At the 2011 Indonesian International Motor Show, Suzuki has displayed a little green car called the Concept-G. Painted in a “Breezy Pasture Green Pearl” color, the idea is to give the mini car a eco-friendly hue.
The Concept G is the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Alto with a 660cc engine with cosmetic changes.
In its production form, the Concept G will feature a K Series petrol engine. The displacement was not disclosed, but the 3cyl 1.0-liter engine is what they mean. The Concept G is under 3.4-metres long and 1.48-metres wide.
When we quizzed Maruti Suzuki officials about the JDM Alto’s suitability in India, they said they were aware of the product but raised doubts on its positioning in India. But times are changing fast and soon the Estilo will need a successor. The Estilo is a cosmetically and mechanically reworked first generation Suzuki MR Wagon.
Don’t you think the JDM Alto is a perfect successor for the Estilo with its tall boy design?
Left – Chinese car maker Zotye’ upcoming A002 mini car expected with 1.0 and 1.3-liter petrol engines at a starting price of around 4 lakh rupees.
Right – Suzuki’s Alto (A-Star in India), powered by a K-Series 1.0-liter engine and offered in both manual and automatic transmission guises.
After carrying the badge of Suzuki and Nissan, the A-Star will also get a VW badge. India’s automotive kingpin, Maruti Suzuki will supply A-Star to Volkswagen AG to sell in other markets, Economic Times is reporting. The A-Star, or 7th generation Alto, is a car that is sold across the globe under various names such as Pixo, Celerio etc. It is this popularity that attracted the attention of the German [ Read More ]
Our very own country’s beloved car has become the best selling hatch in the world. Yes we are talking about Maruti Suzuki Alto. Our Alto has become the largest selling small car in 2010 beating the global competition black and blue. Be it VW Golf from Germany or VW Gol from Brazil, our Alto created history by becoming the first car majorly sold and exclusively manufactured in India to become [ Read More ]
By Kaustubh Shinde
The most iconic workhorse of India has found a new stable in China! The Chinese Auto manufacturer Jiangnan Auto, who ceased producing this car a while ago, sold the rights and manufacturing equipment to Zotye (which, if you don’t know, manufactures the RiO SUV, sold by Premier in India)
Zotye now sells the Maruti 800 for as low as 18,000rmb in the Chinese market. That is just over 1 lakh of rupees.
Before Jiangnan Auto, the Suzuki Alto (a.k.a our Maruti 800) has been manufactured in China by so many companies. Many of them don’t even have a legal contract with Suzuki.
But Zotye feels that there is still market at the bottom of the pyramid and the rural parts of China will highly appreciate the product. If things go as planned, it will be the cheapest car available in China. Zotye is also planning on making a sedan out of the Alto’s platform.
Will Premier be able to sell the Maruti 800 in India after its phased out, by shipping them as CKDs from Zotye in China?
And check out its dashboard!
Suzuki UK has launched a ‘Special Edition’ Alto (the Maruti Suzuki A-Star in India) for the British market. Only 500 numbers of this ‘super-exclusive’ Alto edition would be made and that’s not surprising at all. The car is christened the Alto SZ-L.
Drastic changes to the car’s exteriors include new wheel caps, black fog lamp surrounds and the SZ-L badge on the tail gate and side-strips. On the inside the car gets SZ-L mats, silver surround on the AC vents and body colored finish around the AC control switches and door handles. The car comes only in two colors Superior White and Bright Red.
Could this special edition Maruti Suzuki A-Star come to India? No. Not now. Maybe later.
Maruti Suzuki is currently concentrating only on launching special editions of the Zen Estilo. After it realises that the Zen Estilo wouln’t really take off and only a replacement could do good, Maruti Suzuki would find time to understand the A-Star needs a facelift and then would toil hard to launch a ‘never seen or heard before’ special edition of the A-Star.
With competition heating up and arch rival Hyundai readying the facelifted i10, we guess Maruti could have plans for a ‘facelifted’ A-Star for India. Possibly with the automatic transmission we were speculating about.
click through to see the image gallery
Obstacles are now coming the form of deadly technical issues which should not have occurred
The Made in India Suzuki A-Star, which sells under the name Alto in Nederlands, is making news for the wrong reason. Suzuki has requested its Dutch customers to bring their cars to the service station to fix a very lethal problem.
When the fuel tank is filled to the brim, a leak has been identified which in the worst case can lead to fire. Fire in the fuel tank area which is filled to the brim can result in fatal consequences.
To rectify this fault, dealers will modify the seal between the fuel tank and the pump free of charge.
Could this problem haunt all Altos rolling out of the production line? The sure shot way to avoid problems is by driving with less fuel in the tank.
Sold with a 15,000 km service interval and a three-year/100,000 km warranty, the A-Star has been introduced in South Africa as the Suzuki Alto.
Our friend Scott from SA Car Fan tells me the Alto was displayed at the Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS), held last year weeks after the car’s official debut at the Paris Motor Show. The Alto comes with the same 1,0-litre 3-cylinder 12-valve DOHC petrol engine which we Indians get, that produces 50 kW at 6,000 rpm and 87 N.m of torque at 4,500 rpm.
Entry level Alto GL
The entry level Alto GL offers driver and passenger front airbags; side-impact protection beams, ISOFIX child seat preparation; factory-fitted immobiliser; air-conditioning with pollen filter; tinted glass; halogen headlights and a full-sized 14-inch spare wheel as standard features.
Upmarket Alto GLS
The upmarket Alto GLS features 14-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, colour coded door handles and side mirrors, remote-controlled central locking, height adjustable steering wheel, electrically operated front windows and a 6-speaker AM/FM radio with single MP3 CD-player.
The Alto GLS also gets folding rear seats in a 50:50 split configuration. In terms of safety, you have everything you require – it is equipped with ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA) along with the safety equipment on the entry-level model.
