Maruti Suzuki discontinues base variants of the Alto and S-Presso

Maruti Suzuki has increased the prices of its Arena and Nexa cars. Along with this, it has quietly also discontinued the base variants of the Alto and S-Presso.

• Alto and S-Presso now come with dual airbags as standard
• Both models now comply with mandatory safety regulations
• Next-gen Alto to be revealed later this year

Maruti Suzuki Alto and S-Presso: what's changed?

Post the price hike, Maruti Suzuki has discontinued the variants of the Alto and S-Presso which featured a single driver airbag. These include the STD and LXi variants of the Alto, and the STD, LXi and VXi variants of the S-Presso. Interestingly, the Alto’s STD (O) trim which was previously available with dual airbags has also been discontinued.

Maruti Suzuki has done this to comply with the regulations introduced by the government in January 2022 that mandates that all cars be fitted with dual airbags. The Alto’s new base variant is the LXi(O), which, at Rs 4.08 lakh, costs Rs 83,000 more than the previous entry-level trim – the STD variant.

The S-Presso’s new starting prices are also revised to Rs 3.99 lakh for the STD(O) trim, costing Rs 13,000 more than its previous base variant.

Earlier, customers had an option to pay an additional Rs 7,000 on variants with single airbags and equip them with a passenger-side airbag. Maruti also practised this on the previous generations of the Wagon R and Celerio.

Maruti Suzuki future plans

The automaker is currently testing the third-generation Alto, which will feature an all-new platform along with exterior and interior updates. Additionally, it's also working on a Creta-rivalling midsize SUV in collaboration with Toyota.