The leading automobile manufacturer of the country Maruti Suzuki India Limited had launched the Maruti 800 twenty six years ago and the Maruti Alto entered nine years ago. Both the cars became hugely popular in the Indian market. The Maruti Alto 800 is a step ahead from the Maruti 800 and the Alto. This entry level hatchback is one of the highest selling car across the country.
Now, the 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 received an update. The refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 flaunts a new design philosophy and has been priced in the range of Rs 2.49 lakh to Rs 3.78 lakh. All prices are ex-showroom, New Delhi. Currently, the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 competes directly with the Tata Nano, Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet Spark and Hyundai Eon.
ENGINE AND SPECIFICATIONS
The Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is powered by 0.8 litre, 796 cc, three cylinder, F8D petrol engine that produces 47 bhp of power at 6000 rpm along with 69 Nm of torque at 3500 rpm. The engine comes mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. In addition, the car has a turning radius of 4.6 metres.
As far as mileage is concerned, the 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 has an ARAI certified mileage of 24.7 kmpl, that is 9 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous model. On the other hand, its CNG variant also returns a mileage of 34.44 km /kg, which is better than the previous model. The car comes with a fuel tank capacity of 35 litres.
EXTERIOR
The refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 comes with restyled headlamps along with bolder character lines on the bonnet and wider and lower front grille. The polished bumper of the car is 35 mm longer than the previous model and gets provision for fog lamps too. The side profile of the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is unchanged, although the rear profile of the car gets sporty spoiler, body coloured bumpers and trendy tail lights.
In addition to these, the facelift model of Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 gets internally adjustable outside rear view mirrors along with body coloured door handles and steel wheels.
In terms of dimensions, the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 measures now 3430 mm of length, 1490 mm of width and 1475 mm of height along with a wheelbase of 2360 mm and a ground clearance of 160 mm.
The Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is available in four attractive colours – New Blazing Red, New Granite Grey, Superior White and Silky Silver. Apart from these, the refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 comes also in two new exciting colour, namely Mojito Green and Cerulean Blue.
INTERIOR
On the inside, the refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 comes with a new dark grey interior colour. The car has a seating arrangement for five passengers and seats are well cushioned with high quality upholstery. The rear seats of the hatchback have now integrated headrest. Besides, the car has flip type bottle holder for the rear passengers.
Other features of the refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 include remote keyless entry, power windows, air conditioner with dial type climate control, accessory power socket, map pockets, sun visor with ticket holder and audio system with two speakers, FM Radio, USB and Aux-in connectivity.
Furthermore, the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 provides generous boot Space of 177 litres.
PERFORMANCE
The refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is a good performer. The car accelerates from 0 – 100 kmph mark within 16 seconds with a maximum speed of 140 – 145 kmph. Whereas, its CNG version achieves the 0 – 100 kmph barrier in 17 – 18 seconds.
On the braking front, the car is fitted with solid disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear. In addition, the front suspension of the refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 consists of gas filled McPherson strut torsion roll control device whereas the rear suspension consists of coil spring gas filled shock absorber with three link rigid axle and isolated trailing arm.
In terms of safety, the refreshed Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 has a strong metal sheet monocoque structure. Apart from this, the car comes equipped with driver side airbag, central locking, child protection door locks and engine immobilizer.
ADVANTAGES
The main advantage of the 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is its additional features and cosmetic upgrades. The car offers an excellent mileage. furthermore, the 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is blessed with new generation 6.5-inch brake booster for improved braking performance.
DRAWBACKS
The car has outdated styling and design. Lack of ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) and EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution) system is another major drawback of the 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800.
VERDICT
The 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is one of the best budget cars. It comes with a new design and remote keyless entry feature. Moreover, the class leading mileage figure is also a plus point for the hatchback. On the whole, the 2016 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is the best option for those who want to buy a budget car with outstanding mileage.
