Maruti Alto 800 test drive, review and video

The biggest change however is in the cabin. There’s an all-new and more contemporary-looking dash, with a strong ‘V’ around the centre console, and plastic quality has been improved considerably. There are plenty of silver accents in the cabin, and there’s a horizontally aligned bottle holder placed ahead of the gear lever, which is quite innovative.  

The inclusion of new slimmer seats means there is marginally more space for passengers but this is a car that’s hard to get comfortable in. The small front seats with their integrated headrests, for example, lack decent back support and the rear-seat back isn’t too comfortable either. Space is also only marginally better than the current car, which means it’s very cramped, especially in the rear. The moulded roof lining and fully clad pillars however improve the ambience of the cabin tremendously.

There are big changes under the bonnet as well. Maruti may continue to call this 800cc motor the F8D but changes made are quite far-reaching. There are new short skirt pistons, the compression ratio of the engine has been increased and the air inlet system has been made longer. Torque as a result is 11 percent better, and you can feel it.

Push down on the accelerator and the Alto 800 sets off in a much more determined manner. Responses at low engine speed have always been a strength of this motor, and now it’s better. You don’t need to rev hard to get a move on and you can upshift quite early, so overtaking is not as much a challenge as before. At very low revs, there’s a jerky throttle action, which is typical of other Maruti motors as well and hence driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic is not very smooth. Out on the highway, the improved motor feels more eager thanks to improved performance at the top end of the rev range. In fact, there’s a sporty note at higher revs and the engine doesn’t feel as thrashy as before.

Detailed Maruti Alto 800 photogallery