Maruti Grand Vitara Strong-hybrid Vs Maruti Alto K10: Real World Fuel Efficiency Compared

Can Maruti’s flagship strong-hybrid SUV match the frugality of the carmaker’s latest small hatchback? We find out

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara is the latest compact SUV in town, taking its place as the carmaker’s flagship model. Among its star features is the new strong-hybrid powertrain which offers a claimed fuel economy of nearly 28kmpl. 

Meanwhile, Maruti’s latest entry-level hatchback, the new Alto K10, is claimed to offer around 24kmpl. We’ve tested both these cars and when compared against each other, their real world results offer some interesting insights.

But first, a peek at their specifications. 

The Grand Vitara and Alto K10 are far apart in terms of performance, not just in power and torque outputs, but with respect to their fuel economy as well. It is worth noting that neither Maruti car meets its promised figures. 

Despite being that much heavier than the entry-level hatchback and with a larger engine, the SUV with hybrid technology delivered 25.45kmpl in the city and 21.97kmpl on the highway in our test. 

Also Read: Maruti’s First Flex-fuel Car Is A Prototype Wagon R Running On E85 Fuel

Meanwhile, the Alto K10’s best result was on the highway achieving 22.97kmpl, but the efficiency dropped to 16.5kmpl in the city. So, the big and pricey SUV proved to be more frugal than the lightweight compact with just a 1-litre engine.

How does the Maruti Grand Vitara Strong-hybrid work?

The Grand Vitara’s strong-hybrid powertrain uses an electric motor paired with a 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle petrol engine, a generator motor and a small battery pack. It can run on pure electric juice at slow speeds in the city. 

The motor is used while driving at lower RPMs, which makes it a lot more fuel-efficient, hence the increased economy over highway driving. As it moves to the highway, the speed increases and the petrol engine starts doing its duty, which drops the fuel efficiency a little. 

This shows the importance of a hybrid powertrain and how it’s so much more efficient in the city and overall, more than the small Alto. 

On an average, the Grand Vitara delivers around 23.5kmpl when you cover equal amounts of city and highway kilometres, which is around 4kmpl more than the Alto K10 can offer. If your use is predominantly for highway journeys, the Alto inches close to the SUV reducing their difference to under 2kmpl. But when it comes to driving mostly in city traffic, the Grand Vitara pulls ahead once again with a margin of an extra 4kmpl.

The Price Quandary

While it is exciting to note that a spacious family SUV can offer you better fuel economy, its hybrid technology comes with a long list of premium features making for a pricey package. The entry-level Maruti Grand Vitara strong hybrid has a price tag of Rs 18.15 lakh*. Meanwhile, the top-spec manual variant of the Alto K10 will cost you Rs 5.33 lakh*. That’s a price difference of Rs 12.82 lakh, and you’d have to cover many many kilometres in the Grand Vitara for the fuel savings to be equal to that amount. But, if you’re simply looking for a high economy Maruti, the Grand Vitara SUV really is the easy pick over the Alto K10 hatchback.

* - both prices are ex-showroom, Delhi 

Do note that these figures may vary depending on the road, driving style, climatic conditions, and the car’s condition. If you own a Maruti Grand Vitara, drop your findings in the comments section below – we would love to hear from you.

Read More on : Grand Vitara on road price