Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Suzuki Alto GL sounds like an angry lawnmower. There's no power controls for the external rear-view mirrors. And the boot is about the size of a LandCruiser glovebox. But, don't be fooled by the Suzuki Alto ... it's a very clever car, punching well above it's category in the sub-light category.
How clever? Let's start with price: $11,790 driveway for the GL manual. Yet, Suzuki has managed to fit front, side and curtain airbags into Alto. And the 1.0 litre engine can keep up with traffic and sniffs petrol at a rate that at least equals a Prius hybrid, which costs about three times as much, $39,900 for the base model.
But, it is car with compromises. Our GL entry-level test Alto did not boast a tachometer, electronic stability control, traction control, fog lamps, alloy wheels, front seat height adjustment or color-coded outside door handles. For those luxuries, plus two extra speakers and tweeters, you will need to upgrade to the top-of-the-line GLX model, at $12,490. Makes you wonder who would bother with the GL model. No doubt Suzuki have imported the GL for one reason: to bring a car in under $12,000 (before on-roads) to vie for business against the cheaper light cars from Malaysia – Proton S16 - and Korea - Hyundai's Getz.
This is a city/inner suburbs car, made for narrow laneways, small, underground car parks, tight on-street parking in front of terrace houses and most of all frugality of running costs. Expect around 4.8 litres/100 km out of the 35 litre tank or 700 kilometres for an all-up cost of around $42.00, depending on the cost of 95 RON unleaded. As a city car that could mean filling up once every two to four weeks, depending on distance covered. That's clever.
We may be wrong, but we also believe this segment is not too concerned about the driving experience, as long as the car is not a `dog.' But, it must have style. Alto fills the bill adequately. It is cute and will not leave the owner with the feeling he or she is driving an experiment. It would have been easy for Suzuki to design this car as a `box'. Instead the Alto has some style with a nice tapering roof towards the rear and a neat front with the latest style headlights seeping back in to the mudguards. With four doors and four seats it fills practical needs. The interior is simple and functional although there are no power windows for the rear doors. Might have to teach kids what role those handles play.
Our test car came with the 1.0 litre, three-cylinder engine hooked up to a five speed manual transmission. Buyers need to remember Suzuki has been building race-winning small engines for decades in their motorcycles, so this three cylinder, 50 kW of power, engine may be small, but it packs a punch. We had no trouble getting to, or sitting on, 110 km/h on the 75 km run from Suzuki in Brisbane along the M1 to the Gold Coast. At times we easily drifted above that limit. The five speed manual is a notchy and opposite to the super-smooth Kizashi gearbox we tested last week. The engine has an unusual note when under heavy load, but it's not unpleasant. With the small amount of torque frequent gear changes are necessary. If manual gears are not your strong point, Alto does come with a four speed auto.
SAFETY
We always believe bigger is best, but at least Suzuki has gone the full-monty with the Alto with six airbags, although the GL misses out on ESP (electronic stability program) and traction control. If we were in the market for a light car and wanted the Suzuki we'd definitely go for the GLX and it's extras including ESP for the extra few hundreds of dollars. The GL does come standard with ABS brakes and EBD, plus brake assist for emergency braking. It also has a high-mount stop light. An excellent package in this segment.
Nothing fancy here, but the seats are comfortable, there's a basic remote for the fuel lid and rear hatch, and the centre stack has large, easy-to-use dials and switches. There's plenty of cup holders and storage nooks for mobile phone, spare change and paperwork. The rear pew is a 50/50 split, so the tight luggage area can be increased significantly when there are two or three passengers. As a two seat rear pew there's plenty of shoulder room, but leg room is tight as is head room. The fit and finish are average.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Obviously the engine is going to be worked hard to get the best out of it, but it surprises on how easily it gets to suburban speed limits. At idle the engine is lumpy with a fair bit of NVH entering the cabin. Once underway it is smooth and purposeful. As mentioned earlier the gears need to be worked to both get the best out of the engine and secondly to overcome the lack of usable torque. With a 9.0 metre turning circle parking is a breeze. Alto corners quite well and also pulls up ok thanks to front discs and rear drums. Body roll is apparent on tight corners. As a city-dweller Alto is in it's element and it's really only the notchy gear change that we feel may not suit some drivers.
MODEL RANGE AND PRICING*
GL 1.0 litre man/auto $11,790/ $13,290
GLX 1.0 litre man/auto $12,490/ $13,990
(*Pricing does not include dealer or government charges)
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard
Air Conditioning: Standard
Automatic Transmission: Optional four speed
CD Player: Standard
Central Locking: Standard
Cruise Control: N/A
Dual Front Airbags: Standard
Front Side Airbags: Standard
Curtain airbags: Standard
Stability Control: Standard
Traction Control: Standard
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE:
Capacity: 1.0 litres
Configuration: In line three
Maximum Power: 50 kW @ 6000 rpm
Maximum Torque: 90 Nm @ 4800 rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: front
Manual Transmission: Five speed
Automatic Transmission: Four speed
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 3500 mm
Wheelbase: 2360 mm
Width: 1600 mm
Height: 1470 mm
Turning Circle: 9.0 metres
Kerb Mass: 880 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 35 litre
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson strut/coil springs
Rear Suspension: 3-point rigid axle with coil springs
Front Brakes: Ventilated discs
Rear Brakes: Drum
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: N/A seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Type: 95RON
Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 4.7 L/100km
GREEN VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 8.5 /10
Air Pollution Rating: 8.5 /10
STANDARD WARRANTY:
3 years/ 100,000 km
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