Suzuki Alto is here in Malaysia!!!

Wow it’s been a while that I have not written anything in my blog. Well I have some juicy story for you here readers of Auto Insider Malaysia specifically for readers here in Malaysia. Yes Suzuki Malaysia Automobiles Sdn. Bhd has  launch the all new Suzuki Alto yesterday 09th of August 2010. I manage to capture this new car available at this showroom which is on display.

To tell you the truth, I already know that this car will be launching soon based on my friends who is working with DRB Hicom Glenmarie. The car has been around for quite some time actually, and the car has been on the road testing here in Malaysia using trade plates without any camouflage but luckily the car has not been snap by any car enthusiast here in Malaysia.

The car features a cute and simple clean design with the overall length of the car only 3,500mm and the wheelbase is 2,360mm which is 20mm shorter than Hyundai i10 and 30mm shorter than Perodua Viva. For the lady driver, they will sure smile to the ear as the car feature a small turning radius of only 4.5M which is essentially the same as Hyundai i10 with only the Perodua Vivas manage a smaller turning radius at 4.4M.


So let me tell you about the car that has been launched here in Malaysia. The car is actually a fully imported car from Maruti Suzuki of India and it will be powered by K10B engine which is essentially a 1.0 litre DOCH 3 cylinder 12V engine that produces a respectable 67hp at 6,000RPM and 90Nm of torque at 3,400RPM. There will be two transmission choices here in Malaysia which are 5 speed manual and also 4 speed AT. The fuel distribution is via a Multipoint injection channelling fuel coming from 35 litres of fuel tank capacity. What is best about this engine is that it uses a timing chain instead of the normal belt which is the same as what has been offered by Hyundai i10 1.25Kappa engine. This is a welcome offering which essentially translated to a lower the overall maintenance cost of the car. The throttle body of the car is using the normal cable type and not drive by wire which according to the inside sources from Suzuki manage to achieves a respectable 17 litres/100km fuel consumption on a combine cycle which is quite respectable for a small town driving car.


The steering system of the car is using rack and pinion with the brakes featuring ventilated disc at the front and drum leading and trailing at the rear. The stopping power for the high end model which is the 1.0AT GX and GXS is via ABS with EBD and also brake assist function to ensure a safe stopping distance. As for the suspension, the front suspension features a MacPherson strut with coil spring and the rear end is a 3 link rigid axles with coil spring which is essentially a torsion beam type of suspension.


As for other features, the steering system of the car comes with a standard power steering with the high end model featuring tilt and telescopic adjustable steering wheel which is a very commendable feature for this segment of cars. Besides that, the high end model also feature a tachometer on the instrument panel and also electric power window for the front door but at the rear both normal and high end model features a normal winding type of mechanism. As a standard feature for all cars, the air condition of the car is a manual type that has both cool and hot air dispersion and it comes with a standard pollen filter for all Suzuki Alto cars here in Malaysia. As for the wipers it is a standard features for the Suzuki Alto to have 2 speed wipers plus intermittent speed at the front and for rear it is only a single speed type of wiper system.


In terms of safety it is a welcome features from Suzuki Malaysia as it is standard features for all models to have a dual SRS Air bags for the front occupant with the front seat belt featuring a 3 point ELR seat belt with pretensioner and force limiter and for the rear seats it is a standard features to have 2 ISOFIX child seat anchorage which is a very noble offering by Suzuki Malaysia as even the bigger Proton Exora does not come with an optional features of this important ISOFIX child seat anchorage.

So for the final question that is lingering on your mind how much does this Alto cost here in Malaysia. I would say it will give the competitors a run for their money as this imported car has been price sensibly and reasonably here in Malaysia with all the features that I would say full packed. So here the price goes:


Suzuki Alto 1.0MT GA: RM 46,241.20 OTR


Suzuki Alto 1.0AT GLX: RM 51, 371, 20 OTR


Suzuki Alto 1.0AT GXS: RM 56,501.20 OTR


Currently in terms of financing, the interest rate for this car is 3.15% for 1 to 8 years of financing. So are you fancy for this car. Head down to your nearest Suzuki Showroom this Saturday to view the car. I will try to secure a test drive unit from Suzuki Malaysia Automobiles to review about this cute little car.