Browse over 9,000 car reviews

Suzuki Alto GL auto 2009 review

Suzuki Suzuki Reviews Suzuki Alto Suzuki Alto Reviews Suzuki Alto 2009 Hatchback Best Hatchback Cars Suzuki Hatchback Range First Car Budget cars Small Cars Car Reviews
...
Neil Dowling
Contributing Journalist
25 Sep 2009
4 min read

People who say they wouldn't be seen dead in a light car, please come back and see me in 10 years. Or five years. Because, we hope, you won't be dead but commuting in a weeny car along with a traffic flow of other weeny cars on your way to work while smugly snubbing anyone with an SUV.

You will change because the bright light of logic — driven by the need to preserve some of your soaring transport costs — will have illuminated above your head. This car, this Indian-made Suzuki Alto, is one of the cars that will change your mind into moving from small cars to the light-car class.

Body and equipment

It's clearly small and exaggerated by the chopped tail that puts the wheels at each corner — almost literally if you check out the back wheels — and the short, slanted bonnet. To be honest, it doesn't look safe. But it is! Surprisingly, the base model Alto GL has a four-star safety rating thanks to six airbags and ABS brakes with brake assist. That's as good as some much bigger cars — Mazda3, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry and so on — which is a bit comforting even if the view from the driver's seat is less succinct in relaying that message.

Spend an extra $2000 and the GLX model gets the all-important electronic stability control plus a few extra goodies.

Drivetrain, economy and price

But the big news here is the economy. Suzuki claims 4.8 litres/100km from the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine when attached to the five-speed manual gearbox and, for the four-speed auto as tested, 5.5 l/100km.

Diesel cars and hybrids do better than that but can't come close to the Alto GL's $12,490 price-tag (plus on-road costs) which is less than a third of the price of a Prius. The automatic transmission is an extra $2000 and the more upmarket Alto GLX starts at $14,490.

It appears the economy is not only in the fuel. However, Suzuki stipulates only premium unleaded for the Alto which bumps up the petrol bill by about 9c a litre. So if you travel 15,000km a year the premium adds only $1.20 a week to the Alto manual's fuel bill. Big deal.

Driving

The cheap-as-chips car seats two adults and will take two children in the back seat. Rear seat legroom is a premium, though headroom isn't bad. Recognise that filling the car with people or luggage will severely dampen any dreams you have of this car having a career on the race track. In fact, just clearing the traffic lights is a blessing.

No, it's not even remotely fast and as an automatic will be defeated by Chinese scooters and triathlons in training. But that's ignoring that it is a good drive. At idle the engine emits an odd beat that's in tune with its odd-numbered pistons, and yet sparks up quickly to become a nimble if somewhat buzzy power unit.

Even the auto is remarkably adept at keeping up with the charade going on beneath the bonnet. Around the city and suburbs it's a comfortable car despite the thin seats. The suspension does a pretty good job of warding off poor bitumen and it's only the chunkier country asphalt, or a sudden winter-born pothole, that will make the Alto feel uncomfortable.

It cruises easily and quietly at 100km/h and will take to country roads with only the driver's fear of larger vehicles being the deciding factor. Interestingly, the Alto has a full size spare wheel but has virtually no boot space. Not even a space-saver spare will help here.

There are some welcome things about the GL, such as good front seat room and its brilliant turning circle, and some not-so-good things including the manual mirror adjustment (actually even the GLX has this) and the crappy sound of the audio system. But it's the future. Maybe not my future, more likely yours.

Verdict: 78/100

Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.

Read the full 2009 Suzuki Alto review

Suzuki Alto 2009: GL

Engine Type Inline 3, 1.0L
Fuel Type Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency 5.5L/100km (combined)
Seating 4
Price From $2,860 - $4,510
Safety Rating
Neil Dowling
Contributing Journalist
GoAutoMedia Cars have been the corner stone to Neil’s passion, beginning at pre-school age, through school but then pushed sideways while he studied accounting. It was rekindled when he started contributing to magazines including Bushdriver and then when he started a motoring section in Perth’s The Western Mail. He was then appointed as a finance writer for the evening Daily News, supplemented by writing its motoring column. He moved to The Sunday Times as finance editor and after a nine-year term, finally drove back into motoring when in 1998 he was asked to rebrand and restyle the newspaper’s motoring section, expanding it over 12 years from a two-page section to a 36-page lift-out. In 2010 he was selected to join News Ltd’s national motoring group Carsguide and covered national and international events, launches, news conferences and Car of the Year awards until November 2014 when he moved into freelancing, working for GoAuto, The West Australian, Western 4WDriver magazine, Bauer Media and as an online content writer for one of Australia’s biggest car groups. He has involved himself in all aspects including motorsport where he has competed in everything from motocross to motorkhanas and rallies including Targa West and the ARC Forest Rally. He loves all facets of the car industry, from design, manufacture, testing, marketing and even business structures and believes cars are one of the few high-volume consumables to combine a very high degree of engineering enlivened with an even higher degree of emotion from its consumers.
About Author
Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in the editorial content (Review Prices) is to be used as a guide only and is based on information provided to Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions Pty Ltd (Carsguide) both by third party sources and the car manufacturer at the time of publication. The Review Prices were correct at the time of publication. Carsguide does not warrant or represent that the information is accurate, reliable, complete, current or suitable for any particular purpose. You should not use or rely upon this information without conducting an independent assessment and valuation of the vehicle.
CarsGuide Logo

Rival reviews

Holden Barina 2011 review
Mitsubishi Colt 2007 Review

Comments