Maruti Alto K10 AMT 2014 Review
Currently, 26 lac cars bearing the Alto badge are plying the Indian roads which gives us a decent idea about the iconic status of this small car from Maruti.
The next generation Alto K10, to be launched on November 3, 2014, is Maruti’s latest offering which will also sport the Automactic Manual Transmission (AMT). The AMT has been widely appreciated in the Celerio and hence it prompted Maruti to incorporate the same in next generation Alto K10.
Exterior and Interior:
At a first glance, the new Alto looks much wider than the outgoing model. The look is refreshed with large swept back headlights, a contoured bonnet and a flatter bumper. Maruti has tried to make the car with a more upmarket feel by adding body colored Outside Rear View Mirror(ORVM) and body colored door handles. Side body moulding, rear combination lamps and newly designed hatch give it a distinctive design in comparison to the old Alto K10.
Kudos to the designing team for managing to give more cabin space compared to the older model, inspite of the overall length of the car going down. However, the new car is wider and taller than the predecessor.
Coming to the interiors, the dual tone dashboard is complemented to with good quality plastics and nicely designed center console to give better fit and finish and overall feel to the car. A new feature is the front power windows switches finding place in the center console. This could be an inconvenience as people are more used to window switches on the door panel, but it is bid by Maruti to use all conceivable space in a productive manner.
Engine and Ride Quality :
The car is powered by an evolved K series engine which is all aluminum and is capable of churning out a max power of 68Ps @6000 rpm and a max torque of 90Nm @ 3500 rpm. The car is available with a 5 speed manual gear or an auto gear shift transmission.
The Diesel car is the surprise package here. The drive quality is really good and a true driver’s car. The car drives well even if pushed to three figure speeds as well as on highways and hilly regions.
The last generation car sold 4.3 lacs and the new model is expected to surpass that.
The car is expected to be in the price range of Rs. 2.9 lacs-3.9 lacs.