Long Term Report 1

“I will look into it,” said Vikrant when I asked for a long termer which has good ground clearance, spacious cabin and if possible, a compact SUV. I love riding my mountain bike and this kind of a vehicle would help me lug around my cycle on a weekend to exploit some unexplored terrain. A wait of a couple of days and there it was, standing in CarWale’s parking area. However, to my surprise, the car standing in front of me was exactly the opposite of what I had asked for. Instead of a high riding and intimidating SUV, I was greeted by an ultra-compact and a sober Maruti Suzuki Alto K10.

I have never been a fan of compact hatchbacks, for the sole reason I comfortably don’t fit in one. I am 6.2ft, which results in very limited legroom and headroom. If I do fit in, the hatch which can usually take four people will be fit for only three. But the highlight of our new long termer is that it is equipped with an automatic gearbox which should make my life much easier for my daily office commute.

I stay in Vasai, which is extremely far from our office in Vashi, I have to drive for almost 126kms a day! That’s almost 630kms a week and 2,772kms a month. My route includes a mix of highway drive, moderate traffic and bumper to bumper madness. Basically, a perfect real world ground to check the practicality and fuel efficiency of any vehicle.

With 67bhp and 90Nm at your disposal and couple this with the AMT gearbox, the K10 can prove to be just that. And with a kerb weight of just 755kg, the fuel efficiency figure might impress you too. Maruti Suzuki has been marketing the car towards the youth over the last couple of months and it all makes sense; at least for this AMT variant. It’s proven that with an automatic gearbox, you tend to have low stress level while driving in city traffic. Also, it is easy for someone with knee issues. Luckily, I don’t have any knee problems, but I am looking forward to check if driving the Alto AMT every day to work improves my productivity.

My next report will detail how the Alto K10 AMT fared in the first month.