Who needs a R2-million Audi R8 V10 when you can have a R105 000 Suzuki Alto? Hell, why not make it 20 Suzuki Altos?
If you chose to spend two million big ones on 20 new Suzuki super-minis instead of on just one four-ringed, Teutonic tower of power, there’s no denying you’ll get a monstrously good deal. As opposed to four-wheel drive, 5.2-litres of displacement and 10 cylinders you’ll get 40-wheel drive, 20 litres under the bonnet and an earth-clattering 60 cylinders.
Granted, you’ll need a big garage, but they’re small and easy to park. You and your wife can have one each; each of your three kids can have one, which leaves 15 for you to run a car rental company. Who says cars aren’t an appreciating investment?
Best of all, the Alto you keep for yourself sounds and feels exactly like an R8. Nope, I’m not kidding.
The Alto is not quite as quick to 100kph, but the 1 000cc, three-cylinder motor sounds exactly like a 10-cylinder engine.
Build up the revs, dump the clutch and a deep, bellowing roar from the all-aluminium engine shakes its way through the cabin right to the rev limit. It beggars belief how Suzuki can make 50kW and 87Nm sound like this.
Despite the sound, the Suzuki Alto still takes 16s to get to 100kph — that’s slow for a car lighter than a Lotus. On the plus side, it means your kids won’t be going very fast when they inevitably have an accident.
The Alto has the V10 bark, but without the bite.
Suzuki’s launch of its new super-mini took us in and around the urban setting of Bloemfontein and as a city runaround it’s really hard to fault. The engine is responsive, if a little weak, particularly away from the coast, but you’re always involved in the driving experience and good power-assisted steering helps you navigate the typical challenges of city driving with ease.
The ride comfort is surprisingly good at reasonable speeds, considering the Alto’s short wheelbase, but as this is an entry-level vehicle, which will be sold in great numbers, it’s understandable that it’s not all that sophisticated at speed with coiled struts at the front and a rigid axle at the rear. It can get a bit uncomfortable at times, but what sub-R130 000 vehicle doesn’t?
The Alto’s interior is spacious, providing loads of headroom for a tall bloke like myself, in true Japanese style. Interior fitment and quality is disappointing, however, and is easily outdone by the Renault Twingo’s interior, for instance. Perhaps I was expecting a little more after being surprised by the Suzuki Swift’s impressive interior, but the Alto’s is grey and on the sharp side, showing its cheapness — for example, by having a fog-light switch on the indicator stalk, when there are no fog lights. Ironically enough, you don’t even get a rev counter on the entry-level GL model.
Two specification levels in the Alto range are the GLS and the entry- level GL, which are separated by an MP3 radio, central locking, alloy wheels and a rev counter. Both models get driver and passenger airbags, but the GLS gets additional ABS and EBD. The R104 900 GL is the one to go for, in my opinion. Adding your own aftermarket radio and alloys will save you a few thousand rands over factory fitments and, actually, who needs a rev counter when you can listen to those 10 … er, three cylinders roaring away all day?
FAST FACTS
Model: Suzuki Alto
Engine: 1.0-litre
Price: GL: R 104 900
GLS: R119 900
Tech: 50kW and 87Nm
Service Plan: Five-year/90 000km
Warranty: Three-year/100 000km