Suzuki AltoThe name Suzuki will have will have a different meaning for everyone you meet; for some it’s racing motorbikes, for others a violin method, but for an increasing number of people in these crunchy days, it’s budget motoring. Still available of course are the off-roaders for which the car division was perhaps best known a few years back, but nowadays it’s the smaller cars that get most of the attention.The Alto is Suzuki’s least expensive model, and indeed they’ve made great play of the government’s scrappage scheme by trumpeting the fact that a new Alto could be yours for just £4,795; an action that does require one to have a clapped out 10-yr-old motor to hand of course. The new Alto is the seventh generation, and it marks a 30-year milestone for the model. It’s built at the Maruti plant in Delhi, and saves road testers a multitude of words by offering just the one engine – a 1-litre petrol job with three cylinders and impressive green credentials that reveal themselves in a combined fuel figure that rivals small diesels.At just 3.5 metres long the Alto comes up against the likes of Citroen’s C1, than which it’s only a couple of inches longer, so it’s no surprise that room in the back seat is not suited to basketball players; head room however is ok for adults of normal size. The cabin is finished in dark grey with silver highlights, and bearing the price tag in mind it’s of reasonable quality and finish. I particularly liked the radio controls which are easily understood and set high up on the facia.Start her up and you’re soon aware of the number of cylinders – three-cylinder engines do have their own sound track that might suggest a WW2 aero engine. Strange thing is that though it sounds intrusive at idling, and gets pretty raucous under hard acceleration, it actually cruises along sweetly, quietly and smoothly once up to a steady speed on the motorway.Small cars tend to feel lively thanks to their short wheelbases, but although this can lead to benefits in handling, the ride is likely to be much choppier and disturbed than that of a bigger saloon. So it is with the Alto: lively handling, but a bouncy ride that isn’t done any favours by the pockmarked state of our roads.Obviously designed as a city car – though as previously stated it’s not at all uncomfortable on the motorway – the Alto should major on practicalities for the shopping. Parking is certainly easy, with reasonable visibility hardly hampered by the thick B- and C-pillars, and a body short enough to slot into the smallest of gaps between ill-parked SUVs and so on. Not so good are the luggage spaces. Boot is what you might expect: tiny, with a length of just 54cm before one folds the seat back down, which thanks to the high floor will leave you with a virtually flat load area. That’s helpful, but less so is the total lack of anywhere inside the car to stow your stuff out of sight. The glove box is unlidded – open to the world and any evil eyes. It’s not exactly the ideal set-up, and somewhat penny-pinching since they’ve gone to the trouble of putting a box in; how much does a lid cost?Performance from the wee 996cc engine is rather better than you’d expect, with a top speed of 96mph and 0-60 time of 13.5 seconds. We didn’t actually experience those cheek-stretching figures as the test car had the £600 optional 4-speed auto transmission. This works well enough, though slight uphill gradients can see it hunting up and down for the correct gear, but more important is the hit it causes to both performance and fuel economy. To be fair, this is usually the case with a small engine, and the loss of 10mpg will for some buyers be a fair trade-off in exchange for the loss of the clutch.If it seems a small engine, it’s worth remembering that the first Alto was launched in 1979 with a 543cc unit, designed for the Japanese Kei Class that offers various incentives to small engined motors. In the UK we waited for a larger (796cc) engined version that went on sale here in 1981, and from there the car increased its popularity over the years, reaching a maximum of 8,600 sales in 2004. Alto imports ceased in 2006, but the current popularity for downsizing makes the new car something of a must-have for Suzuki GB. Despite a few niggles, it’s a likeable machine with a reasonable level of equipment for the price (remote locking is standard on all for instance), and loads of stuff if you go for the well priced SZ4 model.Size: 3.50 x 1.60mEngine: Petrol: 1.0 litre – 68PSGearbox: 5-speed front driveConsumption: 64.2mpgPrice at May ’09: £6,795 – £7,960Full details of the Alto available on the manufacturer’s website: www.suzuki.co.ukPeter Cracknell - May 2009
Suzuki Alto
The name Suzuki will have will have a different meaning
for everyone you meet; for some it’s racing motorbikes,
for others a violin method, but for an increasing number
of people in these crunchy days, it’s budget motoring. Still
available of course are the off-roaders for which the car
division was perhaps best known a few years back, but
nowadays it’s the smaller cars that get most of the
attention.
The Alto is Suzuki’s least expensive model, and indeed
they’ve made great play of the government’s scrappage
scheme by trumpeting the fact that a new Alto could be
yours for just £4,795; an action that does require one to
have a clapped out 10-yr-old motor to hand of course.
The new Alto is the seventh generation, and it marks a
30-year milestone for the model. It’s built at the Maruti
plant in Delhi, and saves road testers a multitude of
words by offering just the
one engine – a 1-litre
petrol job with three
cylinders and impressive
green credentials that
reveal themselves in a
combined fuel figure that
rivals small diesels.
At just 3.5 metres long
the Alto comes up
against the likes of
Citroen’s C1, than which
it’s only a couple of
inches longer, so it’s no
surprise that room in the
back seat is not suited to
basketball players; head
room however is ok for
adults of normal size.
The cabin is finished in dark grey with silver highlights,
and bearing the price tag in mind it’s of reasonable
quality and finish. I particularly liked the radio controls
which are easily understood and set high up on the facia.
Start her up and you’re soon aware of the number of
cylinders – three-cylinder engines do have their own
sound track that might suggest a WW2 aero engine.
Strange thing is that though it sounds intrusive at idling,
and gets pretty raucous under hard acceleration, it
actually cruises along sweetly, quietly and smoothly once
up to a steady speed on the motorway.
Small cars tend to feel lively thanks to their short
wheelbases, but although this can lead to benefits in
handling, the ride is likely to be much choppier and
disturbed than that of a bigger saloon. So it is with the
Alto: lively handling, but a bouncy ride that isn’t done any
favours by the pockmarked state of our roads.
Obviously designed as a city car – though as previously
stated it’s not at all uncomfortable on the motorway – the
Alto should major on practicalities for the shopping.
Parking is certainly easy, with reasonable visibility hardly
hampered by the thick B- and C-pillars, and a body short
enough to slot into the smallest of gaps between ill-
parked SUVs and so on. Not so good are the luggage
spaces. Boot is what you might expect: tiny, with a length
of just 54cm before one folds the seat back down, which
thanks to the high floor will leave you with a virtually flat
load area. That’s helpful, but less so is the total lack of
anywhere inside the car to stow your stuff out of sight.
The glove box is unlidded – open to the world and any
evil eyes. It’s not exactly the ideal set-up, and
somewhat penny-pinching since they’ve gone to the
trouble of putting a box in; how much does a lid cost?
Performance from the wee 996cc engine is rather better
than you’d expect, with a top speed of 96mph and 0-60
time of 13.5 seconds. We didn’t actually experience
those cheek-stretching figures as the test car had the
£600 optional 4-speed auto transmission. This works
well enough, though slight uphill gradients can see it
hunting up and down for the correct gear, but more
important is the hit it causes to both performance and
fuel economy. To be fair, this is usually the case with a
small engine, and the loss
of 10mpg will for some
buyers be a fair trade-off
in exchange for the loss of
the clutch.
If it seems a small engine,
it’s worth remembering
that the first Alto was
launched in 1979 with a
543cc unit, designed for
the Japanese Kei Class
that offers various
incentives to small
engined motors. In the UK
we waited for a larger
(796cc) engined version
that went on sale here in
1981, and from there the
car increased its
popularity over the years, reaching a maximum of 8,600
sales in 2004. Alto imports ceased in 2006, but the
current popularity for downsizing makes the new car
something of a must-have for Suzuki GB. Despite a few
niggles, it’s a likeable machine with a reasonable level
of equipment for the price (remote locking is standard
on all for instance), and loads of stuff if you go for the
well priced SZ4 model.
Size:
3.50 x 1.60m
Engine:
Petrol: 1.0 litre – 68PS
Gearbox:
5-speed front drive
Consumption:
64.2mpg
Price at May ’09:
£6,795 – £7,960
Full details of the Alto available on the manufacturer’s
website: www.suzuki.co.uk
Peter Cracknell - May 2009
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