Maruti Suzuki could bring the downsized Alto to India next year which features a 658cc petrol engine capable of delivering 38 km/l.
Maruti Suzuki has planned a huge investment to differentiate its premium cars from its mass market cars in India and has planned to open separate dealerships for the same. When talking about Maruti’s mass market offerings, there’s no product from the company that can be actually called a miss. Each and every small car coming from the manufacturer has managed huge number of sales, with the Alto constantly coming in at pole position. Riding high on the success of the Alto models, Maruti might bring in a new Alto which will is likely to be unveiled at the Indian Auto Expo in 2016.
The new Maruti Alto will be based on a new platform which in future will be used by many of Maruti’s cars. This new platform is going to be based on the new Suzuki Alto, which is sold in Japan as the Alto Kei and is much lighter than the current Alto model sold in India. Well, Maruti is known for its fuel-efficient vehicles and the reduction in weight thanks to the new platform will certainly help in improving fuel efficiency figures for the upcoming car.
The car seen in the pictures is the Alto Kei which was launched late last year in Japan. The car seems to be undergoing routine testing. On the styling front, one can straightaway tag it as a ‘box’. The front of the vehicle strongly resembles the first generation Maruti 800, but has a few modern bits to it like the headlights. Rear end of the car is very flat and has no lines cutting across whatsoever. Tail lights are located in the rear bumper and gives the car very unorthodox kind of styling. According to few sources, the next Alto will keep the design of this vehicle but will include subtle changes so as to suit the mind of Indian car buyers.
There is another catch to it, the next Alto is likely to be powered by a 658cc engine as compared to the current 800cc powertrian. This downsized engine could be offered in two states of tune, a non-VVT equipped version for lower variants and a high-output turbocharged version for the top variant but again the likely hood of the latter is very low. The AMT unit will most likely find its way into this Maruti as well, considering the company will fit most of its cars with an AMT option in the future. The 658cc engine produces 48 BHP in the non-VVT form and 51 BHP with VVT technology. The same engine is found in models like the Wagon R and the new Hustler compact SUV that are sold in Japan.
To everyone’s amazement, the Alto Kei can return a mileage of 38 km/l in the Japanese market and the same, if not improved fuel efficiency figures will also be found in the Indian version as well. A very small car, the new Alto will compete with the upcoming Tata Nano Twist Active and with Datsun’s upcoming small car.
Source – GaadiWaadi.com