2018 Maruti Alto to be feature loaded

The Maruti Alto is the highest selling car in India and it was having pretty much a free run in its segment before rivals like the Renault Kwid started trickling in. While the Hyundai Eon has been available since quite a few years, it hasn’t created much of an impact to the Alto’s sales as much as the Kwid has done.

Maruti is now working on a new generation Alto which will be launched in India in 2018. It will be based on Maruti’s next generation platform which will ensure that the car is light without compromising on structural rigidity. On the design front, it will be derived from the automaker’s Transformotion styling language which we have seen on the Baleno and Ignis.

The new Maruti Alto is also going to be feature loaded. Equipment like touchscreen infotainment system are likely to be added, while the current generation Alto gets a basic single-din head unit. The Renault Kwid already comes with a touchscreen audio system and a digital speedometer. Maruti will ensure that the new Alto is loaded with good features because eventually that’ll help the company fetch sales.

In terms of safety features, the new vehicle safety norms will come into place in 2018 and the new Maruti Alto will come with dual front airbags and ABS, making it one of the cheapest cars to get these features as standard. Currently, the Alto gets an optional driver side airbag and no ABS.

Talking about engines, the new Alto will get a petrol engine but what is interesting is that it’ll also get the 800cc, two-cylinder, diesel engine that was offered on the Celerio.

This engine is peppy enough for a small car and has excellent fuel efficiency. Once the BS-VI norms come in 2020, the cost between petrol and diesel trims will increase significantly but till then Maruti wants to make use of this window and start offering an oil-burner on the 2018 Alto.