Maruti has started a new innings of the Alto K10 nameplate with a brand new car replacing the decade old predecessor. Apart from its new outfit and interiors, the pinnacle of this launch is the incorporation of the AMT - Automated Manual Transmission in the K10 which Maruti calls - AGS, Auto Gear Shift. The vehicle will compete majorly with the Hyundai EON 1.0L along with the Datsun GO. Its lighter, cheaper than before and we all know it has an added advantage of an AMT gearbox but lets see how on paper the new Alto K10 fights back with its Korean and Japanese rivals.
Exteriors
The previous gen Alto K10 always lost on its decade old looks when compared to its modern rivals EON and GO. But this time Maruti has given a complete overhaul to the entry-level hatch, a more modern design which turned out to be a grown-up Alto 800. Now, on the design front, all the three cars offer swept back taillamps but both Hyundai and Maruti have sleeker grilles while GO gets Datsun’s signature large inverted trapezoidal grille. Talking about the rear, Alto K10 gets 800 inspired lamps while EON’s features christmas-tree-esque lamp and probably the only car here to offer dual-stop lamp. Datsun GO offers simple and conventional rear look.
Speaking of the road presence, Datsun GO is the longest and widest car here and it's very much visible too, GO looks like a segment above vehicle with respects to its dimensions. EON on the other hand looks tiny, similar to K10, but it gets design-cues from Hyundai fluidic sculpture design philosophy, thanks to this, EON looks the most stylish of the lot. About K10, huge improvement to aesthetics compared to previous model but still looks plain jane from few angles.
Interiors and Features
Like the exteriors, Alto K10 offers massive improvements to the interiors, though the exteriors of the previous gen K10 were acceptable, it were the interiors that looked dated the most. The 2014 Alto K10 offers a new dual tone dashboard; offering in-dash audio unit with AUX-in, USB, CD and tuner. EON on the other hand offers the nicest looking dash of the lot, audio unit is 2-din featuring CD/MP3, AUX-in, USB and tuner. Talking about the Datsun, GO gets dashboard inspiration from its premium sibling Micra. On the audio front, unique-to-the-Datsun - Mobile docking station offering AUX-in and charging options is available.
On the feature front, all the three cars offer front power windows, air conditioning, power steering, gear shift indicators, keyless entry to be specific. But apart from these, GO offers follow-me-home headlamps, smart wipers, speed sensitive power steering, smart driver multi-info screen with built-in digital tachometer, which differentiates it from the rest two.
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Specification comparison
Engine: Performance and efficiency
All the three cars offer only petrol engines. Datsun here offers bigger displacement engine amongst the two, a Nissan derived 1.2 liter unit belts out 67.1bhp of max power similar to the rest two but its the only hatch here that offers 3 digit torque figure - 104Nm. The motor in GO is mated to a five-speed manual unit. Hyundai has recently put in 1.0 liter dual Kappa VTVT engine in the EON range, earlier it was only available with a 0.8 liter iRDE motor. EON chucks out 68.1bhp and 94Nm of max torque and is mated to a five speed manual box.
Now, this is the section where the new Alto trumps, though it retains the 1.0 liter K10B K-Series 67.1bhp and 90Nm motor but when it comes to transmission - Alto is the only car here that offers AMT - (Automated Manual Transmission) - AGS (Auto Gear Shift) similar to the one in the Celerio along with the updated 5-speed manual unit. Alto K10 also excels when it comes to fuel economy, with certified tag of 24.07kmpl (both AMT and 5-speed MT) compared to 20.3kmpl of EON and 20.63kmpl of GO. Moreover, Alto also offers CNG option compared to the rest two and comes with a fuel efficiency of 32.36km/kg.
Safety
In terms of safety, only Alto K10 offers driver airbags as optional while both the others cars Datsun GO and Hyundai EON do not offer driver airbags. However, EON offers driver airbag but with the top-end 0.8 liter iRDE motor not with 1.0 liter Dual Kappa VTVT. None of the cars here offer ABS, not even optional.
Price Comparison (All-Prices Ex-Showroom New-Delhi)
Source : CarDekho