Suzuki Alto

Suzuki Alto Exterior

Although it is said to be based on the Suzuki A-Star concept, the Suzuki Alto exterior design is anything but similar to the bold and sporty concept. Instead, the hatchback is wearing a friendly-looking front end with a bug-eyed face and a gaping front radiator grille.

Being a budget car designed to go from point A to point B as economically and as practically as possible, the Suzuki makes do without any sort of premium design touches. In contrast, competitions like the Kia Picanto and the much cheaper Perodua Axia are comparatively more neatly styled.

That said, it is robustly put together, and all three variants come equipped with body-coloured bumpers and 14-inch wheels. The cheapest M/T variant does without the fog lamps and coloured wing mirror which are equipped in both the higher spec variants. Suzuki has taken the Suzuki Alto compact design to a new extreme. It is a good 145 mm shorter in terms of overall length with a 95 mm shorter wheelbase compared to the already compactly packaged Perodua Axia.

Suzuki Alto Interior

Not unlike any other rivals in the segment, the Suzuki Alto’s cabin is covered in hard and scratchy plastic material (dual-tone grey and black), testimony of its bargain basement status. Suzuki even forgo functional feature like the glovebox and is replaced with a shelf instead.

Fabric upholstered seats with rear folding bench are standard feature on the base GA variant but misses out on GLX’s powered window and 50:50 split folding rear seat. The top of the range GSX variant gets upgraded leather upholstered seats, window tint and door visor/

Unlike the Perodua Axia that can fit full size adults at the back fairly comfortably, the rear seats in the Suzuki are more suitable for kids or smaller sized adults. And with only 2 seatbelts at the back, it is classified officially as a four-seater. At 129 litres, it has one of the smallest boot in the segment too.

Suzuki Alto Features

Standard equipment includes air conditioning system with pollen filter, radio/CD player and a single instrument speedometer panel. Both automatic variants get front powered windows with self-winding rear windows and a separate tachometer for the driver.

All three variants come fitted with front ventilated disc brakes with rear drum brakes and riding on 155/65R14 tyres. The Suzuki Alto scored only 3 Star in the Euro NCAP crash safety rating. Not surprising when it comes only with basic safety features like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and 2 ISOFIX child seat anchor points.

Suzuki Alto Driving Performance

Powering the lightweight 915 kg car is Suzuki’s K10B 998 cc in-line three engine developed especially for the Suzuki Alto. It produces 68 PS at 6,000 RPM and 87 NM of torque from 4,500 RPM. While the engine is not the most refined with noticeable clattering sound on start-up and strenuous vibration at high revs, it does rev freely and cope fairly well with motorway speeds. 

It feels slightly quicker than the 14-second 0-100 km/h time suggests, at least until you drive with maximum seating capacity. Drive is sent to the front wheels via Jatco’s 5-speed manual for the M/T GA variant and 4-speed automatic transmission for the automatic variants. The latter features a gated shifter.

Suzuki Alto Ride Comfort

The Suzuki is sitting on MacPherson strut up front and a 3-link rigid axle at the back. Suzuki claims that the ride is tuned for European roads. While the ride is generally composed, it is not as fun to drive as the positively agile Kia Picanto.

Suzuki Alto Conclusion

If you are looking for a compact, reliable and cheap to run car with no frills, the Suzuki Alto may just be the answer for you. That said, the ‘cutesy’ exterior might not be up to everyone’s taste. The lack of practicality such as the small boot space with a high loading lip and the 2-seater seating capacity at the back makes the car less appealing to the cost-conscious consumer.