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Handling ranges from neutral to understeery. Use the car’s power and gearing to allow for more steering correction and the handling can be termed fair, but shed less speed into a corner and it goes into a constant understeer. Despite sitting on 13-inch wheels and tyres, the amount of grip available hasn’t changed much, so don’t expect it to handle as well as say the A-Star which still is a benchmark in the sub-Rs 4 lakh hatch category as far as handling goes. The steering continues to feel slightly numb and doesn’t provide as much feedback. High speed stability is okay, as long as you don’t cross 120 kph, but here too the A-Star has the better of it.
At Rs 3.03-3.16 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi, the Alto K10 with its features list, new engine and newfound enthusiasm makes for a very compelling package, one that seems to interest even other manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Fiat, Nissan and even Volkswagen. By launching the Alto K10, Maruti Suzuki has pre-empted any such move and it means that the competition will probably have to make some changes on the drawing board before they launch their respective offerings. Maybe by then Maruti Suzuki would have discovered a new segment to enter with the K-series motor and the others will have to play catch up all over again!
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