I have been looking forward to Maruti A-Star’s launch since the time I have had a look at it in Auto Expo 2008 in Delhi. The car at Auto Expo 2008 (called the A-Star Concept) looks like this:
This is a concept car, the look and the features displayed in this concept are top-notch, but when you are going to buy an A-star starting this October 2008, don’t be carried away by above pictures, because the production model is going to be a trimmed down version of this concept version.
The actual car which you will buy will have:
1000cc Engine: Euro – 5 Compliant : Suzuki K series
3 – Cylinder Engine with 4-Valves per Cylinder
67 BHP Maximum Power
Good Fuel Efficiency
5-Speed Manual Transmission
A/C without automatic climate control
Power Steering
The A-star will be a car segment which will lie in between Alto and Swift . It will come at a segment approximately parallel with Wagon-R. The price of A-star will be between 3-4 Lakh.
The A-star will also be exported to European countries, where it will replace Alto. So, it will be called Alto in Europe and A-Star in India. In fact the real A-star will look bit different from the above concept car because of its Head-lamps, Tail-lamps and Grill styling.
Below are some pictures of the A-star that will be launched in Europe with name Alto, so you can expect the similar looks of A-star to be launched in India.
My personal views on A-star:
A-Star is going to be a good car because of its styling, fuel efficiency and pricing. It has got all good ingredients to attract buyers who want decent features at low price. If you want a value for money deal, it is for you. But if you are looking for top-notch luxury, its not the car for you. The styling is although good, yet it may not satisfy your need for high-luxury.
Its going to compete head on with Hyundai’s i10 and also going to be a competitor to Maruti’s very own Wagon R, because if I have to but a Maruti car in budget of up-to 4 Lakh, I would definitely buy A-Star rather than Wagon R.
Wait and Watch:
If you want to buy A-star as soon as it is launched, I would say be patient. Let there be an official launch, take a test-drive and then decide. Also you must take a test drive of Hyundai i10 before taking a decision on buying A-Star, because I personally feel that you should never by a car until you take a test drive.
When I bought Hyundai i10 few months back, I was seriously considering Wagon-R also, but test drive was an eye-opener, as Hyundai i10 is far more smooth and comfortable when compared to Wagon-R, which I discovered only after a test drive.
If you have any comments or suggestion, please share through comments below.
Updated on 16th November 2008:
The official launch date of Maruti A-star is expected to be 20th November 2008.
Updated on 20th November 2008:
The A-star has been launched on 19th November officially. The A-star is available in three variants, Lxi, Vxi and Zxi. Good Thing is that all three variants have Power-Steering and AC as standard !
The top variant Zxi is value for money with high end features like ABS, Airbags, remote locking with alarm, In Built Stereo Music System with four speakers, all doors power windows, premium seat fabric, body colored outside mirror covers, body colored door handles, immobilizer, tachometer.Just like Maruti Sx4, its also a value for money package!
The ex-showroom price of Maruti A-star Lxi is about Rs. 3,50,000 (about $ 7000)
The On-road price of Maruti A-Star Lxi is about Rs. 3,80,000 (about $ 7600)
The ex-showroom price of Maruti A-star Vxi is about Rs. 3,80,500 (about $ 7600)
The On-road price of Maruti A-Star Vxi is about Rs. 4,10,000 (about $ 8200)
The ex-showroom price of Maruti A-star Zxi is about Rs. 4,15,000 (about $ 8200)
The On-road price of Maruti A-Star Zxi is about Rs. 4,50,000 (about $ 9000)
Updated on 23rd Feb 2009:
Second Opinion On Maruti A-Star :
Its been about than 4 months Maruti A-star has been launched. So I just thought it would be worth to re-review the car on the current on-road situation. The previous review I gave was my personal anticipation about the car’s performance and looks etc.
My second pinion on seeing and testing the car is that it did not live up to my expectation in terms of space and comfort. It looks too much like Hyundai i-10, the head lamps look bit silly. And the pricing of the car makes it even a weak seller. It has Maruti branding associated to it which which is a big plus point, but otherwise I personally find it a weak contender compared to Hyundai i-10 which is the closest competition to A-star.
Also the mileage figures of about 20 KMPL looks more of idealistic, although it might come close to 15 or 16 in city like Delhi, which is not bad. But mileage will largely depend on your driving style. Here are some tips to increase car mileage though.
Also to add to it is the current slowdown in economy and less sales of cars, which must be giving bad times to Maruti and all other car manufacturers. I hope they come up with some variant of A-Star which is improved on interior space and quality to compete with the Hyuandai i-10 and Chevrolet UVA which are in same segment.
I still don’t say its a bad car, but i expected it to be much better than it is. If you are driving one, or have driven one, please share your reviews and suggestions via comments below.
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17 Comments »
purnendu said :
September 13, 2008 at 11:14 am
good dear,
try to provide some additional pics of interior, engine and other acceriors.
and rest of the matter is cool…
stay writing i’ll be in touch.
varun miglani said :
September 13, 2008 at 6:27 pm
The review is good & best thing is now many of us get to know what new ALTO would be looking like.
Can you tell why it is called CONECPT CAR ? I mean what is the new concept .
It would be great if some figures were given about the mileage coz saying GOOD doesnt give any impression in mind what it would be like.
What about feasibility with CNG OR LPG ??
admin said :
September 14, 2008 at 9:05 pm
@Varun
Concept car is a car which is made to the best possible extent using the full features and looks which the designer has imaged. A Concept car has many features that are extremely expansive and does not make business sense, but technically they make lot of sense.
A concept car is a blue-print for a real production car. You can say, Concept car’s features are super-set of the features which a real production model offers!
Concept-S of suzuki was the Concept car behind Swift!
Renu said :
September 15, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Hi Rohit
Your review on A-Star was really informative, for a people like me who wants to buy a new can with good looks and fuel efficiency this car will definitely go into my list. Moreover from your blog now we all will be updated with infomation like what’s new in market.
Keep up the good work.
Renu.
Jey said :
September 15, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Your review was good. Short, to the point, and keeping the readers attention rivetted to the very salient details, that he requires. Expansive reviews are really boring, as the average reader, or, to put it this way, all readers are not technical personnel.
You could have given us a couple of additional pics of the car, looking from the rear!!
The front end looks very i10 ish!!
Anyways, good job done by Suzuki.
Keep those reviews coming…..
Jey.
Nick said :
November 16, 2008 at 9:49 pm
This is definitely gonna be my car. And i am planing to book it on the day of launch……….
Pawan said :
November 18, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Concept cars often do not become production models, being more an expression of futuristic technologies and designs. But the Concept A-Star will culminate in a production model.
refer: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/Global-launch-of-Concept-Car-from-Maruti-Suzuki.aspx
Kamal Singh said :
December 2, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I want to know milage of A-star maruti car Zxi model
admin said :
December 2, 2008 at 1:48 pm
@Kamal
The claims made by maruti say its about 18KM / liter of petrol, but real figures will come only once people start driving it. In my personal opinion, it should be between 15 to 18 KMPL
fixxxer said :
December 25, 2008 at 4:53 pm
All i can see is a nice-leggy concept beside a car.Nice blog dude!
Maruti RITZ – Specifications Features Looks Price and Review said :
May 11, 2009 at 12:03 am
[...] of Suzuki K series with a power output of 65 BHP. This is somewhat similar to the engine used by Maruti Suzuki A-star. This variant is expected to give a good mileage in city driving [...]
PARTH said :
July 27, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I took a test drive yesterday. Right now i am driving Alto 1.1 vxi .
- – - – : I do not feel that power of alto in A-star .
Besides it, i feel i am sitting on a very low-heighted car.
++++ : Looks is good. Plus maruti tag.
I hope it has low maintenance too.
VIKAS NAIK said :
November 25, 2009 at 8:03 am
can you plz get me the detail
1. what is the Engine Diff between Astar and alto car ,
2 . how ur getting good milga in Astar than in Alto
Rohit said :
November 27, 2009 at 11:33 am
@Vikas
1. The difference is that the new Engine are K-Series Suzuki Engines with better technology which improves the power and mileage of the engine.
2. More mileage is probably because of 4 valves per cylinder in the engine and light weight engine and engine parts which makes the engine run better and give more output of power for same amount of petrol
Maruti 6 Seater Concept R3 To Have 1.2 L K-Series Engine From Suzuki said :
January 3, 2010 at 2:14 pm
[...] R3 is talked about having the same K-series engine that is coming in the modern Maruti cars like Maruti A-Star and Maruti Ritz. It will have a 1.2 L / K Series engine with 67BHP as mad power and 101NM [...]
Maruti Suzuki Kizashi Debut At Auto Expo 2010 – Kizashi Pictures , Specifications , Interiors And Review said :
January 7, 2010 at 12:09 am
[...] has lots of cars in small car segment starting from Maruti 800 , Maruti Alto , Maruti Wagon R , Maruti A-Star , Estilo , Maruti Ritz, Swift , Dzire, Sx4 and Grand Vitara. But there has been a vacant space for [...]
sibi said :
January 27, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Its really a good expereince to drive a car with sporty look and with good mileage and comfort.This Car flows like Water in the River.Nice Pick Up.Dashing Style for Small Familes.Its a good expereince to buy such a wonderful Car with all the utilities what a Small Familes with style and sport walks in parallel.I suggest everyone to go for it.compared with i10,astar is a best choice ..
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