WHEN YOU consider how the Mini became such an icon, you have to wonder why the Suzuki Alto isn't a feature of as many history reviews and documentaries. After all, the Mini didn't invent frugal motoring – nor was it always a joy to drive, as I can well attest, writes MICHAEL McALEER, Motoring Editor
What it did have was access to western society via the pop culture of its time. The Alto, on the other hand, will never make it into the movies.
Nevertheless, its contribution – though nowhere near as significant as Mini’s – should not be dismissed. This is not just another boxy city car: it’s a cheery little runaround that has done its bit for getting less affluent motorists onto the road.
The Alto is back to basics motoring and that's de rigeurthese days. With the focus on frugality, those lectures on the value of money are coming home to roost. A global downturn calls for a global car.
For the fortunate few, the Ferrari 599 featured in this week's Motorsis a possibility. For the rest of us it's good to dream, a form of anti-recession escapism. The darker reality finds us faced with a Suzuki Alto.
As Tata prepares to pursue the masses with its Nano, Suzuki has been similarly eager to capture some of this market.
Then again, the Alto is not simply a Suzuki. It is actually built in Haryana in India in a joint venture with local car firm Maruti, as with every Alto sold in Europe since 1994. This car and its predecessors have been sold under many guises. The same car has featured in India as the Maruti, in Colombia as a Chevrolet and in Japan as both a Nissan and a Mazda. That’s what’s known in business terms as leveraging your assets.
It may be a small city car but it has certainly seen the world. That’s something often missed in coverage – this car should share centre stage with other global icons of motoring, yet it demurs from the limelight. The same could be said of its parent. With dominant Japanese brands like Toyota and niche players like Mazda, it’s hard for Suzuki to get a word in. Nevertheless, owners it has won over all seem content.
In recent years it has stepped up its profile. The Swift and SX4 are marking a new era for the brand. They are stylish, western-focused vehicles that look as smart on the promenades of European capitals as they do on the flyovers of Tokyo.
So, what of the Alto? Well, it’s functional motoring, of the type loved by those A to B motorists for whom it’s just a better way to travel than horseback.
Its interior is pretty sparse. There’s a radio/CD with two speakers, a few dials for the air-con, steering wheel, gearstick and handbrake and that’s about it. Sorry, I almost forgot: there’s grey and black plastic – a lot of it. Even in the rear, where you can fit two adults without a struggle, the rear windows come with opening clips rather than window winders.
After that it’s about the mechanics. The good news there is that, given the basic nature of most small cars, Suzuki has this end of things sorted.
Up front there’s an enthusiastic little three-cylinder, 1-litre engine that does a mean imitation of a scooter at higher revs. However, kick it into fifth and the whine becomes a mere drone. For its size, it’s very eager.
With just 67bhp it has a lot to do to keep the show on the road, yet it manages with more haste than several of its rivals. Certainly it feels a lot quicker than its direct rivals, even if there is a high whine from the engine bay.
It’s a rather rudimentary ride, with the suspension bottoming out on more heavily rutted roads, while it has a tendency to pitch a little in crosswinds on the open road. Despite this, handling feels steady and never too woolly. One of the most impressive features is the light clutch and accurate transmission that should suit city drivers. On the motorway in fifth you can keep up with the rest of the pack, although 120km/h on an open road is not its natural habitat.
For anyone who started driving in the early 1980s, this car will offer few surprises.
The Alto’s big boon is in terms of fuel consumption and emissions. Whereas many of its rivals, like the Renault Twingo and Fiat Panda, have equally diminutive engines, their emissions levels cast them into tax category B. The Alto, on the other hand, records just 103g/km, putting it lower than even the much-acclaimed Toyota Aygo.
So what you have is a fun little city car that suits a couple who rarely leave the urban or suburban streets. It’s got a tidy turning circle, nice smart steering feel that makes it easy to manoeuvre, room for two adults in the back and enough bootspace to cope with a weekly shop.
However, it’s the penny-pinching in the interior and other omissions that make you feel a bit hesitant about spending €11,500. For this money you could get a pretty well-equipped used car. Here you get one that doesn’t even have a vanity mirror in the passenger sun visor, lacks rear window openers and requires the ignition key to open the boot. Should motoring really be this basic for €11,500?
Small and versatile with a strong brand pedigree, the Alto nonetheless suffers under the weight of competition. Whereas its slightly larger sibling, the Swift, is a shining star in its own segment, the Alto is something of an also-ran when pitted against other equally competent rivals like the new Hyundai i10 and the Fiat Panda. The Twingo has a certain charm and small-town runaround European chic about it, the Panda matches that with smart features and layout and the Toyota Aygo carries with it the Japanese pedigree similar to Suzukis and a wider dealer outlet that invariably increases its sales.
These are all low-emission city cars that offer equal ease and value. Yet, for the time we spent in the Alto, we couldn’t help thinking of friends of ours who recently went shopping with €10,000 in their pockets. For the first 10 minutes we directed them towards smart little city cars like this. Yet their only interest was in used cars. For them, a four-year old family car offered more car for the cash than a small city car, even with its new car smell and shining 09 plates. That’s something dealers of such cars will always find hard to overcome.
If you’re looking for something small and practical around town this is a decent – if not quite dominant – entry from Suzuki.
Yet for all the drive towards smaller, greener, transport, for many motorists it’s the metal for the money that matters, and you can’t help feeling they will cast their eye over the used car lot as quickly as showroom at any Suzuki dealership.
Factfile
Suzuki Alto
CC:996
BHP:67 0-100km/h: 13.5 secs
Top speed:154km/h
Bootspace:129-774L
Consumption:4.4
CO2 emissions:103g/km (€104 tax)
Price:€11,500
Engine:a three-cylinder 67bhp 996cc petrol engine putting out 67bhp @ 6,000rpm and 90 nm @ 3,400rpm
Specification:ABS with EBD, dual front and side airbags, side protection bars, electric front windows, folding rear bench, radio/cd with two speakers, 14" steel wheels with covers, air-conditioning system, rear opening flaps on windows, manually adjusted wing mirrors
L/100km (mpg):urban – 5.5 (51.4); extra-urban – 3.8 (74.3); combined – 4.4 (64.2)
CO2 emissions:103 g/km
Tax:VRT – 14 per cent; motor tax – €104
Price:€11,500