The Maruti Suzuki Alto has been the longest serving moniker for the Indo-Japanese automaker in India. This entry-level hatchback rules the automotive industry with its highest sales numbers and stands at the top despite facing competition from better-equipped rivals like the Renault Kwid. However, with the sword of new emission and safety regulations hanging over its head, Maruti had to introduce an update for the Alto in sync with the same. Welcome the 2019 Maruti Alto, it drops the suffix ‘800’ and offers a whole array of updates, be in terms of its design, features or engine specifications. Here are five major points of differentiation between the new and the old iterations of India’s favourite entry-level hatchback.
Exterior Design
One of the prominent change that you will notice on the 2019 Alto is it’s revised front fascia. The hatchback now comes with a bigger front grill which sits in-between the headlamp cluster which remains the same as before. The front bumper has been heavily revised as well. It gets a smarter and bigger air-dam which sports a honeycomb design. The housing for the fog-lamps has been altered and has been made sleeker than before. The rest of the exterior design features of the Alto remain the same as before. The rear fascia along with the side profile of the vehicle do not feature any alterations.
Interior Design
For the 2019 update, Maruti Suzuki has completely altered the design of the interiors of the Alto. It gets the same layout as its elder sibling, the Alto K10. The centre console now comes with a new infotainment system which offers Bluetooth connectivity however is not a touchscreen system as seen on its arch-rival, Renault Kwid. Apart from this, you will also see the new Alto getting the same steering wheel as the K10. Furthermore, it also borrows its instrument cluster from the same as well. In addition to this, the dashboard now comes with a black and beige dual-tone colour scheme which has been carried forward to the upholstery and door-pads as well.
Engine Specifications
The 2019 Alto continues with the same engine set-up as before. It gets a 0.8-litre, 796cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine. This unit is capable of churning out 48 BHP along with 69 Nm of peak torque. It is paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard. The biggest change from the previous iteration in terms of the engine specifications is that with this update, the petrol engine has now been made BS-VI complaint. The hardware used to offer a reduction in emissions has also resulted in a minor reduction in the car’s fuel efficiency figures. This entry-level hatchback is now going to promise a mileage figure of 22.05 km/l.
Safety Features
The 2019 update has also provided the Alto with a significant bump in terms of its safety feature list. As standard, this hatchback is now going to offer driver side airbag, ABS with EBD, high-speed alert system, driver and passenger seat belt warning along with rear parking sensors. In addition to this, the body shell of the vehicle has also been reinforced in order to meet the upcoming safety regulations.
Prices
With all these changes and the introduction of new features and safety equipment, it is quite obvious that the prices of the Alto have gone up. The base STD trim of this entry-level hatchback is now going to retail at Rs 2.93 lakh while the top-spec VXI trim is going to retail at Rs 3.71 Lakh (ex-showroom).
