samishka

GLX is the trim denomination for the 'Top-of-the-Line'/ Full-Option model, that can be seen from 1983 model C12 onwards.

Wonder whether I was using the wrong term (i.e. Traffic cutting). I think driving through narrow passages within the traffic is a similar situation to driving through narrow lanes. I hope you have seen Narahenpita junction. There is always an amber light flashing, allowing a left hand turn. The lane available for those who intend to turn left is most of the time limited to a narrow passage where only vehicles less than 1.5m width can pass through. This is where I gain the advantage. Weaving in and out of traffic is a strict no no for me. That is a very selfish habit seen in especially Bus and Three-wheeler drivers. Further, instead of sudden lane changes, I always use my side mirrors and signal in advance.

A truly unbiased write-up. I have underlined the points that I totally agree with. Since Alto and Wagon R are based on the same platform and also share a significant amount of components, most of the points are valid for Wagon R also. Regarding brakes, I could not believe that you had to stand on them. May be the driving conditions at that moment forced you to do so, or maybe some issue with that particular car. (True that most Marutis have minor quality issues, some of which crops up during the very first year. However they are rectified under warranty.)

See,this is what I call Traffic Cutting. Sadly MasterDon misunderstood me.

It's the Anti-Maruti cult that ruins this thread. It's true that thusi did not clearly mantion the drawbacks of his car. However even before another Maruti Alto owner comes up with his own experience, the Anti-Maruti guys come into conclusion that this is cheap marketing and starts to have fun in a rude manner.(Jeremy Clarkson influence?) Instead of letting Maruti owners sharing their experiences, these foul-mouths poked into this thread and started jabbering nonsense. It's these guys who deprive legitimate maruti owners getting anything helpful. In a forum where impartiality is vital, how many of them actually showed it? It's easy for around half a dozen people to argue with solitary me. There seems to be a snow-balling effect which makes it hard for me to respond to them. One speaks about civilized debate, after so many guys posted uncivilized comments, but he was silent about them. Another point was the definition of Car Enthusiast. If we assume Supra_Natural's definition as correct then it is too narrow a definition for calling members of autoLanka. I don't understand how Sri Lanka's pioneer Automobile e-magazine, became primarily for those so-called Car Enthusiasts. Though the word Automobile refers to a car, it is also used in a wider context to call any "self propelled road machine". Finally it is evident that those hellraisers sabotaged what would have been a valuable thread for Maruti owners and Potential Maruti buyers. Those Maruti-bashers may come up with further hair-splitting, but I will keep away from this forum since it increases my blood-pressure. I hope to write up my experince with Maruti WagonR. Hope these Anti-Maruti cult will keep-off, at least then.

How did you come to such a conclusion about my driving? What I do is weave through gaps in the traffic, in a polite manner however. As a person who values road-etiquette I never rob the other driver of his road space. By the way it's your drag-racer friends who seriously break those ethics you are preaching.

You need not worry! I'm doing it in an ethical way. And that is when I come to appreciate my Maruti-Suzukis Narrow (1.5 m) width. By the way I used to be a regular Bus-Passenger before I bought my car. (My father did not allow me to drive his Lancer , at my will.)

Surprised to see a pic of a bus within autoLanka. I remember seeing this bus plying on Galle Road (102 Dehiwala- Kotahena Route) long long time ago. It is a Mercedes-Benz 1113 (Kaha-Kurulla) with an SLTB body dating back to 1990. This one belongs to the batch of buses that were auctioned off by SLTB in 1996. Looks like the current owner has done a serious renovation with some modifications. Since this new-look bus still bears a 60- registration number, the owner seems to have used "that commonly used phrase" with regard to the 60- number. Incidentally the owner or the driver maybe 60 yrs of age.

Poor brakes = The biggest bane of Maruti 800. If those Anti-Maruti guys cried over this fault then I would never try to be defensive.

One need not own a car with the aforesaid qualities, to be a car enthusiast. Every car owner has his own sentiments with his own car, and that differs between each person. For me Kei cars have their own character. Though I can not corner hard with my car, I enjoy cutting through the traffic with it. (I rarely drive out of the city) While almost all of the negative points mentioned by you guys about Maruti 800 are true, those negative points mentioned about the Maruti-Suzuki range as a whole, are mere assumptions and myths.

I have the same thoughts regarding some of those Three-wheeler drivers. Now I understand that just like those who drive cars 'that are superior than Marutis' tend to scoff at Marutis, I have the same tendency towards Bajaj Three-wheelers. Feel like I too have the habit of "Self-Exaltation" to some extent.

What I can see is some self-exaltation along with misinterpretation of the term "Car-Enthusiast".

CEAT is an Indian Brand. Since they have a JV with Kelani Tyres and A*W, CEAT tyres are made in Sri Lanka at Kelani Tyres and AMWs respective plants. Wonder whether they are made using "Kelani" technology.

In this age of computerized sticker cutting, the ignorant sticker-people seem to have given the machine the wrong input. Why did they fail to check the spellings?

Ultimately it's a Japanese engineered SUZUKI without that trademark Japanese precision.

Those who call Marutis as "Papadams" and "Chapathis", better come up with a Japanese name. Marutis were designed by the Japanese (pioneers of 'tinny cars') and not by the Indians.

I could not complete the above post, because of thundering and lightning. Here is the remaining. The Maruti Alto (not Maruti 800) is a sensible buy for those looking for a small car and is ready to make a compromise on 1. Interior space 2. Interior Quality and 3. Comfort / Ride quality. If those three aspects are of paramount importantance then avoid anything Maruti and look elsewhere. (A well maintained Lancer C12 will offer those aspects much better even than a 3-box Maruti Esteem.) As harshansenadhir said earlier, These days there is a marketing gimmick by way of Maruti 800 Facelift. In reality it is just a stock Maruti 800 (still with the 2005 facelift intact) with Painted bumpers, Alloy wheels and a rear spoiler. They did the same thing for the Alto (Special Edition and Sports) where they offer some nice goodies while overlooking more important features like an RPM meter, Accessory socket and rear defogger/wiper. Maybe they are desparately trying to boost their dwindling sales and clear off the excess stocks, but prospective buyers should do their homework. Otherwise they will be mislead by the sales personnel.

Even our Lancer C12 used to have such a tinny build. (kerb weight 855kg)

Thank you SpEeD FrEak and JadeyBlitzen. I feel like have been more of an Alto Fan. Honestly speaking I also used to hate anything Maruti only until I saw the 2002 Suzuki Calendar. That 6-page calendar featured Suzuki models made in six different locations. (each page featuring one country) I remember the 1st page had the (Euro-spec) WagonR and Ignis with the Hungarian Parliament in the Background and another page had the Alto with the Taj Mahal in the Background. I was surprised to see such a contemporary car produced by Maruti. From that day I have a fondness with Maruti Alto. At that time A*W had a totally out-dated Maruti- Suzuki line-up, while only Browns & Co. used to sell the (similar looking) 5th Gen. Japanese Suzuki Alto.

Were there any fatalities?

Because of your wrong assumptions regarding certain facts. Most of you guys seem to think that, * Having serious safety issues in Maruti 800 and Maruti Omni means all the other vehicles in the Maruti-Suzuki range has a similar level of safety. (Using the word "Maruti" interchangeably to call a "Maruti 800" and "any vehicle from the Maruti-Suzuki range" leads to confusion). *Maruti-Suzuki engines are not reliable. *Maruti-Suzukis has such a poor build that they will fall apart within few years like in a Bajaj three-wheeler or an ACGL-bodied Tata bus. *The whole Maruti-Suzuki range consists of discontinued Suzuki models (like it used to be 10 yrs ago). *All those who bought Maruti-Suzuki's were also expecting space, comfort and driving pleasure from their cars. *Sri Lankan Govt.'s ridiculous increase of Import Duty for vehicles (in 2004) had nothing to do with the surge in A*W's Maruti-Suzuki sales. *Maruti-Suzuki Ltd. is still a Govt. of India enterprise, and the Govt. influences the company's operations in such a way that adversely affects the quality of the cars. Further in a country where majority of the motorists *don't take even the basic safety precautions (wearing Seatbelts, Helmets) and brave (or foolish?) enough to take risks, *always obsessed with a vehicle's fuel efficiency, *where crudely built Three-wheelers are sold as "The ideal family vehicle", *where buses are never equipped with padded seat-backs and poles, the Japanese people at Maruti-Suzuki seem to know the mindset of average car buyer in SL and India.

I don't think there is much difference between the Alto (5th Gen.) and the abovementioned AE 100 (Non-ABS) and 18-Mazda 323 since all of them belong to the same era (i.e. the 90s).When talking about lack of safety we have to emphasise which generation Alto we are talking about. Maruti sells two generations of Altos concurrently. Maruti 800 = 2nd Gen. Suzuki Alto = This is the model everybody should avoid buying. Though it might hurt their owners' sentiments, Even as a Maruti-Suzuki Fan, I always discourage buying this model. I wonder why they still struggle to sell this 25 year old design, even when its sales are dwindling. Maruti Alto = 5th Gen. Suzuki Alto = This model is far ahead of Maruti 800 in many aspects (including safety) since it is an 11 year old design. From 2000 to 2008 this was the export model Suzuki Alto (in South Asia it is sold as Maruti Alto) and even exported to UK in VXi trim with the 1061cc engine, ABS & AirBags. Not much successful due to typical "Maruti build-quality". Refer http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/used/su...-review/25152-5 [since last year they export Maruti A-Star as the Suzuki Alto (Export market - 6th Gen.), but in South Asia they still continue with the 5th Gen. Suzuki Alto.] Without any delay, Suzuki should scrap the former and make the latter the entry level Maruti.

May be so. If the picture was taken while the spare wheel was on that mount, then this could have been one of the best entries / posts in this forum. However the owner's effort at trying out his creative talent, is commendable. While this Corolla DX modification deserves a place in this forum for its weirdness, It is the modified VW 1303 Beetle (with a Nissan March dashboard etc.) in a previous post , that takes the cake. (India's team-bhp.com has a dedicated section for such photos called "Pics of weird and wacky mod jobs!")

First I thought this picture is from a faraway land (like that "LR and the potholes sign" photo), but later surprised to see it was taken in Nugegoda. Looks like a piece of art (An art-car?). Wonder whether the owner is a student/lecturer from an academy of arts.

Not Indians, but Japanese. ( Especially Osamu Suzuki who is said to be worried about Tata Nano's safety while his subsidiary company's Maruti 800 and Maruti Omni have serious safety issues.) By the way I can see how ill-informed these Maruti bashers about the Indian Automobile Industry.