Maruti Alto: 25 years and nearly 5 million cars sold

The iconic Maruti Alto has turned 25, and with 4.7 million cars sold, it is safe to say that the Alto has made a massive impact on the Indian automotive industry as well as Maruti and Suzuki’s bottom line. The car that has changed the way India drives. However, it doesn’t quite get the recognition it deserves, so here’s a spotlight on the company’s unsung hero. Come with us as we take a look at every single generation of Alto sold in India, see how it evolved over the years and what made it such a success.

Origin of the species

Slipping in between the Zen on one side and the 800 on the other, the Alto had its work cut out from the outset. Up against familiar cars from the Maruti stable and with no outright advantage or real USP, it initially wasn’t a runaway success. This seems a little hard to believe today, especially when looking at the pristine and very tastefully done yellow example before us. Priced in close proximity to the 800, which cost Rs 3.10 lakh, the Rs 3.52 lakh-4.4 lakh Alto offered an outwardly larger and more robust package. 

Getting into the cabin, however, reminds me that it was really narrow (due to the greater safety margins built into the doors), and while the buttons and bits on the dash look hardy and wear-proof and have stood the test of time, the cabin is very basic. Seat comfort isn’t great either.

The driver’s seat is flat, and legroom is only barely sufficient. There’s plenty of headroom, however, and when we take off in the 800cc version, the quick response of the F8D engine makes getting around quite pleasant. This is the four valves per cylinder fuel-injected version of the 800 engine, remember, so punting it around is no chore. The stiff chassis (compared to the Zen and 800) and the raised suspension also mean the Alto takes bad surfaces in its stride. And this car feels robust, even 25 years on. Not something you can say of some of the later cars. Get onto an open road, like the elevated roads we have today, and the Alto feels quite breathless. And that’s despite this yellow one having a free-flow filter and exhaust. 

The one I clearly remember driving, however, is the 1.1. And as I get behind the wheel, the memories come flooding back. The twin speedo and tachometer with their orange needles, that little bit of a rubber ‘boot’ on the gear lever – this was a basic but fun package. And what made all the difference was that this wasn’t a thrummy three-cylinder engine. This four-cylinder engine makes 63hp, and with only 760kg to push around and more rpm to play with, this is a fun little car even today. 0-100kph came up in 13.9 seconds, so when you keep the engine on the boil, as I’m doing here, it’s a fun little car to punt around.

The gearbox is nowhere near as slick as that of the Zen, and it does roll a lot when I hook a few 90-degree corners. Unfortunately, the 1.1-litre found more favour in international markets and was discontinued here within a few years of the car’s launch. So, Alto owners looking for a bit more zip had nothing really to sink their teeth into.

It’s only in 2010 that Maruti launched the K10. Under the hood of this car is a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, but unlike the three-cylinder F8D – also a four valve – this one uses twin cams in addition. Power is now up to 68hp, and along with the new engine, the car has also got a facelift. The newer angular headlights and compound-shaped tail-lights, however, haven’t aged well; at all. They look very fussy and give the otherwise coherent Alto something of an awkward look.

There are some embellishments on the inside, like the grey surrounds of the dials, some cupholders, and the seat backs of the front seats scooped out for greater legroom on the second row. But small changes apart, this is still basically the Alto from 2000. Once we take off, the car feels lighter on its feet, and it doesn’t feel quite as robustly screwed together as the original Alto. Part of this is down to the super light steering wheel that gets electrical power assist. In fact, the steering is so aloof, the Alto feels almost shopping-trolley-like. It has a fair amount of zip, though. It’s both responsive at low speeds and likes to rev, and that sort of means it delivers the best of both worlds. Yeah sure, it is a three-cylinder unit, and you can tell, but the weight is only five kilos up on the 1.1, and this engine makes more torque than the 1.1. So, this has a fair amount of zip, and that makes it quite enjoyable.

Big changes, even more success

Up next is the 2012 Alto 800, the car Maruti updated thoroughly, both on the outside and the inside. Still based on the same platform, but with massive changes. The cars that we have here are both facelifts, the looks smoothened and refined. Of note is that this car also gets a corrugated roof for greater strength, and the front seats have integrated headrests. Maruti said they were sportier, but they were cheaper, too. Also new is the dash and the interior.

The Alto, by this time, was already the bestselling car in India, and Maruti did spend a lot of time and money in an effort to update it. The new dash with its attractive centre console was also relatively flat and space efficient, and the door pads were optimised to provide more space inside the cabin. This was also the first Alto you could specify with a driver’s airbag and CNG. Maruti also updated the engine and gave it a new plastic air inlet, lighter internals and more torque.

Without any additional weight to push around, the Alto 800 feels positively sprightly from behind the wheel. The engine is even more responsive; it revs happily, and that just makes me want to carve up traffic. The power-assisted steering is way too light; makes you feel like you are turning the wheels while orbiting in space. The car, however, was good enough to see off Hyundai’s Eon, which had poor driving manners.

Then in 2014 came the automatic version and the even more important CNG version, powered by the K10. Probably the ideal mix of efficiency and pep, the car does have some small amount of initial hesitation. This, however, soon melts away as the responsive nature of the K10 kicks in. So, once you have a few revs on the dial, this CNG version feels quite sprightly. The gas even makes this three cylinder run smoother, making driving it around town very agreeable.

The suspension on this car, however, seems to have suffered the ravages of time, especially with the extra load of the gas cylinder weighing down the rear. That’s something many CNG Altos seem to have suffered. What’s important to remember is that the CNG variant actually helped Maruti take on the more substantial Kwid that initially didn’t get this option. Renault, probably for the first time, gave the Alto a real run for its money. It was a big threat at the time; its SUV or crossover-like looks, a more spacious cabin and, of course, a touchscreen, which lured many buyers away from Maruti.

All grown up

While Maruti discontinued the K10 for the Alto, in an effort to shift buyers to the Celerio, and Wagon R, the K10 made a comeback in 2022. Now almost all new and built on the Heartect platform (with a strengthened underbody and predefined load paths for better crash safety), the current car is probably the most attractive looking Alto. A return to more mature and simple lines, with no exaggerated details, this is a design that can also have a long shelf life. With its extra 20mm in the wheelbase and some ‘optimisation’ of the dashboard and seats, there’s more space on the inside, and even the seats are better.

The other big change on the inside is the presence of the touchscreen – Maruti finally stepping up to the plate after the introduction of the tech on the Kwid. And it even has a larger boot. Maruti’s big headline number at launch, however, was 24kpl, pretty amazing. But, remember, the car still weighs 740kg, not too far from the weight of the original car, which, if you think about it, is pretty amazing. Getting behind the wheel of the current car comes as something of a pleasant surprise, it seems perfectly aligned with its role as a city runabout.

The seating position is higher, which is nice, the quality inside the cabin is much improved, and the car feels a bit more grown up. While the automatic or Automated Manual Transmission, to be precise, is still jerky and takes away some of the pleasure of driving it, the engine is still fantastic and pulls superbly, with a lovely happy-to-rev demeanour. Even ride comfort and ground clearance are good, perfect for all the B towns and rural roads where it still dominates. A bit more stability at higher speeds would have been nice, but this is still a super urban runabout.

Future challenges

The Alto’s success was built on a simple yet powerful formula: affordability, reliability and efficiency. It was the car that suited first-time buyers and was the ideal companion for small-town India. Today, with more than 4.7 million Altos on Indian roads, it clearly stands as the all-time bestselling car in India. But with the move to SUVs, at all price points, and the increase in costs associated with safety and emissions regulations, can India’s bestselling car still remain a compact hatch? Not if someone can deliver a lot more SUV for similar money. And that’s the real challenge. Question is, will there be an all-new Alto? The odds clearly seem to be stacked against it, and there currently is no future generation Alto on the cards.

A big thank you to Baptist deSouza and Rohit Arkoni for their Alto and Alto K10.

Why the Alto is India's bestselling car to date

The Alto wasn’t a runaway success right from the day of its launch. The catch was the 800, which still lured many first-time car buyers with its lower price. Maruti struggled to convince buyers to pick the Alto over the iconic 800, despite the former looking fresher, having better engine and gearbox options, and more features without too much of a premium over the 800.

So, to draw more buyers to the Alto, Maruti made some strategic moves. It narrowed the 800’s range, launched more affordable Alto variants and marketed it aggressively. The efforts paid off, and after three years, the Alto took the throne from the 800 as India’s bestselling car.

Since then, Alto sales continued to grow, reaching milestones upon milestones. By 2008, Maruti Suzuki had sold 10 lakh units of the Alto, making it only the fourth car in the Indian market to hit that milestone after the 800, Santro and Omni. The Alto took just four years to sell another 10 lakh units, and in 2016, it crossed the 30 lakh milestone, making it the only car in India to do so. By August 2025, Maruti Suzuki had sold over 45 lakh or 4.5 million Altos.

The first 800 was an Alto

The Alto story begins long before its Indian debut. The nameplate originated in Japan in 1979, where Suzuki introduced the Alto as a Kei car; a length and width restricted city vehicle (3.4 metres long by 1.48 metres wide), and powered by a 660cc engine designed for efficiency and affordability. Interestingly, the iconic Maruti 800 or SS80 was internationally also known as the Suzuki Alto. The Alto nameplate, however, debuted in India only in 2000 with the launch of the Alto twins, the 800cc and the 1,100cc versions. Interestingly, another Alto sold in India under another name was the A-Star; the seventh-gen Alto. In fact, all in all, India got four of the nine generations of the Alto sold in Japan.

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