GamEON!

That is what Maruti Suzuki replied to Hyundai with its all new Alto 800. Needless to say earlier generation Alto had literally put India on wheels and ruled both the sales charts and hearts for more than a decade. With over 20 lakh vehicles on road the brand had become the best selling model in the world! Mind you, every 2^nd minute an Alto is sold; and no other auto maker is even close of achieving the feat. Alto has become the most aggressive brand averaging 3 lac units per year. The spurt in dieselization and increase in the petrol prices had started to woo away customers from the brand. Maruti believes that a new look and improved features could revive the ailing brand.

Over 6000 bookings before launch, 200 deliveries at a dealership in Kerala is the testimony of response it got and that makes us believe that Maruti is all set to take off. Whenever Maruti  gets gloomy it comes up with products to revive everything just as it did with Esteem, Zen,wagonR, Alto,swift,dzire and the now Alto800.

Talking about its looks, it has taken a leap to a different level. It looks a generation ahead of the old one with its uber wave-front design. The petal shaped headlight and the twin grill gives it front a character and curves on the sides makes it appealing and a bit up market too. Similar story impresses you at the back as well with smoothening tail lamps and a smiley curve. . Eon was impressive in its looks and had set the trend that even entry level cars can look stylish! Alto 800 continues to do so - As you step in, your expectations are already steep and it lives up to that with good material quality and finish. Sliver lines in the centre treat your eyes and you get a proper practical bottle holder besides gear lever. Another practicality is added by rotary vents on the sides which are certainly easy to adjust unlike other squared ones in all Maruti models. As you shift yourself to the back, leg space is not that comfortable but u do get better head room since it 70 mm wider and higher than eon. Boot space is about 177lts whereas in eon its 211lts. Needless to say dual tone interior in eon takes a leap.

Under the bonnet it uses the same FAD 800 cc engine which delivers 47bhp and 7.03kgm of torque, it is not at all peppy as it was in Alto and u don’t need to rev too hard since it responds quite generously. It’s good to drive in the city traffic as it picks up from 3^rd gear with ease. On the highway as well it does justice as you rev hard till you touch the 100kmph mark and thereon lack of power is inevitable. Whereas Eon produces 55bhp and 7.65kgm of torque and it impresses you clearly on the highway with that extra power. As you expect Maruti claims its mileage to be 22.74kmpl which is ahead of eon which covers 21kms on highway for one lt of fuel. So the question is would you travel 1.7kms extra in the Maruti  being price conscious or you won’t mind and just blow it in the eon.

Quite clearly Eon is a bit better to drive and has a slight more leg room and boot space, but you get more head room in Alto 800. On the outside, Maruti plays clean and sharp and comfortably wins the battle of beauty. 

Most importantly someone who is aiming for a car of that category is one who is the first time buyer and quite price sensitive too many a times. Maruti alto 800 costs 2.44lac for the base model whereas Eon charges Rs.  2.78L for D-lite base model which is 2k costlier than the mid variant lx of Maruti alto 800. Hence in terms of pricing Maruti has played its trump card and that is the reason Hyundai is offering hefty discounts in Eon this festival season. Quite comfortably Maruti is low on your pocket, high on style quotient and practical in all sense. So ladies and gentleman, if I were you; I would’ve clearly choosen Alto800 and it’s the time to khisco….!

(Author - Anshul Chawla - Is an automobile enthusiast who love and live cars! Can be ignited at anshul_chawla@live.com)