You will HATE this car initially. Review on Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 VXI AGS

I am writing this review after using my Alto K10 Vxi AGS for 2 whole years and approximately 15000+ km.

I learnt driving on a FIAT Premier Padmini. Started driving Premier 118 NE during my secondary school days.

My 1st car(that I bought) was a Swift Dzire ZDI(in 2008). I am a CERTIFIED SMALL CAR HATER. I am a bigger HATER of AUTOMATICS also. Yes I am that person.

So why am I reviewing the Alto K10 Vxi AGS. Here's the story.

It was May 2015. My wife needed a a car to commute to her office which was sort of beyond the outskirts of the city and her usual Auto would not come. Nor would an OLA or an UBER. My wife is not of the driving kinds although she could drive pretty well. She had a huge confidence problem. Added to that was clutch engagement. Car would stop every time she braked.

So 2 things were clear

1 She needed a SMALL CAR and

1. She needed an AUTOMATIC.

So we took a test drive of all the small cars in the market then(Hyundai Eon, Celerio, Alto K10, Mahindra e2v, Tata Nano). Hyundai Eon did'nt not have an Automatic then, Tata Nao was a auto rickshaw with an extra tyre, e2V was crazy expensive. So in between Celerio & Alto K10 my wife decided on ALto K10(even after my insisting that Celerio was just INR 60k more in Price). That was because she could see the breadth of the car from her perch on the driving seat.

Well, the day before she started work, I though it would be good to take the car for a spin and give her some hands on experience on the road she had to take every day to work. It would be an opportunity for me also to get to know her workplace.

SHe started driving and 5km into the drive a huge sand lorry sort of zipped past us. That was enough to scare the hell out of my wife. She did'nt want to drive again. So I drove to her workplace . We surveyed the place and returned.

The next item in the agenda was to find her a driver who could ferry her to work & back every day. Till then she would take the company bus. I used my Dzire till then.

Once we found a driver, he would take the Dzire(as he had no clue about Automatics) and I had to take the ALto.

I had a 31 km commute to work(one way) in STOP & GO TRAFFIC which woud take me 2-2.5 hours everyday(one way).

I also had developed Repetitive Stress Injuries in my right Elbow & right knee driving the Dzire on the same route for 2.5+ years.

A small car on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road barely gets any respect on the road. There's no road presence at all. That would cause even more delays. I would curse the car every single moment.

That's when it flashed to me, I could use it to my benefit. I could go anywhere I wanted on the road. I could borrow into small gaps, whiz through narrow roads & streets where big vehicles would get stuck. It was COMPLETE & ABSOLUTE FREEDOM.

When I started using the Automatic Transmission initially, I could not figure out the logic behind gear changes. When I tried harder, it would only increase the rev's & cause more noise. So I shifted to manual shifting. This MODE WAS VERY INEFFICIENT when it came to fuel consumption.

So I changed to automatic again, but during a drive a realized that leaving the accelerator free and then pressing it CHANGED THE GEARS. This worked perfectly all the time, except for times when the car was climbing the slope. I am yet to figure out how to sort this problem.

I get 270km-300km in a full tank in the CITY during PEAK HOURS. So thats about 10 kmpl - 11.5 kmpl.

Legroom - what can I say it is a little cramped. Can't ask for too much from a small car.

Speedometer Cluster - When you shift gears, it appears here. So you would know which gear has got engaged. Fuel gauge is here too. Except for that, there's the odometer, tripmeter, RPM meter & other lights connected to the various sensors in the car including a SEAT-BELT ENGAGED sign(which I personally think is very important).

The Dashboard assembly is styled in the FORM OF A PIANO, which looks kinda cool. You can also attach USB Drives, there's a AUX input(to play songs from your mobile phone / other audio device) and an inbuilt CD player. There are only 2 speakers(one each on the two front doors). But the sound effect is amazing. You don't need more.

Front windows are POWER WINDOWS. Back is manual.

AC is VERY GOOD.

Issues

1.) Ride comfort is below average. I never though CARS could be so uncomfortable before I started driving this. But remember I was always used to big cars. Eon has better ride comfort.

2.) Auto Gear shifting - becomes a nuisance when you are trying to overtake someone uphill

3.) No power windows at the back.

4.) No speakers at the back

5.) The leg controls (Accelerator Brake) are angled slightly inside. It would cause pain if you are of a bigger frame. It would have helped to keep the Brake & the Accelerator a couple of intches on the RIGHT.

I hope this review was useful.

Please feel free to send in your messages, queries & questios.

Thanks & regards

Srini