My GF just paid the DP for this car. I drove it for a while, and it was very nice to drive. Typical suzuki handling, solid chassis, responsive, and very 'zippy'so those who like to potong sini potong sana, would enjoy driving this little car.
Power is disappointing. No surprise here, considering that it's a 1.0 auto, 3 cylinder. But the gear shifts are well thought out. It has "D""3""2"and "L". So many gears to play around with if you're driving auto, and necessary too, considering the non responsiveness of the gear change to accelerator depression. But i think given the target market (gals), it's good enough.
Space wise, surprisingly acceptable. From the outside looks like it's a sardine can, but once inside, it could comfortably fit me (i'm about 175cm). Backseats are reasonable too, for its size. Boot is very small though.
NVH, acceptable. I remember reading somewhere about '3 cylinder whirls', where the engine will create this annoying noise due to the 3 cylinderal layout. It's present here, but in a nice way, imo. It sounds eager, and a little screamy (in a nice way), so kudos here. Sound insulation is very good for a small car. Kapchais next to me accelerating away was only barely noticeable.
Build quality was decent. Definitely better than local made cars. Things are well placed, solid and felt mid-range quality. On par with most of the swift cabin components imo. My gripe is with the gear levers (same with swift) - why is it so rubbish?! They certainly could have placed a little more thought in designing the thing. Look at the i10, and you know what can be done to liven up the cabin using the gear lever! Another is the RPM meter - what were they thinking?!
No power windows for rear seats, but then again how often do you need that for a small car carrying one person most of the time? Clearly they have thought out the target market, and where to cut costs.
Finally, the looks. To be honest, I wasn't a fan at first. After a few days looking at the ads on TV, and some test cars on the road, I think it's going to be a hit. Looks cute from many angles, and not really awkward looking. The bulging eyes may be a turnoff to some, but once you've gotten used to it, it's actually quite pleasant to see.
Conclusion: worth the price you pay. 51k OTR for the midrange auto spec may be pricey for those who want to quote MYVIs and VIVAs, or even the Hyundai i10. No one can argue against value for money for P2s. It is really a toss up for you guys. My GF and I decided to go for the Alto in the end because:
1) resale value of japs > korean.
2) handling. for those who think savvy is good, try the Alto before you reiterate that comment
3) long term/political view. We don't want to support the local industry if we can help it. With all the subsidies from taxpayers and protection they get, they could have done us a favour when we were younger by pricing the then Wiras, Kelisas and Kancils a lot lower (like in Aussie and UK), but chose to potong our leher. Furthermore, supporting foreign cars will given an indication to foreign manufacturers that we are ready to move on from local cars and encourage them to move in more aggressively (like VW atm). So, middle finger to locals.
That's it!
Aug 9 2010, 10:01 PM, updated 16y ago
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