The Maruti Alto K10 was feeling too dated and now it is all set to get a major update. With better interiors and the addition of airbags and ABS, competitors will be left behind now.
The Maruti Alto is India’s highest selling car. Obviously, these sales come from the Alto 800 and Alto K10 combined. Maruti replaced the previous generation Alto F8B with the new Alto 800 a couple of years back while the Alto K10 continued to be sold in the previous avatar. The desi manufacturer has now given the Alto K10 a major upgrade and now it is based on the Alto 800. While the overall body remains the same, Maruti had to elongate the bonnet slightly to make the 1.0-litre engine fit in snugly. With this, the vehicle also sees some major styling upgrades.
The front fascia of the new Alto K10 looks much better than the previous Alto K10 as well as the current Alto 800. The dual grilles look quirky from certain angles while the gap between the headlamps and the grille reminds us of the first generation Hyundai i10. The bonnet gets a discrete bump which adds some appeal to the overall neutral-looking vehicle. From the side, the vehicle looks similar to the Alto 800 albeit the length is slightly longer now. The rear too is similar to the Alto 800 but the tail lights have been refreshed and the hatchback looks smooth at the back now.
Moving to the interiors, we’re really impressed with Maruti this time. They have done a great job in designing the dashboard and it looks really good. The steering wheel is also all-new and it comes with an airbag. ABS will also be made available. The instrument cluster too has been redesigned. Powering the Alto K10 is the same 1.0-litre K-Series petrol engine that powers the WagonR and Celerio too. The engine produces 68 PS of power and 90 Nm of torque. It will come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox or an AMT similar to the Celerio. The engine has been tuned for better economy. The 2015 Maruti Alto K10 will also be the cheapest automatic car on sale and it will compete with the Hyundai Eon and Datsun GO.
Pictures Source – Manorama Online
