That is what Maruti Suzuki replied to Hyundai with its all new Alto 800. Needless to say earlier generation Alto had literally put India on wheels and ruled both the sales charts and hearts for more than a decade. With over 20 lakh vehicles on road the brand had become the best selling model in the world! Mind you, every 2nd minute an Alto is sold; and no other auto maker is even close of achieving the feat. Alto has become the most aggressive brand averaging 3 lac units per year. The spurt in dieselization and increase in the petrol prices had started to woo away customers from the brand. Maruti believes that a new look and improved features could revive the ailing brand.
Over 6000 bookings
before launch, 200 deliveries at a dealership in Kerala is the testimony of
response it got and that makes us believe that Maruti is all set to take off.
Whenever Maruti gets gloomy it comes up with products to revive
everything just as it did with Esteem, Zen,wagonR, Alto,swift,dzire and the now
Alto800.
Talking about its looks, it has taken a leap to a different level.
It looks a generation ahead of the old one with its uber wave-front design. The
petal shaped headlight and the twin grill gives it front a character and curves
on the sides makes it appealing and a bit up market too. Similar story
impresses you at the back as well with smoothening tail lamps and a smiley
curve. . Eon was impressive in its looks and had set the trend that even entry
level cars can look stylish! Alto 800 continues to do so - As you step in, your
expectations are already steep and it lives up to that with good material
quality and finish. Sliver lines in the centre treat your eyes and you get a
proper practical bottle holder besides gear lever. Another practicality is
added by rotary vents on the sides which are certainly easy to adjust unlike
other squared ones in all Maruti models. As you shift yourself to the back, leg
space is not that comfortable but u do get better head room since it 70 mm
wider and higher than eon. Boot space is about 177lts whereas in eon its
211lts. Needless to say dual tone interior in eon takes a leap.
Under the bonnet it
uses the same FAD 800 cc engine which delivers 47bhp and 7.03kgm of torque, it
is not at all peppy as it was in Alto and u don’t need to rev too hard since it
responds quite generously. It’s good to drive in the city traffic as it picks
up from 3rd gear with ease. On the highway as well it does
justice as you rev hard till you touch the 100kmph mark and thereon lack of
power is inevitable. Whereas Eon produces 55bhp and 7.65kgm of torque and it
impresses you clearly on the highway with that extra power. As you expect
Maruti claims its mileage to be 22.74kmpl which is ahead of eon which covers
21kms on highway for one lt of fuel. So the question is would you travel 1.7kms
extra in the Maruti being price conscious or you won’t mind and just blow
it in the eon.
Quite clearly Eon is
a bit better to drive and has a slight more leg room and boot space, but you
get more head room in Alto 800. On the outside, Maruti plays clean and sharp
and comfortably wins the battle of beauty.
Most importantly someone who is aiming for a car of that category is one who is
the first time buyer and quite price sensitive many a times. Maruti alto 800
costs 2.44lac for the base model whereas Eon charges Rs. 2.78L for D-lite
base model which is 2k costlier than the mid variant lx of Maruti alto 800.
Hence in terms of pricing Maruti has played its trump card and that is the
reason Hyundai is offering hefty discounts in Eon this festival season. Quite
comfortably Maruti is low on your pocket, high on style quotient and practical
in all sense. So ladies and gentleman of the internet, if we were you; we
would’ve clearly chosen Alto800 and it’s the Time to khisco….!
