Since the last few weeks, we have been talking about the facelifted Alto (known as the A-star in India) caught on the streets of China. The facelifted Alto has finally made its official debut at the Chengdu Auto Show in China.
The new design now makes the cute looking front very edgy and mature. The round and bubbly headlamps are replaced by an elongated and much sharper ones. The headlamps are joined with a sleek looking front grill that gets a chrome bar with the “S” logo sitting proudly on top.
The bumpers have also gone under the knife and look much better with this design. The fog lamp enclosure too gets some curves and cuts and gives the car a beef upped look. The centre bumper grill is inline with the upper grill’s slope and together they both lend the trapezoidal appearance to the whole front grill area. The whole design is very much reminiscent of the fluidic i10.
The rear too gets to see some changes in the bumper area, which now comes in two tone. This reduces the visual bulk that the older design had and also makes the car look a bit sporty. The tail-lamps too have been revamped and add to the freshness of the looks.
The interior is said to be updated, although the changes are barely noticeable. We think the changes are limited to the upholstery and the shade of the plastics.
The price for this facelifted version in China starts from 39900 yuan (roughly Rs. 3.5 Lakhs) and goes upto 64300 yuan (roughly Rs. 5.6 lakhs).
It will be powered by a 1Litre, 3 cylinder gasoline engine that produces 71 hp and 92Nm of torque. All this power can be transmitted to the front wheels either through a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gear box.
Overall, the new facelifted Alto (A-star) looks much better than the older design which was a bit too smooth and curvy and had a feminine character to it. Though it is a good value for money product, the feminine design was the primary reason of rejection by many male buyers. The new look could encourage a second look from such buyers.
Maruti Suzuki should consider getting the facelift version here. In future, a small diesel motor could be plonked in to take on the upcoming new i10 head-on.
Do you like this new look of the A-star?
[source:AutoHome]
