs 6,500.

According to the company, prices of certain variants of the Alto K10 and S-Presso have been reduced, effective September 2, 2024. The Alto K10 VXI gets a price cut of Rs 6,500, while the S-Presso LXI variant is Rs 2,000 cheaper than before.

The price cut comes at a time when the small car segment is witnessing a slump in sales. Maruti Suzuki’s compact car sales dropped from 12,209 units in August 2023 to 10,648 units last month. By reducing the prices, the carmaker may be looking at boosting sales of its compact cars this festive season.

On the contrary, the SUV sales are booming. Maruti Suzuki recorded a 7% growth in this segment with sales rising from 58,646 units in August 2023 to 62,684 units last month.

Source: Business Standard

Maruti Suzuki cars are also equipped with safety features like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and reverse parking sensors.

Maruti Suzuki now offers Electronic Stability Program (ESP) as standard across all models. The carmaker has just announced the introduction of the safety feature on the Alto K10 and S-Presso.

ESP is now available across all variants of the Alto K10 and S-Presso. Despite the addition of the new feature, there has been no change in the prices of both models. 

Electronic Stability Program counteracts a vehicle’s skidding movements, ensuring it remains in line with its natural path of motion. The ESP system, integrating the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Traction Control System (TCS), and Stability Control (SC), utilizes a range of sensors to measure the vehicle’s movement. This data is then processed by an electronic control unit to calculate and adjust the vehicle’s trajectory, enhancing stability and control.

In addition to ESP, Maruti Suzuki cars are equipped with safety features like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensors, engine immobilizer and a collapsible steering column.

2,555 units of the Alto K10 have been affected by this recall.

Maruti Suzuki has recalled the Alto K10 in India over a possible defect in the ‘Steering Gear Box Assembly’. Customers have been advised not to drive their vehicles till the part is replaced.

According to the company, 2,555 units of the Alto K10 have been affected by this recall. It is said that in rare cases, the defective part may affect vehicle steerability.

Maruti Suzuki authorized dealer workshops will reach out to customers to get their vehicles inspected. The inspection and replacement of the part will be done free of cost.

Customers can check if their vehicle is among those recalled by entering the chassis no. on Maruti Suzuki's website.

It is a brilliant car for the city but I think the fuel efficiency is very low for a Maruti.

BHPian ItsMeTheCarBoi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have a Maruti Alto K10.

What strikes you first is the Suzuki engine- ahh, so silent.

• Appearance? Looks wide from the front due to that XL-sized grille, but it's only when you see it from the back that you realize how narrow it is.
• Interior- Design is straightforward, a bit boring you might say, but not too bad. Plastics, well, they rattle all the time, except on the v-e-r-y smooth roads. The sound is just like a poorly refined engine. Storage is quite low.
• Space- Must say, Maruti has done a brilliant job here! There's an ample amount of space. Width is a bit narrow, yes, three people are an absolute squeeze, unless you and the third passenger are enemies.
• Ride quality- Great in the city, not-so-great on highways.
• Mileage- 13 kmpl in the city. Very less for a Maruti, eh?
• Build quality- Ok. Not too tinny but no tank as well.
• Price- 7 lakhs. Times have changed I guess.

Verdict- Brilliant for the city, okay for highways.

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The Alto K10 and S-Presso Dream Series are available in VXI+ variants, while the Celerio comes in LXI trim. All three models are priced at Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom).

Last month, Maruti Suzuki introduced the Alto K10, S-Presso and Celerio Dream Series. Initially, these limited-edition models were available for the month of June only. However, the carmaker has now decided to extend the availability till the end of July.

According to Maruti Suzuki, footfalls at dealerships increased by 17% after the launch of the Dream Series. The carmaker has received 21,000 bookings for the special edition models so far.

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki, said, “The response to the Dream Series has been quite encouraging, and we are going to extend it to July as well. We started Dream Series for the month of June, and it brought about a growth of 17 percent in footfalls.”

Banerjee added, “While there was some shrinkage that was happening in this core entry-level segment, we were able to register around 21,000 bookings last month. We are now also trying to work out special finance packages for these customers with various banks.”

Maruti Suzuki has also reduced the prices of the AMT variants of the Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, Wagon-R, Swift, Dzire, Baleno, Fronx and Ignis.

Maruti Suzuki has announced the launch of the Alto K10, S-Presso and Celerio Dream Series. The limited editions will only be available for the month of June 2024.

The Alto K10 and S-Presso Dream Series are available in VXI+ variants, while the Celerio comes in LXI trim. All three models are priced at Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom).

The Alto K10 Dream Series is equipped with a reverse parking camera and security system.

The S-Presso gets additional features such as a pair of speakers, a silver ornament, wheel arch cladding, body side moulding, front, rear and side skid plates, chrome grille garnish, chrome back door garnish and number plate frame.

The Celerio Dream Series comes with a Pioneer stereo, a pair of speakers and a reverse parking camera.

Maruti Suzuki has also reduced the prices of the AMT variants of the Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, Wagon-R, Swift, Dzire, Baleno, Fronx and Ignis by Rs 5,000.

The Dream Editions get additional features, including an enhanced infotainment system.

Maruti Suzuki is all set to launch the limited edition Dream Series of the Alto K10, S-Presso and Celerio on June 4. The cars will be priced from Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom). Bookings are now open.

The limited edition Dream Series will be available during the month of June, but depending on the customer response, Maruti could extend the sale of these models beyond a month.

The Dream edition will be available with the manual transmission versions of the Alto K10, S-Presso and Celerio. The cars get additional features, including an enhanced infotainment system.

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, “At many places, the RTO registration charges change at Rs. 5.00 lakh, so in order to take care of customers because affordability is an important point, we have strategically priced this limited edition at Rs. 4.99 lakh. With this, we aim to meet the customer expectations in the segment.”

The engine noise in the cabin is minimal and much better than the 3-cylinder engines from Tata Motors.

BHPian bravo82in recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am planning to add a hatchback to my garage for city use and as a backup when my other cars are in for service and repairs. Although Maruti Suzuki (MS) was not initially on my list, I decided to give it a try. I took a test drive of the Alto K10 Vxi AGS and came back impressed.

Appearance

The 2022 Alto K10's look is more akin to the Celerio than the previous generation Alto. I believe it's time for Maruti to load the Alto with more features and discontinue the Celerio. They could introduce Zxi and Zxi Plus variants in the K10, possibly with a larger engine.

Interior Space

The interior space is well-managed. Relocating the power window buttons to the central console has freed up space on the door panels. The car doesn't feel cramped despite its size. Even then everything in the car is within reach, including the passenger side ORVM adjustment knob.

Performance

I didn’t expect such an impressive pickup. The gear shifts are smooth (I never anticipated that for an AMT gearbox) with quick upshifts allowing me to reach 5th gear by the time I hit 60 kmph. When I floored the accelerator, the car downshifted to 4th gear, providing the needed power to overtake. The car consistently downshifts when the accelerator is pressed hard.

Driving Experience

There's a slight jerk during gear shifts if the gas pedal is pressed hard, but if you ease off the gas for a few milliseconds around every 20-30 kmph mark, the car smoothly shifts up. The NVH levels are well-controlled; engine noise in the cabin is minimal and much better than Tata's 3-cylinder engines. Wind noise becomes evident over 80 kmph but is acceptable. The car easily reached 110 kmph, but I didn’t push it further. Brakes have a good bit too. All this is with 3 on board and AC running. The AC was able to cool down the cabin of the sun-baked car in under 5 mins (Good job MS)

City Use

The car is well-suited for city driving with its compact size and basic features sorted. IMHO the Vxi variant offers the best value for money, as the Vxi Plus only adds remote locking and a touchscreen display. The remote can be added later and I see no reason for a touch screen in a car of this size unless one wants a reverse camera. The Alto comes with a convenient mobile mount on the music system, making a mobile screen sufficient for navigation and music.

Accessories

MS offers an impressive and tasteful accessories list for the K10, with the Impacto kit adding a nice touch.

Cons

The steering feels vague and doesn’t return to the center on its own, which is unusual. The sales executive assured me I would get used to it, but I remained skeptical. Additionally, the 145 mm tires need an upgrade.

Final Thoughts

Would I buy one? Yes, I find it to be value for money with reliable and cheap maintenance typical of Maruti. However, my family is not in favor, preferring a safer car like the Tiago, which, for a bit more cost, offers more features and better safety, albeit at the expense of reliability.

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It is spacious, comfortable and easy to drive. The ride over potholes is comfortable as compared to the Alto and Kia Sonet.

BHPian chheringpal recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Happy Member of the Jimny Club

Finally, after drooling over the 3-door Jimny, excited after Jimny India launch confirmation and sad over its initial pricing, the Gods above and decision-makers at MS had some mercy over people like me and brought out the price-drop/year-end discount. The discount made me think whether I should buy it or not.

My ex-boss was constantly pushing me to buy the Jimny, since a few of his friends too bought it after the price drop. He has been long saying that we will go for a snow drive in my Jimny when it snows this winter in Shimla. So after a long wait and dilly-dallying, I finally paid a visit to the Nexa showroom in Shimla and finalised the Zeta MT.

Jimny (Nexa Blue-MT) was delivered on 26th Dec and took a small night ride with my spouse and brother for fuelling up. Finally got the chance to take it to my hometown a few days later and here are some of my observations of the Jimny after about 800 Km of driving.

• Coming from a 2016 Alto K10, Jimny is spacious, comfortable, and easy to drive. I’m enjoying the drive.
• Being a compact SUV, not much of a hassle to drive around Shimla where space is always a constraint.
• Turning radius is large but if you plan well, you can manoeuvre it quite easily. In my hometown, I did the same turns in a single go in Jimny as I used to do in Alto K10. You need to consciously plan your turn and go about it.
• The ride over potholes is comfortable as compared to Alto and Sonet, but over speed bumps at slightly higher speeds the rear end feels like it swerves a little bit.
• I got a fuel efficiency of 15.6 KMPL for tank-to-tank fuelling for the Shimla-Bilaspur-Keylong-Kullu stretch. During the stretch from Shimla to Bilaspur I got a fuel efficiency of 20 KMPL (mostly downhill) but for Kullu to Keylong stretch, I got a fuel efficiency of 11.5 KMPL.
• Engine is powerful as compared to Alto K10, as I could take uphill turns even in 3rd gear till Manali. After Manali, I had to do similar turns in either 2nd or 1st gear. At high altitudes, it did struggle a bit during overtaking. But between Shimla-Kullu didn’t face any such issue as I usually avoid quick overtaking.
• My colleague finds the rear seat comfortable (city rides only) as the seats are upright and big windows don’t make him feel claustrophobic like the ones of the i20 do.
• Lastly, everyone near my office talks about the Jimny whenever I take it to the office. Yesterday one of my colleagues' driver brought his other driver friend to show the Jimny inside out.
• Jimny surely brings out the smile in everyone who is in its presence.

Overall, I am quite happy with the decision to become a Jimny owner.

Now waiting for snowfall in Shimla to try out snow driving with my Ex-boss and colleagues.

God, please let it snow this year!

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Our Alto K10 has been to 19 states in India and twice to Bhutan during this period. I doubt if any other car, used or new would give us as much joy as this.

BHPian hothatchaway recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Let me tell you a story which I have been meaning to tell for a month now. I bought my Alto K10 VXi in 2012 when we were looking for our first car. Our daughter was born a year before and we had moved to Bangalore two years back. After shortlisting the Honda Brio, the Chevy Beat and of course, the K10, it was a close run between the Honda and the Alto. The latter won out as the Honda dealership played hard to get the final deal, while Leo Motors Indiranagar, the MS dealership, made the purchase affair very special. I even penned down the initial ownership review below, even though I was too lazy to keep updating it!

The little Alto had been our constant companion since then, doing everything from city commutes to long drives without breaking a sweat. This was 2012 and the K10 was no ordinary alto. It punched above its weight with its sweet one-litre K Series engine. The interiors were spartan and cramped, but the rock-solid reliability and go-anywhere ability of the car more than made up for it. As a family, we are always looking to explore places, and our little Alto took us everywhere, from Kerala and Wayanad (also in Kerala!) to a mega cross-country safari to Kanha in MP and Tadoba in Maharashtra to destinations within Karnataka and indeed, other states in South India. She took us to Goa, Vizag and other destinations which I wish I had written logs of. When we moved to Kolkata, I drove her down in an epic (for me at least!) almost 2000 km journey. During her stint in the city of joy, she took us to the Himalayas on five occasions: twice to Bhutan, once to Assam and Meghalaya, once to the Queen of the hills, Darjeeling and of course, to the legendary Silk Route in Sikkim

Never say never again

As the saying goes, all good things come to an end, and when we were set to move out of the country in 2022, it was time to bid adieu to our car. She had done 88000 odd kms at the time after having been everywhere from the beaches of Kerala to the high Himalayan passes and everything in between. She was still running on her stock clutch and suspension, with 100 W halogens running on relays being the only modification made. She still ran like new when we saw her off for the last time, or so we thought!

Ghar wapsi

Life has a way of springing surprises of the kind you least expect. We moved out of India lock stock and barrel, expecting to be away for a really long time. Therefore, when we were back home in a few month's time, we were left really unprepared, including the absence of 4 wheels, something which almost defined who I am. So along with picking up the other pieces of what makes a household, I was again back in the market for a new ride.

Back to square one

Covid has changed human society in many ways, several of them for good. Certain decisions by the custodians of global finances (read reckless money printing) had put prices of everything, from daal to diamonds on the boil. I did a quick scan of what was available new and my reluctance to splurge in addition to what I was getting at inflated prices left me cold. I bought our first car new but that was in 2012. Ten years had passed by, and countless hours spent on team bhp had made me an expert on the virtues of buying a used car, at least on paper anyway. So I started burning the midnight oil, reading through reams of webpages of auto classifieds. I quickly realized that used prices were suffering from an acute case of schizophrenia; why lag behind when you can command 90% of the price when buying new for a new 5-year-old car...and still get it! After a month of looking, I had done enough research and recons to be able to write this on bhp However, I had nothing to show for my efforts. In the meanwhile, my mind kept going back to my little Alto. I received a text when I was abroad from Mandovi Motors Maruti with details on work carried out on the Alto by the new owner. I realized that while the car was sold and the ownership was transferred, MSIL still carried my contact details in their records. This appeared irrelevant at the time but was to prove crucial; more on that later. The Alto started appearing in my dreams and I would awake with a feeling of the car still with me, just for a fleeting moment before reality barged in rudely. I could not help but entertain the thought which had taken root and was growing stronger every moment

"Sometimes, you go back to move forward" - Anonymous

As I had mentioned, the little Alto was not just a car. It was and is like a family member. My daughter was one when the car rolled out of the dealership and she had practically grown up in the back seat. I had spent hours on many a Sunday morning, washing the car, and dutifully going through many rolls of microfiber. I would choose fuel pumps carefully by driving extra miles, which perhaps whittled away any gains made on petrol purity. I would change the oil when the stuff inside was still good enough for a few thousand more. Brush aside the advances of valet attendants and get to know the basement layouts of many hotels better. My alto was now sold for a little over a year. Unless I was unlucky, she would still any day be better than many of the used cars I was checking. Why not get her back?!! Of course! We discussed this at home and my daughter, now 12, was thrilled with the possibility. That was it! Now only if I could track her down and find out where she actually was...

The car whisperer

I had sold the Alto to Spinny, which made sense as we were in Kolkata at the time and the car was still registered in KA. I could not complain even though Spinny sold me 20k short, transportation charges being the excuse. Therefore, they were my first port of call in my quest to find the current owner of our little Alto. As expected, Spinny was of no help. Heck, even the chap who was the so-called Relationship Manager was no longer with the company

By this time, I had already convinced myself that getting our Alto back was the only option. In Hyderabad, where I had resumed my quest for a replacement car, owners and dealers were of the opinion that cars are an appreciating asset, and no, I was not looking for a sparingly used Innova.

Undaunted by the Spinny dead end, I dialled the mobile number listed in the service text from Mandovi Motors Bangalore which I had received inadvertently. The number belonged to the service advisor and yes, my Alto had paid a visit to the service centre almost a year back! With great trepidation and foreboding, I forced myself to ask - "were there any major repairs?" I cannot describe the feeling when he said "routine service only saar"! I knew we were in business. I requested him if he could share the contact number of the current owner and made up some cock and bull story about some pending paperwork. He obliged. I don't think he would have believed me if I had told him the truth: that I wanted to buy back a ten-year-old Alto. I will not forget his generosity.

Armed with the contact number, it took me a week to figure out what to say when I called the current owner. I am an overthinker who dwells too much and in this case, I had never even met the guy! I half expected him to think of me as a weirdo and tell me to buzz off. Things went differently (in a good way) when I called him, however. Instead of beating around the bush, I told him about the unique place the Alto had in my family's life. I learnt that he was using the car very sparingly and the Odo was at 92xxx, only 4 thousand kms more than where it was when I had sold. After talking about this and that, I came out and asked him, "Would you consider selling the Alto back to me?" He paused and responded "Give me some time"

I waited for 2 weeks before texting him. We exchanged messages for the following two weeks as he made up his mind. I considered the fact that while he was not driving the car much if he decided to sell the Alto back to me, he would have to go through the same hassle of finding a replacement in the used car market, much like I did. I made him an offer which was equal to what he paid for the car when he bought it from Spinny a little over a year back. My heart was racing when I visited the gentleman to seal the deal and get my car back. He had sent me pictures of the car and had also very kindly, replaced the driver-side power window motor which had given up after 10 years of service. I had changed the tyres and the battery a couple of years before I sold the car. A half turn of the ignition and the familiar music of the engine coming to life filled my ears. I eased her out onto the main road and went through the gears. My next stop? A Shell petrol pump for a full tank of course!!!

All's well that ends well

And that ladies and gentlemen, is how my family and I were reunited with my beloved Alto K10. We parted with her when she was 88 odd thousand kms on the Odo and got her back with another 4 thousand kms added. She has run another 4 thousand km in the last two months after getting back home, with a Bangalore Hyderabad run and a trip to Chattisgarh to celebrate her homecoming and enjoy the rains. I had to replace the headlamp assembly as the sealing had given up and the front now looks as good as new. I also realized that Spinny had purloined the Pioneer HU and the headlamp relays, both of which I have since replaced. The first thing I did after collecting her was to go to an MS service centre to get her thoroughly checked. As I had estimated, all she needed was an oil change and general service!

Our Alto K10 still runs as well as she did when she rolled out of the shop and became a part of the family. She has been to 19 states in India and twice to Bhutan during this period. I doubt if any other car, used or new would give us as much joy as our little Alto does! The moral of the story is, if you have taken meticulous care of your car and there is nothing wrong with it mechanically, take a good long hard second look at her before thinking of trading her in. The model may have been discontinued, but there could be other options which you find tempting, heck, even the company may have long gone home. But a car is not just metal and plastic, it's much more than the sum of its parts. You give her away, a part of you is lost forever.

Now for some pictures from the travelogues that I never wrote, thanks for reading!

When I thought I was bidding her goodbye!

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