Suzuki’s 2009 Alto arrived in March boasting among the lowest CO2 tailpipe ticket of any five door car to date: 103g/km (road tax band ‘B’ at £35 a year). A look at the more obvious competition – Hyundai i10; Toyota-Peugeot-Citroen Aygo/107/C1; FIAT Panda and Ford KA – tends to support that.
Another significant thing about the Alto is that it’s built in India – and it’s a car a Japanese company is happy to send to Europe under its own name. Maruti-Suzuki builds it at its New Delhi plant. For 25 years that joint venture has built the country’s best selling car. Tata’s (even cheaper) Nano is the first serious challenge to it.
Another significant thing about the Alto is that it’s built in India – and it’s a car a Japanese company is happy to send to Europe under its own name. Maruti-Suzuki builds it at its New Delhi plant. For 25 years that joint venture has built the country’s best selling car. Tata’s (even cheaper) Nano is the first serious challenge to it.
The Alto’s not the indigenous product – it’s Japanese designed. Nissan has bought into the project with a rebadged version called the Pixo. Tata has a Europe-ready Nano and more ambitious stuff in the pipeline. Clean and contemporary, the Alto looks good – and getting the proportions (mostly) right is quite a trick on a (very) small car. Cabin is pretty comfortable with fairly substantial front seats and a decent driving position. One interior minus point is the rather basic dashboard. Asking prices: £7,245-£9,060.
Staying with lightweight SUVs and small cars has served Suzuki well. Next up from the Alto is Hungarian sourced Splash (and Opel-Vauxhall Agila spin-off from the same plant) with Swift supermini topping off the trio. Slightly bigger SX4 (with partner car Fiat Sedici) borders on the lower medium. These are all cars which should do well during a downturn. Alto and Splash are both ‘A’ segment ‘minis’ but the Splash is a touch larger offering a 1.2 petrol or 1.3 Diesel ‘trade-up’.
Alto powerplant is the 1.0 litre only: 3 cylinder; 67bhp; 96mph; 0-62 in 14 seconds (five-speed manual – four-speed automatic does 93mph and 62 in 17 secs.). Official combined mpg is 64.2 (manual) but 42mpg (brim to brim) on test does, at least, suggest 50+ with gentler day to day driving.
Some elements of the interior furnishing are a touch crude – the shelf over the rear load area and the stalks for the (non-electric) door mirrors, for example. Hyundai’s cheapest i10 (£7,200) has air conditioning but not the entry-model Alto. However it does have electric front windows and remote central locking.
But the Suzuki has more ‘character’ and – as much as any small budget car can be – is a tad more involving to drive. The little three cylinder engine sounds keen and (almost) rorty at times – so, yes, ‘alto’ not ‘soprano’. Insurance at 1E/2E is as low as it gets and this is a content, comfortable and economical little car. On test it came in a fetching shade of metallic pink. Metrosexuals’ wheels of choice? Matched my shirt, actually.
By Huw Thomas
Staying with lightweight SUVs and small cars has served Suzuki well. Next up from the Alto is Hungarian sourced Splash (and Opel-Vauxhall Agila spin-off from the same plant) with Swift supermini topping off the trio. Slightly bigger SX4 (with partner car Fiat Sedici) borders on the lower medium. These are all cars which should do well during a downturn. Alto and Splash are both ‘A’ segment ‘minis’ but the Splash is a touch larger offering a 1.2 petrol or 1.3 Diesel ‘trade-up’.
Alto powerplant is the 1.0 litre only: 3 cylinder; 67bhp; 96mph; 0-62 in 14 seconds (five-speed manual – four-speed automatic does 93mph and 62 in 17 secs.). Official combined mpg is 64.2 (manual) but 42mpg (brim to brim) on test does, at least, suggest 50+ with gentler day to day driving.
Some elements of the interior furnishing are a touch crude – the shelf over the rear load area and the stalks for the (non-electric) door mirrors, for example. Hyundai’s cheapest i10 (£7,200) has air conditioning but not the entry-model Alto. However it does have electric front windows and remote central locking.
But the Suzuki has more ‘character’ and – as much as any small budget car can be – is a tad more involving to drive. The little three cylinder engine sounds keen and (almost) rorty at times – so, yes, ‘alto’ not ‘soprano’. Insurance at 1E/2E is as low as it gets and this is a content, comfortable and economical little car. On test it came in a fetching shade of metallic pink. Metrosexuals’ wheels of choice? Matched my shirt, actually.
By Huw Thomas
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