Suzuki Alto SZ4 Road Test Report
Performance 
I have to admit to being a bit apprehensive of driving the Suzuki Alto, not at first being won by over by its slightly garish pink apparel of the press car we test drove, but as it is available in other colours, I would have been a fool to dismiss it so lightly. In fact, once inside I felt I could forget the visual elements I disliked and found that the little Suzuki is a bit of a pink tiger underneath. The 1.0 litre engine has something of the diesel purr to it, and although this may just be a personal quirk, I quite liked it as it felt like I was awakening a small feline every time I turned the key. OK so 90Nm of torque is not going to be exciting by anyone’s standards but what do you expect for a car bigger than a thumbnail with a 1 litre engine? Plus with maximum power of just 68PS means, the Alto is hardly designed as an exciting ride but proves capable enough while the engine performs admirably for a little unit, so much so that the Alto hardly seems to care which gear it’s in.
Ride & Handling 
The nicest part about driving an Alto is how well it irons out the lumps and bumps in the road with absolutely no trouble. Handling is capable enough too, although steering a little on the light side and with some body roll to cope with, but there is quite a lot of fun to be had throwing it into the corners as ultimately it makes for a predictable and safe drive. Altogether a very comfortable and smooth ride, with the performance and drive you would expect from a city car and something of a hint of the sporty you would expect from Suzuki. Grrr the pink tiger roars again. Wind noise too, is kept to a minimum in the Alto which comes as a slight surprise for a low budget model.
Build Quality & Reliability
The cheap and grim light grey interior makes a poor first impression and although I know this is a budget city car, I haven’t yet got my head around why the Alto doesn’t have a glove box but a strange slot in its place, although it does hold an impressive six 500ml bottles of water or any other item you might care to throw at it like a large handbag. In many ways it is a more practical offering than a glove box, but nonetheless it seems like an odd choice. In terms of build quality, the Alto screams cheap on the inside but thankfully the exterior manages to hide its budget market origins better. The external design of the Alto leaves it looking like a Nissan Micra crudely collided with a Toyota Aygo with its ugly bug-eyed headlights and lumpy rear lights combined with its short front and brutally abrupt rear. However I did like the central console design which mimics the Swift’s and the trim on the seats was a nice touch too. On the plus side, Suzuki put some serious thought into the design of the Alto to maximise the fuel efficiency of the Alto. The design team worked closely with Suzuki engineers to streamline the car and reduce the car’s drag coefficient (Cd). Additionally, Suzuki introduced newly developed 14 inch, hard tyres which work with to a relatively high pressure to reduce rolling resistance and maximise miles to the gallon. The latest Alto was introduced in March this year, so the Alto’s reliability is difficult to speak of yet but the previous model Alto proved to be duly reliable and popular among the used car market.
Safety & Security
Overall Euro NCAP of three stars is not a good start for the Alto. However the Alto does offer four airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, ISOFIX seat preparation, door ajar warning lamp, childproof locks, front side impact protection beams and seatbelt pre-tensioners on the entry level SZ2 and the SZ3 specs with the addition of ESP and curtain airbags on the range-topping SZ4. Security wise the Alto has basic spec across the range, with visible VIN, remote central locking and immobiliser.
Space & Practicality
Boot? What boot? would be the most obvious criticism of the Alto but if you think logically, most people never put more than a couple of bags in the boot and if you need luggage space, well, think how often you fill all five seats with bods as with the back seats down, the Alto provides 367 litres of boot space. Admittedly it is still smaller than sister model, the Swift offering a maximum of 562 litres of boot space. The back seats aren’t very comfortable for adult passengers either as you find your knees pressed into the front seats, which is bound to bug those in the front too. Headroom is limited too, yes I admit that what I am saying is that the Alto is small with a capital S but I guess that it is still ideal for a young family. In terms of practically, the Alto is one of the greenest petrol cars on the market (103g/km CO2), only beaten by the Toyota iQ (99g/km CO2) which costs significantly more at around £9495 and is only available as a three door. So if you are looking for a small and practical petrol car which will go easy on the fuel and easy on your wallet, you would be hard pressed to beat the Alto.
Ownership & Value
Out-classed by the more expensive Hyundai i10 (starting at £7,095) but offering better performance than the cheaper Kia Picanto (starting at £6195), the Alto certainly provides food for thought for those looking for a reliable, low cost, five-door city car. It provides great spec too for a good entry level price of just £6795. One of the greenest petrol cars available, the Alto is very now and as such you can expect it to hold its value well as motorists look increasingly at fuel efficiency. Impressively it does 64.3mpg combined, much better than the Picanto at 53.3 mpg and the i10 at 56.5mpg. The SZ3 gains air conditioning is priced from £7,245. The SZ4 for £7960 offers the addition of alloy wheels, ESP, curtain airbags, front fog lamps and body coloured handles. Insurance group 1E for the SZ2 and SZ3 while SZ4 offered as a manual or automatic sits in group 2E, so insurance should be cheap.
Performance
The Suzuki Alto is a small vehicle designed specifically for driving around towns and cities. The 1.0 litre engine in the model we drove was actually a punchy and spirited unit which despite it’s size coped admirably on the motorway. Small petrol engines tend to get overlooked in new cars at the present time in favour of more fashionable diesel alternatives. The Alto however delivered good economy with a more flexible driving experience.
Ride & Handling
The handling is of the ‘point and go’ variety and the Alto really does encourage you to make the most out of the power available. The ride is fairly firm although in a vehicle of this size it would be difficult to make it anything else. A big plus point for the Alto is that , for a small car, the ride is not fidgety at motorway speeds.
Build Quality & Reliability
Reliability of the Alto should be top notch. It is a car built by a manufacturer with a reputation for just that. It Is also a relatively simple engine which should cause the owner relatively few problems throughout their ownership. Interior materials remind you that the Alto is a budget vehicle, plastics are quite hard and the dashboard certainly has the look of a car built with economy in mind.
Safety & Security
The Alto has one big disadvantage when it comes to it’s ability to withstand a sizeable crash and that is it’s size. For a vehicle in this mould it does well however and the sturdy chassis and spacious interior should help. Remote central locking is standard as is immobiliser, ABS with EBD and brake assist. Side airbags are also in place for the front passengers.
Space & Practicality
Again you have to put this into perspective, the Alto is a small car and therefore to expect it to be able to deliver copious amounts of space for the front and rear passenger along with a decent boot is just unrealistic. Suzuki have sacrificed the boot part of the equation, with the Alto being a five door vehicle rear passengers could travel in relative comfort.
Ownership & Value
Great value little car which should keep motoring for many years. With a list price of £7960 and a reputation for reliability which should keep residual values strong later in the cars life, the Alto is a good ownership proposition. Low C02 emissions of 103 g/km means cheap road tax, although with the automatic version those emissions move up to 122 g/km.
Performance
For people looking for a range of choice in their engines, the Alto disappoints with only a three-cylinder 1.0litre petrol unit available coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox (an automatic four-speed transmission is available on the SZ4 grade). With precious little power to call on the car does not make for a pleasant long distance cruiser; however all is not lost because where the Alto scores points is in the urban environment. Its ability to accelerate quickly is ideal for the stop start nature of most city centres with the engine perfectly happy to spend time in first and second gears. Perhaps in a ploy to reduce its official CO2 footprint (which comes in at an impressive 103g/km) the engineers at Suzuki have set the cars engine to idle at around the 600rpm mark which takes a little getting used to – it almost sounds like the engine is just about to sputter out. Special mention must go to its impressive fuel consumption figures of 64.2mpg (combined) which when taken with its CO2 emissions make the Alto one of the most frugal petrol cars available in Britain.
Ride & Handling
Make no mistake about it the Alto is purely geared up for those short journeys and quick dashes around town which is reflected in its crisp and responsive handling, with small dimensions and a tight turning circle those improbably small parking bays at the multi-storey will be a breeze (it’s only 80cm longer and 4cm wider than a tiny SMART ForTwo.) The ride can be a little unforgiving, as such a small and light car it does have a tendency to transfer the impact of every large pothole up through the seat.
Build Quality & Reliability
Hailing from Delhi, India the Alto has a certain basic charm with an unfussy approach to interior design the driver isn’t going to be perplexed with the number of buttons and knobs available to play around with. Fabric used on the SZ4 is of a good quality, and everything looks well put together and robust. Two tone plastics have been used on the dash which helps split things up nicely. For people wanting or expecting a glove compartment, you’ll be bitterly disappointed instead you’re left with a storage gap, and the integrated audio system does not come with the now almost ubiquitous aux/ipod socket – and when looking at its target market this could be a mistake. The simple nature of the car mean that should reliability be an issue (and there is no reason why it should with Suzuki’s excellent reputation) then parts and labour will be kept to a minimum.
Safety & Security 
Disappointingly for Suzuki the Alto suffered a large setback when its EURO NCAP results were published. The European crash simulation experts awarded the small car an overall 3 star result, compare that to the slightly larger Hyundai i20 which was awarded 5 stars, which is not what the Japanese carmaker would have wanted to hear; with particular mention was the lack of protection to a passengers knee and lower leg area. On the positive side, ESP comes as standard on the SZ4, and is an optional extra for the cheaper SZ2 and SZ3 specs. The SZ4 also comes with driver, front, side and curtain airbags as standard. Throw in an immobiliser and central locking and you have got a pretty secure little car.
Space & Practicality
The Alto is Suzuki’s baby model, measuring only 3500mm front to back and perhaps surprisingly there is plenty of room up front for both passenger and driver, even those topping out above the 6ft mark. The usual seat adjustments can also be found to get that perfect driving position. Such available space in the front of the cabin has to have a knock on effect in such a small car and the rear really suffers with the seats almost unusable when the front seats are in their back position. Things don’t improve with the boot, offering a small and cramped space with the back seats up (volume is a tight 129 litres.)
Ownership & Value
Suzuki hopes to sell 60,000 Alto’s in Europe, with a realistic 7,200 sales target for the UK which should be achievable even in the notoriously tough supermini segment. Competition is stiff and comes in the form of the Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo, Hyundai i10 and Ford Ka to name a few – where the Alto gazumps its rivals is in packing features as standard when other manufacturers offer them as optional extras. The Alto 1.0 SZ4 has an OTR price of £7,960 and comes with front fog lights, 14” alloy wheels, front & rear curtain airbags and ESP as standard, which is a good level of kit for the money. The Alto also benefits from the ‘Suzuki Shield’ which is a 3year/60,000 miles warranty.