TeaIf you search online, at present the price of Apple iPhone 13 Pro is Rs 1.1 lakh. The new Maruti Alto K10 VXi+ with Maruti’s Auto Gear Shift, or AGS, which I was driving around Kochi recently priced at Rs 5.84 lakhs ex-showroom. So think about it. As ridiculous as it sounds, you can get a car for the price of five top-end smartphones. And not a bad car at all. In fact, despite being a price warrior, the Alto K10 is extremely good at its job. I mean, the car comes with an automatic gearbox and a touchscreen infotainment system and some pretty good speakers. It’s amazing for the fact that it’s an alto.
Indians love the Alto badge. Around 4.3 million Altos have been sold in the country during the last quarter. It was India’s best-selling car for 16 straight years until 2020 when it was replaced by the DZire. And yet, the Alto has never broken out of the top three best selling cars in India. You may not see many of them in tonnier parts of the city, but this vehicle has revolutionized mobility, including this author.
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The first car I bought was an Alto. take delivery on the auspicious day of Mahalaya In 2002 – The day the goddess comes down to fight the mountains Asuras or on the first day of Sharad Navratri.
Before my mother bought me a Sony audio system for Rs 6,000, I paid a total of Rs 2.4 lakh. The LXi trim I bought had a few features. Although it was the premium version that came with both an air-conditioner and a little ‘i’ on the badge, it meant it had power-steering. You take such things lightly these days. But at the time, it was a big deal, pretending to your friends that you could operate the steering with just one finger even when the car was stationary.
And then, these are the little things that I find amazing about the Alto K10. Sure it’s not technically the cheapest car on the road (it’s more basic brother, the Alto 800 has that crown) but you get a lot for your money. Front power windows, a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, two front airbags and anti-lock brakes (ABS).
And when you convert the price of the car to US dollars, it’s even more amazing. The base model Alto K10 costs over $5,000 (the Alto 800 costs around $4,500). This top-spec will be around $7,000 plus. The cheapest car in the United States right now is the Chevrolet Spark LS, which retails for around $15,500 or Rs 12.4 lakh.
Maruti has often faced criticism for its low focus on safety. I have argued before and I will argue again that a car can keep you as safe as you drive and that safety cannot be limited to cars. True, the Alto K10 does not come with six airbags. However, in a small car like the Alto, would so many airbags make sense? Should we ask this question? In most cases, Alto owners are, almost always, first time car buyers, and they need affordable mobility above everything else. The new regulations that specify front airbags and ABS make the Alto safer than before.
But the most important thing is that this car comes with the best of Creature Comfort and drives well and economically. The updated K10C engine on the vehicle promises a fuel economy of over 24 kmpl, as claimed by ARAI, and despite the occasional adventurous driving through rubber plantations on the way to Athirapally Waterfalls, I took 150 Managed close to 20 km in over km. , And while the use of helmets and seatbelts by Keralites is exemplary, the traffic on the main roads of the state is terrible. Therefore, such an advantage of through traffic is good. And when you find an empty stretch and want to have fun with 66PS of power, the engine can propel this light car quite decently. The Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) gearbox on the car is a bit sluggish but then you are getting an automatic option for less than Rs.6 lakh.
The Alto K10 rides well on rough surfaces and handles turns decently, well enough that it could make for a small rally car. And you can do it all while listening to your favorite tunes while streaming through the music app of your choice on the smartphone interface in the car. Sure, it doesn’t have everything you might get used to, the rear windows are still in the air, and there’s no remote boot release, so in hotels you’ll have to turn off the ignition and hand over your keys to security. The seat cushioning could be better, though it is much better than what you would find on an IndiGo plane. And the tires also make a lot of noise (that’s why you have the audio system). The noise insulation of the cabin could have been better. But these are small things and I am the kind of guy who would easily convert from a car like this to a German super sedan worth over Rs 1 crore the next day and vice versa.
I loved this little Alto K10, it does what it says on the label, and it does it well. Affordable, comfortable and reliable motoring. It is by no means perfect, but perfection is not what you get on such a budget. But to be honest, you can’t find anything so good at this price anywhere else in the world. And that’s why, it won’t take long for the Alto to cross the 50 lakh sales mark in India.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Choubey)