Maruti Alto 800 review, test drive

On the inside, the dashboard is completely new. The curvy design and vibrantly coloured seat fabric are modern and lift the cabin’s overall ambience. The dials look upmarket and are easy to read. But despite these changes, the Alto 800’s cabin still doesn’t have the same air of quality that the Hyundai Eon displays. You sit pretty low in the Alto and due to the low stance of the car, getting in and out is a bit of a chore. The front seat itself is comfortable but lacks enough under-thigh support. Seat bolstering is also not the best and you tend to get thrown around on enthusiastic drives.

Although Maruti has tried to carve out more kneeroom for rear passengers with slim front seats, it’s still cramped and headroom isn’t good either. Storage spaces aren’t abundant but the big cubby and bottle holder ahead of the gearlever is quite innovative and the shelf above the glovebox is pretty useful too. The boot is decent for a compact car though.

For the price, the Alto 800 comes pretty well equipped. On the LXi variant, you get standard stuff like CD/MP3 player, air-conditioning, power steering and front power windows. But there are some glaring omissions, especially basics such as central locking, left rear-view mirror and day-night mirror which even the Nano comes with.