Review
Suzuki Alto micro car
Price: £7,595 - £9,995
/5
- Pros:
- Extremely cheap to run
- Cute styling
- Great town car
- Cons:
- Boot is very small
- Budget cabin disappoints
- Not much standard equipment
pictured: Suzuki Alto micro car 2009 5 door
reviewed by Carbuyer
“The Suzuki Alto is one of the cheapest cars in the UK to buy and run, but its basic design lacks appeal, and it's bare cabin feels built down to a price.”
At a glance
- The greenest
- 1.0 SZ4 5dr
£9,345 - The cheapest
- 1.0 Play 5dr
£7,595 - The fastest
- 1.0 SZ4 5dr
£9,345 - Top of the range
- 1.0 SZ4 Automatic 5dr
£9,995
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With its desirable Swift supermini, Suzuki proved it could make a small car with a big character. But while the Alto looks cute, inside it feels bland. Suzuki charges more for this car than the identical Nissan Pixo (developed alongside it) and in doing so raised expectations of quality and driver appeal. It gets the basics right: on uneven roads, the ride is mostly comfortable, it's quite spacious up front, and it's extremely cheap to run. However, the boot is miniscule, the driving position doesn’t have much adjustment, and the most expensive of the three trim levels is priced against accomplished rivals like the VW Fox and Ford Ka – both of which easily outclass it.
Drive
All round visibility is good and the turning circle small
The 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine is one of the few elements of the Alto that provides genuine character, with its distinctive growl. The 67bhp engine is built for economy, not speed. On winding roads, you’ll be changing gear a lot, and will need to rev the engine hard to extract its power, especially up hills. The driving position is fine - the car has plenty of headroom and the pedals are well spaced - though SZ2 versions don’t get seat height or wheel reach adjustment. All-round visibility is good and the turning circle small, making parking easy, but steering accuracy could be better - there's quite a lot of body roll around corners, and turning the wheel takes more effort than it should at low speeds.
Comfort
Soft suspension is good at soaking up bumps
On bumpy roads, the Alto is comfortable because the suspension is set up quite softly, so low-speed bumps don’t rattle the cabin. That also means it can feel bouncy on the motorway and during heavy braking. Rear passengers get a worse deal than front, because there really isn’t much legroom at all. The three-cylinder engine is quite noisy, though its distinctive sound means that's not too big a deal, and the Alto only begins to let wind noise become intrusive at higher speeds. For a budget car, it actually feels quite luxurious.
Reliability
All cars get anti-lock brakes, plus front and side airbags
The Alto's three-star Euro NCAP rating isn’t great these days, and basic models lack stability control and curtain airbags. All cars get anti-lock brakes, front and side airbags, and Isofix for child seats. Quality doesn’t appear, on the surface at least, too good, with hard plastics everywhere. However, it does all seem well put together and rattle-free. Reliability should prove sound.
Practicality
The cabin is desperately short on storage space
The boot is very small, it's also blighted by fundamental oversights - the parcel shelf doesn’t rise when the door is opened, and the loading lip is high. The cabin is also desperately short on storage space. There's a shelf in place of the glove box, and the door pockets are so thin they’ll struggle to hold a purse.
Value for money
Prices are low, but the car is poorly equipped
On paper, the basic Suzuki Alto SZ2 looks cheap, but it's cabin is sorely lacking in equipment. It's also more expensive than the equivalent Nissan Pixo. Flagship SZ3 cars get air-conditioning, but no alloy wheels, and its wing mirrors are black plastic. SZ4 cars get a split-folding rear bench and alloy wheels, but are comparatively expensive – you can buy the superior Ford Ka for similar money.
Running costs
Getting behind the wheel is only marginally more expensive than getting a bus pass!
The Alto's low running costs are its star attraction. Getting behind the wheel is only marginally more expensive than getting a bus pass. SZ2 and SZ3 models are in group 1 for insurance - the cheapest - and its 64.2mpg and 103g/km mean fuelling and taxing it is cheap.
