Suzuki will launch New Alto on December 22

Suzuki Motor has announced the start of sales of the new generation Alto kei car – the car will be available in the Japanese domestic market on December 22. Recall that the class of kei-cars, or in Japanese “kei-jidosha”, includes cars with a length and width of no more than 3.4 and 1.48 m, respectively, with an engine of no more than 660 cc. cm and maximum power no higher than 64 hp.

Exterior of Suzuki Alto

In the next, ninth incarnation, the Alto received a pronounced two-volume body profile. Relative to the model of the outgoing sample, the angle of inclination of the front struts has decreased, the area of ​​the side windows has increased, the shapes of the panels have become smooth and at the same time less expressive.

Like its predecessor, the new Alto is built on the modular Heartect platform, but it has been redesigned. The internal parts of the supporting frame are specially welded into a “ring” – this increased the rigidity of the body and, therefore, improved the car’s handling. In the area of ​​the joint between the roof and the sidewalls, a special mastic sealant with sound-absorbing properties is used. The turning radius of the machine is only 4.4 m.

The length and width of the new Alto are 3.4 and 1.48 m maximum for kei cars, respectively, the height is 1525 mm, which is 35 mm more than that of its predecessor. 

Interior of Suzuki Alto

The basic equipment of the car includes 6 airbags, a complex of preventive safety Suzuki Safety Support with an automatic emergency braking function (two cameras are capable of detecting obstacles in the daytime and at night, including pedestrians), a traffic sign recognition system and a head-up display in front of the driver’s eyes … There is also a “lane assist” function that helps prevent contact with other vehicles when driving on narrow roads. The media system in the cabin of the new Alto has a 7-inch display.

There are two motor versions: 1) petrol and 2) mild hybrid. The gasoline engine is equipped with a 660 cc R06A turbocharged engine with a capacity of 64 hp, which is aggregated with a continuously variable variator. The mild hybrid has a 49 hp R06D gasoline engine. combined with 1.9 kW (2.6 hp) electric output and CVT. Drive – front or full. The advantage of the hybrid is low CO2 emissions and high efficiency (3.6 l / 100 km).

Prices for a new Suzuki Alto

Range from 8,228.58 to 12,140.03 usd,

Range from 6,226.42 -9,187.72 pound,

Range from 7,294.24 -10,764.27 Euros, depending on the configuration.

The outgoing eighth generation Suzuki Alto has been produced since 2014.

Dinesh: Dinesh Kumar has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology's importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.