Maruti Alto 800 2012-2016 CNG Base

Alto 800 2012-2016 CNG Base Review

Maruti Suzuki India limited is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of passenger cars in the country with vehicles in all the segments of the country’s rewarding car market. This is a joint venture between India’s Maruti Udyog Limited and the Japanese auto giant Suzuki Motor Corporation. Their range of cars includes entry level cars that are quite reasonably priced, but at the same time have premium sedans and other vehicles as well. Maruti India recently has stopped the manufacturing of their brilliant small car Maruti 800, but at the same time has launched a new inexpensive Maruti Alto 800 for the Indian population. The company launched this small car in three variants of petrol as well as CNG and is expecting this new 2012 Maruti Alto 800 to do amazing business for them. The Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base  is the entry level variant and has some fundamental comfort and safety features, which will surely impress the buyers. This new small hatchback has exciting exteriors along with refreshing and attractive interiors. There are quite a number of features in this latest 2012 Alto 800, such as a very receptive steering, storage spaces and many more such remarkable features. The company has fitted this Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base with a 796cc power train, which has the ability of churning out significant torque and power, which is suitable for the country’s traffic conditions. This engine is mated with a smooth and efficient five speed manual transmission gear box. The company is offering this new Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base  in six vibrant and lively exterior paint options, which will have a couple of new colors. These color options are a flamboyant blazing red metallic finish, a superior white, an elegant frost blue shade in metallic finish, granite grey along with silky silver and a magnificent torque blue metallic finish as well.

Exteriors

The exteriors of this new Maruti Alto 800 are very inspiring and have been refined a lot from its precursor. This new small car has a stimulating overall wave front design, which is aerodynamic and very sleek. This latest entrant is taller and slightly wider, which means that it will have improved interior space as well. The frontage of this Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base is neatly done up with a smart and trendy front radiator grille, which has a large company badge embossed on it. This radiator grille is flanked by a biggish head light cluster, which is powered with high intensity lamps, which have been integrated with side turn blinkers as well. Below the front grille is a black colored large and wide air dam, which will help in cooling the engine faster. The black colored bumper is smartly styled, but it doesn’t have fog lamps nor does it have any provision to fix them. The front windscreen is made up of toughened glass and has been fitted with a couple of intermittent wipers to it. The side profile gets black colored door handles and only a driver side outside rear view mirror, which is also black in color. The wheel arches have been fitted with sturdy 12 inch steel wheels, which have been covered with tubeless radial tyres of size 145/80 R12 and these have a better road grip as well . The rear profile is very simple with a large wind screen, a bright and radiant tail lamp cluster and the boot lid getting the standard badging on it along with a curvy body colored rear bumper. The overall dimensions of this roomy small hatchback are fairly good. The total length of this 2012 Alto 800 is a reasonable 3395mm along with a good width of 1490mm that also includes the single driver side outside rear view mirror, which is pretty decent. The overall height of this new entrant is about 1475mm, while the sizeable wheel base of this small hatchback is close to 2360mm. The minimum ground clearance of this impressive hatchback is 160mm, which is quite remarkable. The fuel tank capacity of this new Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base is approximately 35 litres , which is rather good.

Interiors

The interiors of this wonderful Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base are very energetic and striking. The company has done up the interiors of this small hatchback very efficiently and there is room for all and also the entire is very appealing and eye catching. The designers of the company has given this small hatchback a newly designed moulded dash board that comes with a new shade of color along with internal surfaces that are made of good quality plastics. The seating arrangement is quite comfortable with well cushioned slimmer seats, which help in increasing the internal space marginally and gives suitable room for five regular sized passengers. The front seats have integrated head rests while on the other hand, the roof gets moulded lining and fully clad improve the ambience of in-cabin tremendously. These seats are covered with premium quality upholstery with a spanking new design, which adds to the overall beauty of this charming small hatchback. The space is fairly reasonable with ample leg room along with good head and shoulder space, which will surely keep the occupants comfortable. The newly designed dash board gets a large glove box and some open storage space above it as well. Apart from these, there are storage spaces in the doors as well to keep a few things handy for the customers. The storage spaces include a bottle and can holders along with driver side storage and also a passenger side utility pocket. There is also a horizontally aligned bottle holder near the gear shift lever. This small hatchback also has a dial type climate control, coin holder, a dual tripmeter and many more such impressive aspects.

Engine and Performance

The company has equipped this all new Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base with a peppy 796cc, petrol and CNG based engine , which has is mounted in front transverse position. This lively drive train has 3 cylinders, which further have been equipped with 12 valves and is a front wheel drive. This energetic power plant has the capacity to churn out a peak torque yield of 69 Nm at 3500 Rpm in combination with a maximum power output of 47.5 Bhp at 6000 Rpm, which is about 3.5 Bhp more than the previous Alto version. This brisk petrol drive train has been skillfully mated with a smooth and competent five speed manual transmission gear box . The company claims that this small hatchback, Maruti Alto 800 has the ability to generate a health mileage of 22.74 kmpl , which is also certified by ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) and this mileage is apparently about 15% more than the previous version of Maruti Alto. On the other hand, the CNG mode of this hatchback has the ability to churn out an impressive mileage of 30.46 Km/Kg, which is quite amazing and one of the strongest selling points of this new Maruti Alto 800 CNG version.

Braking and Handling

Maruti Suzuki India has fitted this small hatchback, the all new 2012 Alto 800 with a very adept braking system along with a stable and well balanced suspension mechanism, which will keep this small hatchback as well as its occupants steady and give a effortless driving experience. The front wheels of this Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base has been equipped with solid discs, while the rear wheels have been fitted with drum type braking system , which is very efficient on any road conditions. On the other hand, the company has integrated the front axle of this small hatchback with a gas filled McPherson strut type of mechanism along with the highly developed torsion roll controlling device. The rear axle of the Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base gets a coil spring type of a mechanism along with gas filled shock absorbers, which have a three link rigid axle along with an isolated trailing arm. All these systems and mechanisms put together give this new small hatchback a steady and well balanced drive.

Safety Features

The company has given this small hatchback with some very essential safety features, which will take care of the passengers as well as the car. The list includes seat belts for all the passengers, pillars for added all around protection from any accident. Then there is also a head light leveling device, a high mounted stop lamp, an engine immobilizer, front wipe and wash for the windscreen that also has an intermittent wiper, a collapsible steering column and tubeless radial tyres. The body structure of this small hatchback is a monocoque construction, which makes this small petrol cum CNG hatchback firm and rigid as well along with a few more such safety features.

Comfort Features

This all new 2012 Maruti Alto 800 CNG Base gets front seats that are adjustable minimally. There is only a single sun visor for the driver and some storage spaces along with a large glove box. The instrument cluster has bright and large dials along with a number of notification and warning lamps, which help the driver to be updated with the vital statistics of the car. There are floor carpets and a floor console, which further add to the stylishness of the interiors. This small hatchback also has a dual tripmeter along with a fuel gauge along with a couple of other lamps as well.

Pros

Exteriors are fairly good, very standard features but an impressive mileage.

Cons

A whole lot of features can be included; the seats lacks comfort and engine lacks power and pick up.