Suzuki's new model onslaught

28/07/2008 - 17:07 | Suzuki, AStar, Splash, New cars, Maruti Suzuki, maruti suzuki ritz | Dave

Known for making cheeky small cars, Suzuki is on a roll. Its Swift was a trendsetter and won many accolades all round the world.This brilliant car was followed up with the all new SX4 crossover/SX4 sedan (depending on the market) which has also been received well (call it an instant hit in India). Next in line was the exciting Splash which just made a splash in the international market and is on the radar of Suzuki for India.Also in the pipeline is the all new A Star which was unveiled at the Auto Expo '08-'09 held at Delhi.The A Star is the first model to be made exclusively in India for the entire world.Lets discuss about what to expect from the A Star which is slated for the global launch sometime in the last quarter of this year and the Splash is to make its Indian debut in the first quarter of next year.

The Alto was a very successful car for Maruti Suzuki in India.So its a daunting task to replace such a model,not that it was a good car but it was priced very low INR 2.3 lacs (Ex-Showroom) or USD 5200 and still has tremendous demand.So the official replacement comes in the form of the all new A Star.So what does it have in store for us?Read on to find out.The spy pictures show a conservative yet contemporary design keeping in line with recent trends like high bonnet mandatory for new pedestrian safety norms and the large radiator grill harks of the ones on Audi's and VW's.It is built on a completely new platform and slots in a segement below the swift and a direct rival to the Hyundai's i10.The i10 has got off to a dream start around the world and lets see how the A Star stacks up against the likes of rivals like i10,Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107, Citroen C1, Volkswagen Fox and Kia Picanto.

Interestingly,in normal cars,the model is based on the show car/concept car as most call it,but in the case of the A Star,the design was frozen much before the show car was made.The show car was a mere design exercise for the engineers at Maruti Suzuki India.The reason for the toned down styling was beacuse Suzuki wanted the car to appeal to everybody.Also interesting are the flame shaped lights.Looking at the side profile and moving towards the back,it seems that the engineers got tired and it passes off just as any other hatch from these angles.The quality is expeced to be a big step up for Suzuki.The A Star is touted to come with an all new 1.0l 3 cyl gasoline engine with approximately 60bhp on tap.Given the light weight of the car,it should be nimble enough and the engine is expected to set new standards for efficiency.It will also come with a 1.2l 4cyl with approximately 86bhp.This should make it a mini hot hatch.Prices expected to start from INR 3lacs or USD 6800.

More reviews when it is launched.Till then,stay with www.indianautosblog.com.
More on the Splash coming up in the next article.

Suzuki's upcoming new models