Maruti Alto 800 facelift review, test drive

The Alto 800 has received a mid-cycle update. We take it for a spin to find out what's really new.

Published on May 13, 2016 06:05:00 PM

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Maruti Alto 800 facelift review, test drive

On the inside, it gets a new fabric for the seats and door pads, rear seats get headrests for the higher variants. However, Maruti has added more equipment to all trims of the Alto 800. The base variant now gets a passenger-side wing mirror, and more storage, while the LXi and VXi trims get child-safety lock. The top-spec Alto 800 VXi gets remote entry as well. Apart from this, standard features on the VXi trim include front power windows, central locking and full wheel caps.

In terms of safety, Maruti offers a driver airbag as an option on all trims, but gives ABS a miss.

The updated Alto 800 continues to be offered with the 48hp, three-cylinder F8 petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. It now delivers a good nine percent better fuel economy at 24.7kpl as opposed to 22.7kpl earlier, thanks to a new thermal ignition system. In contrast, the Nano delivers 23.6kpl and the Kwid does a slightly better 25.17kpl. Our short stint with the updated Alto confirmed that it drives exactly like the pre-facelift model. This means it still has the ability to deliver decent performance for a car of this size.

These mild tweaks do give the ageing Alto 800 a shot in the arm, and this should keep things running until an all-new model arrives in 2018. However, with the increasing competition, the updated Alto will have to soldier on to keep the momentum going.

The updated Alto 800 continues to be offered with the three-cylinder F8 petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. If you want the clutchless AMT gearbox, you will have to shell out more and go for the more powerful Alto K10. Considering that there are no mechanical changes, our short stint with the updated Alto confirmed that it drives exactly like the pre-facelift model. This means its ability to deliver a decent ride quality for a car this size remains. However, the vertical movement on uneven roads also stays. The 48hp engine remains unchanged, but is still good enough for daily city commute. The power steering also feels a bit vague.

Here is a look at how the prices of the facelifted Alto 800 match up to its predecessor

Maruti Alto 800 prices: Old vs new
Variant	Maruti Alto 800 (Old)	Facelifted Maruti Alto 800	Difference
Alto 800 Standard	Rs 2,60,394	Rs 2,49,000	Rs 11,394
Alto 800 STD(O)	Rs 2,66,447	Rs 2,55,000	Rs 11,447
Alto 800 LX	Rs 2,97,223	Rs 2,83,000	Rs 14,223
Alto 800 LX(O)	Rs 3,03,275	Rs 2,89,000	Rs 14,275
Alto 800 LXi	Rs 3,19,942	Rs 3,09,000	Rs 10,942
Alto 800 LXi(O)	Rs 3,25,995	Rs 3,15,000	Rs 10,995
Alto 800 LXi CNG	Rs 3,77,514	Rs 3,70,000	Rs 7,514
Alto 800 LXi CNG(O)	Rs 3,83,567	Rs 3,76,000	Rs 7,567
Alto 800 VXi	Rs 3,33,655	Rs 3,28,000	Rs 5,655
Alto 800 VXi(O)	Rs 3,52,152	Rs 3,34,000	Rs 18,152

Check out the prices of the facelifted Alto versus its rivals, the Renault Kwid, Hyundai Eon and Tata Nano.

Kwid
Facelifted Maruti Alto 800	Renault Kwid	Hyundai Eon 0.8L	Tata Nano
STD: Rs 2,49,000	STD: Rs 262113	D-Lite: Rs 328,502	XE: Rs 207,152
STD(O): Rs 2,55,000	RXE: Rs 298422	D-lite+: Rs 354,353	XM: Rs 242,515
LX: Rs 2,83,000	RXL: Rs 323279	Era+: Rs 368,558	XT: Rs 262,685
LX(O): Rs2,89,000	RXT: Rs 357204	Magna: Rs 399,834	--
LXi: Rs 3,09,000	RXT(O): Rs 367204	Sportz: Rs 424,795	--
LXi(O): Rs 3,15,000	--	--	--
VXi: Rs 3,28,00	--	--	--
VXi(O): Rs 3,34,000	--	--	--