sakshar
Active Member
Introduction:
I have started motoring on four-wheels since last two years. Prior to that, my one and only love have been two -wheelers, which are still my preferred choice while riding on the wheels. However, I have been looking for a four-wheeler which can be used for commuting to office as well as for my frequent visits to my hometown Kolkata and to the hills as well. I have always trusted on tried and tested machines and hence, opted for Alto Lxi 800 on 26th Dec,2014.
Options Considered along with Alto 800:
1. Maruti EECO: Due to the huge amount of space available, we were considering EECO as well. The other advantage was that it comes with 1000cc+ engine and rear-wheel drive. However, considering that my car will be used up for office travel as well, we have kept this option aside.
2. Alto K10: Yes, that was a close call. However, it was my first car and we wanted the price to be lower than 3 lakhs. Hence, this option was not taken up. Also, my emotional connection with Maruti's 800 cc engine had played a key role.
I have visited Competent Automobiles, Rajapuri, New Delhi and finalized the deal on 31st Dec,2014. The car was delivered to me on the same day and I have received the RC book in another 15 days. It was Petrol version and I have added sequential CNG after 6 months of usage.
Till Feb-2016 end, the car cloaked 34867 km on its odometer. The vehicle has reduced the workload on my two-wheelers for traveling. Also, I am able to manage trips with my pets to as far as Kolkata from Delhi. Few trips as I have done on this vehicle are as below:
1. Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi: 5 times
2. Delhi-Jaipur-Delhi: 7 times
3. Delhi-J&K-Delhi: 1 time
4. Delhi-Jalori-Delhi: 3 times
5. Delhi-Kasol-Delhi: 4 times
6. Delhi-Udaipur-Delhi: 1 time
Also, there have been lot many sub-1000 km trips on this vehicle. The vehicle have never given me up, be it snowy road or be it mud-filled road.
I run this vehicle on CNG as long as it is possible. So it is pocket friendly (220-240 km in 340 rupees) and environment-frindly as well. It survives on odd-even rule as well, and I usually do car-pooling as well.
I have done servicing in Maruti Authorized Service Stations only. I am pretty much happy with the service charges.
The first two servicing were done in Competent Automobile workshop (1500 km and 5000 km). The 10,000 km servicing was done in DD motors, Delhi.
Both 20,000 km and 30,000 km servicing were done in Srirampur, West Bengal in MASS. The cost were on the lower side in Srirampur (close to 2500 Rs) while it was close to 3000 Rs in NCR for paid services.
Brake-oil was replaced during 20,000 km servicing. I love servicing at Srirampur as they treat my car specially and on-priority (they serviced it during Durga Puja).
Things we liked:
1. The comfort of a small car which is easy to handle in city traffic.
2. A well-equipped machine to be driven comfortably at 90-100 kmph consistently for 24 continuous hours or more. I have driven this machine without any stay-break from Delhi to Kolkata and there was no issues.
3. Low cost of maintenance: It is easier to maintain and the cost comes close to 30 paisa per km. Much cheaper than my Royal Enfield
4. Cheap driving cost in NCR: Considering the CNG availability in Delhi, the running cost comes close to 1.5 Rs per Km in city traffic
Things we did not like much:
1. The vehicle is unstable above 120 kmph. Not recommended to go beyond 130 kmph.
2. Braking is poor at 90 kmph plus speed.
3. No road presence (I miss those moments where people ogle at my royal enfield)
4. AC performance deteriorated after 5 months
5. We found tata nano to be more spacious compared to Alto
6. Quality of the interiors: The interiors, specially the plastics are of cheap quality, though this is pretty much expected for a car in this price range
Usage Pattern:
The Alto has been used for city drives for 50% of the cases and rest for drives out of the city. During the city drives, we drive on petrol for first 2 kms and rest on CNG. For highway drives, we use a combination of CNG and petrol in 50-50 ratio in terms of distances covered.
Further issues in the vehicle:
The axle of this vehicle started giving noises during sharp turns. That chronic 'Kat-Kat' sound was repaired by a local mechanic here in Dwarka Sector -7 for 1200 bucks for both the axle. MASS was charging 4400 bucks for complete replacement.
Next maintenance
The vehicle has completed 49000 km in 1 year 7 months. We are taking her to the Spiti circuit as well as to Ladakh in Aug-end. The below updates are due now:
1. Changing all 4 tyres
2. Removing CNG cylinder just before the trip to shed off extra weight
3. General servicing at 53000 Km
4. Change of brake shoe
Update:
The car has completed 60000 km today. I am updating the details which are related to the experiences on the long run.
- Any niggles, problems or part replacements
No specific issue identified. However, body parts have started developing sounds on speeds higher than 70 kmph. This issue started coming up after 45000 km and became more prominenet after 50000 km.
-Tyre change
I have changed the front tyres to Ceat Milaze tyres. The rest two tyres will be changed after 60000 km as there is still much of life remaining. (done changing with the same with MRF).
- Engine performance & driveability in the city
The vehicle is awesome to drive in petrol both with and without AC. The power drop and acceleration lag is significant with CNG fuel. It gave up couple of time with 4 passengers on-board with AC switched on during steep climb. In such cases, I had to switch back to CNG and/or turn-off AC.
The vehicle runs almost 70 km per day in NCR traffic during weekdays during peak traffic hours.
- Engine performance & drive ability on the highway
The vehicle is mostly driven on highways on petrol. The comfort cruise zone, as experienced by me, is 90 kmph. The same comfort zone lies at 80 kmph, while driven on CNG. It gives close to 20-21 kmpl on petrol on highways with AC on. The mileage obtained with CNG is around 25km per kg.
I have started motoring on four-wheels since last two years. Prior to that, my one and only love have been two -wheelers, which are still my preferred choice while riding on the wheels. However, I have been looking for a four-wheeler which can be used for commuting to office as well as for my frequent visits to my hometown Kolkata and to the hills as well. I have always trusted on tried and tested machines and hence, opted for Alto Lxi 800 on 26th Dec,2014.
Options Considered along with Alto 800:
1. Maruti EECO: Due to the huge amount of space available, we were considering EECO as well. The other advantage was that it comes with 1000cc+ engine and rear-wheel drive. However, considering that my car will be used up for office travel as well, we have kept this option aside.
2. Alto K10: Yes, that was a close call. However, it was my first car and we wanted the price to be lower than 3 lakhs. Hence, this option was not taken up. Also, my emotional connection with Maruti's 800 cc engine had played a key role.
I have visited Competent Automobiles, Rajapuri, New Delhi and finalized the deal on 31st Dec,2014. The car was delivered to me on the same day and I have received the RC book in another 15 days. It was Petrol version and I have added sequential CNG after 6 months of usage.
Till Feb-2016 end, the car cloaked 34867 km on its odometer. The vehicle has reduced the workload on my two-wheelers for traveling. Also, I am able to manage trips with my pets to as far as Kolkata from Delhi. Few trips as I have done on this vehicle are as below:
1. Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi: 5 times
2. Delhi-Jaipur-Delhi: 7 times
3. Delhi-J&K-Delhi: 1 time
4. Delhi-Jalori-Delhi: 3 times
5. Delhi-Kasol-Delhi: 4 times
6. Delhi-Udaipur-Delhi: 1 time
Also, there have been lot many sub-1000 km trips on this vehicle. The vehicle have never given me up, be it snowy road or be it mud-filled road.
I run this vehicle on CNG as long as it is possible. So it is pocket friendly (220-240 km in 340 rupees) and environment-frindly as well. It survives on odd-even rule as well, and I usually do car-pooling as well.
I have done servicing in Maruti Authorized Service Stations only. I am pretty much happy with the service charges.
The first two servicing were done in Competent Automobile workshop (1500 km and 5000 km). The 10,000 km servicing was done in DD motors, Delhi.
Both 20,000 km and 30,000 km servicing were done in Srirampur, West Bengal in MASS. The cost were on the lower side in Srirampur (close to 2500 Rs) while it was close to 3000 Rs in NCR for paid services.
Brake-oil was replaced during 20,000 km servicing. I love servicing at Srirampur as they treat my car specially and on-priority (they serviced it during Durga Puja).
Things we liked:
1. The comfort of a small car which is easy to handle in city traffic.
2. A well-equipped machine to be driven comfortably at 90-100 kmph consistently for 24 continuous hours or more. I have driven this machine without any stay-break from Delhi to Kolkata and there was no issues.
3. Low cost of maintenance: It is easier to maintain and the cost comes close to 30 paisa per km. Much cheaper than my Royal Enfield
4. Cheap driving cost in NCR: Considering the CNG availability in Delhi, the running cost comes close to 1.5 Rs per Km in city traffic
Things we did not like much:
1. The vehicle is unstable above 120 kmph. Not recommended to go beyond 130 kmph.
2. Braking is poor at 90 kmph plus speed.
3. No road presence (I miss those moments where people ogle at my royal enfield)
4. AC performance deteriorated after 5 months
5. We found tata nano to be more spacious compared to Alto
6. Quality of the interiors: The interiors, specially the plastics are of cheap quality, though this is pretty much expected for a car in this price range
Usage Pattern:
The Alto has been used for city drives for 50% of the cases and rest for drives out of the city. During the city drives, we drive on petrol for first 2 kms and rest on CNG. For highway drives, we use a combination of CNG and petrol in 50-50 ratio in terms of distances covered.
Further issues in the vehicle:
The axle of this vehicle started giving noises during sharp turns. That chronic 'Kat-Kat' sound was repaired by a local mechanic here in Dwarka Sector -7 for 1200 bucks for both the axle. MASS was charging 4400 bucks for complete replacement.
Next maintenance
The vehicle has completed 49000 km in 1 year 7 months. We are taking her to the Spiti circuit as well as to Ladakh in Aug-end. The below updates are due now:
1. Changing all 4 tyres
2. Removing CNG cylinder just before the trip to shed off extra weight
3. General servicing at 53000 Km
4. Change of brake shoe
Update:
The car has completed 60000 km today. I am updating the details which are related to the experiences on the long run.
- Any niggles, problems or part replacements
No specific issue identified. However, body parts have started developing sounds on speeds higher than 70 kmph. This issue started coming up after 45000 km and became more prominenet after 50000 km.
-Tyre change
I have changed the front tyres to Ceat Milaze tyres. The rest two tyres will be changed after 60000 km as there is still much of life remaining. (done changing with the same with MRF).
- Engine performance & driveability in the city
The vehicle is awesome to drive in petrol both with and without AC. The power drop and acceleration lag is significant with CNG fuel. It gave up couple of time with 4 passengers on-board with AC switched on during steep climb. In such cases, I had to switch back to CNG and/or turn-off AC.
The vehicle runs almost 70 km per day in NCR traffic during weekdays during peak traffic hours.
- Engine performance & drive ability on the highway
The vehicle is mostly driven on highways on petrol. The comfort cruise zone, as experienced by me, is 90 kmph. The same comfort zone lies at 80 kmph, while driven on CNG. It gives close to 20-21 kmpl on petrol on highways with AC on. The mileage obtained with CNG is around 25km per kg.
