Suzuki Alto Hatchback 1997-2001

The Suzuki Alto is one of the cheapest and most popular super-mini cars in the world. There have been many derivatives of the Alto with other car manufacturers licensing the production of the vehicle under various names and bodies. Luckily, none of them are available in the UK. If you’re looking at the Alto, it will probably be due to the excellent fuel economy. The car wasn’t designed to be spectacular, its purpose is save you money by being reliable and efficient.

Pros and Cons:

• One of the most reliable super-mini cars
  Cheap to buy and cheap to maintain
  Excellent fuel economy in the manual gearbox version

• Noisy engine with a tendency to overheat
  The rear seats are crammed
  The interior is dull and lacking comfort
  Only one trim level

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Exterior and Interior

In 1997 the Suzuki Alto was very simple and looked similar to the 2nd generation of the Alto that was first sold in 1984. With all that, you couldn’t say that the Alto looked horrible. It was certainly simple, but you wouldn’t have to feel ashamed of driving one. Things were improved in 2004 when the Alto finally stepped into the 21st century and acquired an interesting body shape – looking similar to the Suzuki Swift.

The interior is very basic. Although they’ve done the maximum they could (considering the budget that was allocated to build the car) to make the driver’s position as convenient as possible, the seats are rather hard and uninviting. There are no trim levels to choose from – the single available trim level is called GL and it includes an immobiliser, electric windows, power steering and a rear wiper for what it’s worth. The pre-2004 models are available in both 3 and 5-door bodies, after the face lift in 2004 only the 5-door Altos were produced.

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Engines

They’ve removed the difficulty of choosing an engine by offering just one petrol engine, a tiny 1.0-litre 53bhp unit.

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Performance and Economy

The manual and auto gearbox models are worlds apart when it comes to performance and economy. The auto gearbox is very slow to catch on, so it will take around 20 seconds to reach 60mph. Economy is not great because the gearbox makes a mess of the work. It only delivers around 39mpg which is well below the actual potential of the small engine. The mechanical gearbox, however, is a treat. It is convenient and precise. The gears are selected in a way that it will make the most of the power that the tiny engine has to offer. The fuel economy rating is over 50mpg so you’ll be laughing at the fuel pumps.

Performance-wise, the combination of Suzuki’s 1.0-litre engine and the 5-speed manual gearbox, delivers good dynamics, 15 seconds to 60mph and over 90mph top speed. Not bad statistics considering they come from such a small powerplant. The car feels confident on the highway, it’s one of the few super-minis that can be successfully used both in the city and on the larger roads.

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What it's like to Drive

Of course, it’s not very exciting. The cabin is dull, the seats are not that comfortable and sometimes the engine feels too weak. Steering is precise for the city driving, but regarding the brakes, you better beware – earlier models still got drum brakes at the rear and although it’s not a heavy car, your braking distance has to be re-adjusted if you switch from a car that had all 4 disc brakes.

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Faults and Repairs

The Suzuki Alto is a bulletproof city car that very rarely breaks down. It’s engine, being so small and weak, can overheat, so you’ll have to make sure the car is well maintained. If the coolant level is checked regularly and you don’t try to cut corners when choosing the engine oil, the little motor will work eagerly. Other systems that should be carefully looked after are steering, brakes and suspension.

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