Maruti Alto Is The Best-Selling Compact Car Of India For 16 Consecutive Years

by Mohit Bhardwaj | 16/06/2020
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Maruti Alto 800 is the cheapest offering from the carmaker. Until recently, it used to be available in two variants - 800cc an 1000cc

Maruti Alto was launched in the Indian car market back in the year 2000. So, what this means is that the Alto has been on sale here for almost two decades now. The first Alto that debuted in India was the 5th-gen JDM-spec Alto. Initially, the car received only a luke-warm response from the Indian audience and it took 4 years to become the best-selling car of the country. Ever since, the Alto has stayed on the top of the sales charts of the entry-level segment, which means that Alto has now completed 16 years as the best-selling compact car in India. If the total sales volume has to be considered, Maruti has sold more than 3.8 million copies of the Alto in the Indian market.

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Maruti Alto Is The Best-Selling Car Of India For 16 Consecutive Years

The Alto that is currently on sale is the second-generation model and it was developed specifically for the Indian market. Until recently, the car was sold in 2 configurations – Alto 800 and Alto K10. In the BS-6 regime, however, Maruti has stopped the production of the Alto K10 as it has been replaced with the S-Presso. Prices for the Alto start rather low at Rs. 2.94 lakh and tops out at Rs. 4.37 lakh. It is sold in a total of 3 grades, namely STD, LXi, and VXi. Also, the car is offered with the option of CNG, which is limited to the LXi variant only.

Powering the Alto is a 796 cc naturally-aspirated 3-pot petrol motor. In its BS-6 avatar, it puts out a peak power output of 47 BHP at 6,000 clicks and a max. torque of 69 Nm at 3,500 revs per minute. It can be had mated to either a 5-speed MT or a 5-speed AMT. Talking of the fuel efficiency numbers, the Alto returns an ARAI-claimed figure of 22.05 kmpl, while the CNG variant returns a fuel economy of 31.56 km/kg.

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Maruti Alto Is The Best-Selling Car Of India For 16 Consecutive Years

The original Alto that debuted in the year 2000 wasn't a feature-packed car. The story is somehow different now. The Alto comes with dual-front airbags, ABS with EBD, seat-belt alarm, and rear parking sensors as standard fitment across the range. In the higher grade, the Alto also gets a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Bluetooth connectivity, centre locking, front power windows and more.

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