Suzuki ALTO RANGE
The
Suzuki Alto Has Been Improved, But Will Anybody Notice? By Andy Enright
Its often fun to tell people where their cars come from. Dinner party bores who blather on about the German build quality of their VW Beetle or Mercedes M-Class can often become quite dumbstruck when informed their motors are oftentimes built in Mexico or Alabama. That said, its doubtful whether any Suzuki Alto owner would get at all sniffy if informed that their citycar wasnt built in Japan, but instead hailed from the Maruti Udyog Limited manufacturing facility in India. Alto owners, you see, are a pragmatic bunch.
The outgoing model established a small niche for itself amongst those buyers who were interested in low-cost sensible motoring without the stigma of a cheapie badge on the bonnet. This formula has worked since 1979 when the very first Alto was launched and over 7.5 million cars have found owners worldwide in the intervening years. Economic conditions have changed, however, and the Alto has had to evolve.
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Low-cost opposition has become fierce and other companies have eyed the success of Suzukis Indian manufacturing strategy with some interest.
Ford, General Motors, Mercedes,
Peugeot,
MG Rover and
Fiat are all establishing manufacturing facilities in the subcontinent, legitimising Suzukis decision amongst more conservative buyers. The latest Alto doesnt look a great deal different to the outgoing car, but dont let appearances fool you. Its significantly better in practically every regard.
The major change is the engine. Its now a 1.1-litre 16-valve unit that manages a creditable 62bhp up 9bhp on the old 1.0-litre lump.
At 119g/km, the Altos CO2 emissions are some of the lowest around while its fuel consumption is similarly impressive. A combined fuel figure of 57.6mpg is very good going for a petrol-engined city car. The Maruti plant has even managed to achieve the ISO14001 certification for environmentally safe production, so the Alto gets a green bill of health right across the card.
"The latest Alto doesnt look a great deal different to the outgoing car, but dont let appearances fool you"
The Alto is fitted as standard with a five-speed manual transmission and is priced at a budget £5,995. Top speed is just over 96mph, but if you have another £700 or so in the kitty, you can buy a three-speed automatic version that takes the sweat out of city driving. Acceleration is blunted by the self-shifter but if the urban sprawl and crawl is what you call home, you may not be overly concerned with outright sprinting ability. The Altos styling has come in for a freshening as well.
At the front, the curved bumper and a bigger front grille mirror the looks of the Ignis, while the flush fitting headlights now look a little more contemporary than the old units. The rear lights are bigger and brighter than before, while contour lines and side mouldings on the doors give the flanks a little more visual interest. The seats and fascia have been revised indoors and safety has been augmented with twin airbags finally making an appearance along with ABS and EBD. The Alto, despite its humble beginnings, is still a very significant model for
Suzuki, a company that has built its reputation on affordable cars.
The Vitara, after all, was the original small 4x4, compact in size and price. The Swift meanwhile, proved to be an enduring little supermini, with a combination of price and practicality that British buyers found appealing. The single Alto GL model we get on these shores is a citycar that's affordable with a capital 'A'. For less than £6,000, it's pitched directly at Fiat's repositioned Seicento and will doubtless steal its fair share of sales. Like the little Fiat (which is assembled in Poland), the Alto is put together in a land of cheap labour rates and we reap the savings. Nothing wrong with that - as long as the build quality reaches Western standards; and if the old Alto was anything to go by, there shouldnt be any serious concerns. In fact, Suzuki has already found that sourcing some models from outside Japan works very well; the 1.
0-litre Swift, for example, was made at the company's Budapest factory in Hungary. As the importers are keen to stress, Suzukis are now produced in more than 50 factories throughout the world, each one dedicated to achieving stringent Japanese quality standards. Many are joint ventures - the Alto programme (which Suzuki shares with the Indian government) being a good example. So far, the New Delhi factory has produced over 1.
6 million vehicles, giving the 'Maruti'-badged Suzuki models an amazing 80% share of the Indian domestic market. Its not just a hit on the subcontinent though. In Holland, the Alto is the number one selling citycar. If the tallest nation on earth finds favour with the baby Suzuki, then thats testament indeed to the Altos packaging.
This being a Japanese-designed car, all the controls are simple to use and the instruments are clear and uncluttered, although stylish interior design is at a premium. There are a few clever touches elsewhere in the Alto's interior too, such as a headlamp levelling control which allows the beam's pitch to be lowered - handy if you're carrying a heavy load. Likewise, the 'walk-in' sliding mechanism on the front seats of the three-door models is natty; at least it shows that the designers of this car thought about making it user-friendly in the 'real world'. Think of the Alto as a handy city car that won't cost you an arm and a leg to run and you'll be smiling. Only if you want more space may it disappoint - in which case your Suzuki dealer will doubtless point you in the direction of the larger Swift or Ignis. Competition in the smallest sector of the market is of course pretty strong and the latest Alto will never enjoy the highest of profiles but if youre after an inexpensive citycar, give it a try. You could end up with an Indian takeaway that certainly wont have painful repercussions.
\FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: Suzuki Alto range PRICES: £5,995 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 3 CO2 EMISSIONS: 119g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 96mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 43.5 (extra urban) 70.6 (average) 57.6mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin airbags, side impact beams WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height, 3495/1495/1455mm WHO TO SEE: April 2nd 2004
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Suzuki Alto range
PRICES: £5,995 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 3
CO2 EMISSIONS: 119g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 96mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 43.5 (extra urban) 70.6 (average) 57.6mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin airbags, side impact beams
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height, 3495/1495/1455mm WHO TO SEE:
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