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Image credits: © Suzuki.
2010 Suzuki Alto news, pictures, and information | ||
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Suzuki Alto Celebrates 30 Years of Low Cost Motoring
The Alto celebrates three decades at the head of the pack wîth 10 million sales.The introduction of the new Alto city car this year marks 30 years since Suzuki Motor Corporation first launched the name in 1979. It has already become an icon in its class around the world and sales have now smashed the 10 million mark. A car spearheaded by current Chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki, the model was designed for the Kei Class in Japan to provide motorists wîth low cost and enjoyable motoring, an ethos which has remained a core feature of the car's DNA over three decades. This is a double milestone for Suzuki as it is also celebrating 30 years of sales and operations in Europe.
Following the introduction of the first 500cc Alto in Japan, the car proved to be a huge success, surpassing the initial sales target of 5,000 units per month by over 300 per cent in just four weeks of the model hitting dealer showrooms. The success of the Alto sparked a massive growth of the compact car §egmènt as other manufacturers set out to take advantage of the phenomenon, but the Suzuki remained the top selling mini-vehicle for 14 years.
The Alto was first exported to Europe in 1981, and has recorded sales of 250,000 units during its 30 year presence. Mirroring the success which the car achieved in Japan, the Alto became the most popular A-§egmènt purchase in a number of European countries.
The new seventh generation Alto, now available in Europe, is one of the greenest petrol family cars on sale today. With emissions of only 103 g/km for manual variants and combined fuel economy of 64.2 mpg, the car continues to provide consumers wîth a product offering which combines fun, style and exceptional value for money.Source - Suzuki
• Elegant and sporty design – perfectly matched to European tastes• Combining style wîth environmental compatibility
• Great comfort within compact dimensions
Design Development
The product concept for the new Alto gave top priority to fuel economy, lightness and compactness – so the design team faced the challenge of realizing this concept while also realizing appealing, user-friendly packaging and styling.Design work for the new Alto began in 2005 and was conducted by a team based at Suzuki's headquarters in Japan but involved extensive studies in Europe. Suzuki learned that there were great differences in styling preferences between the Japanese minivehicle market and the European compact-car market. To identify European styling tastes more clearly, Suzuki designers stayed in Paris and Milan, observing the latest design techniques and making numerous sketches wîth a view to realizing a Suzuki compact car that would look appealingly fresh and distinctive on European city streets. This work created the basis for all subsequent aspects of design development for the new Alto.
Design
The new Alto has a sporty, solid look that exudes urban energy despite the body's compact dimensions. The design conveys a welcoming warmth but is also elegant and beautiful thanks to aerodynamically efficient contours that combine tautness wîth evocative curviness. It is ideally matched to European tastes. The shape of the body and the shapes of parts such as the outside door mirrors also reflect an uncompromising approach to aerodynamic efficiency, and they're complemented by airflow-optimizing airdams and wheel deflectors. A resulting drag coefficient of just 0.30 promotes fuel efficiency and helps to keep CO2 emissions low.
From the front: A big, boldly shaped grille and big, uniquely shaped headlamps give the new Alto a sporty front face, and the bonnet has a curved edge and curved contours that contribute to an overall look of roundness. Also, sporty fog lamps combine great looks wîth better visibility in foul weather.
From the side: The body has a wedge profile that gives a sense of sportiness without compromising interior roominess. A sharply raked windscreen promotes aerodynamic efficiency, and the roof gently slopes downward toward the rear, creating a smooth, streamlined look.
Specially developed 14-inch wheels positioned close to the corners further contribute to a sporty image. Aluminium-alloy wheels are available on high grade cars.
From the rear: Seen from the rear, the new Alto is distinguished by substantial-lòòking contours and a trapezoidal rear window that combine tautness wîth contours and a trapezoidal rear window that combine tautness wîth evocative curviness. A large rear bumper helps to create an impression of power and sturdiness, and uniquely styled rear combination lamps form eye-catching accents.
Dimensions: The new Alto has an overall length of 3,500mm, width of 1,600mm, height of 1,470mm, a wheelbase of 2,360mm, a front tread of 1,405mm, a rear tread of 1,400mm, and minimum ground clearance of 150mm.
Colours: Suzuki's focus on promoting eco-friendly lifestyles is reflected in four new, nature-inspired body colours: Fortune Rose Pearl Metallic (inspired by roses), Paradise Blue Pearl Metallic (inspired by the sea), Desert Brown Metallic (inspired by the land), and Healing Green Pearl Metallic (inspired by forests). Each of these new colours is easy on the eye and brings a touch of nature to urban streets. The body excludes black areas, so it looks attractively colourful from any angle.
Comfort and Practicality
• Ample space for four adults
• Large storage space and an user-friendly luggage area
• Stylish and functional instrument panel
Seats: The cabin layout apportions most of the space to the front seats but still provides ample space for four adults.
The front seats have integrated head restraints and basically the same frames as the front seats of the Swift and SX4. They combine ample support and refined comfort in a way that keeps fatigue to a minimum even on long journeys, and they each have a slide range of 240mm (in 10mm increments). The driver's seat is available wîth a seat height adjuster for smaller drivers. The rear seat is big enough for two adults. And since the new Alto has four doors, rear passengers can step in and out wîth ease.
All of the seats have black-based two-tone fabric upholstery wîth a silver-coloured foliage motif. The fabric on the seatback of each front seat incorporates a coloured accent that's pink or silver depending on the body colour.
The shoulder anchorages of the front and rear seatbelts are incorporated into the trim for a neat appearance.
Instrument Panel: The instrument panel is sporty, stylish, and functional. A slim design made possible partly by a specially designed audio unit creates a balanced look. Forms that give a sense of movement are combined wîth gentle curves and two-tone colouring (dark grey and light grey) for a stylish look, and a slim, floating-look section expresses sportiness.
The main instrumentation is a big, high-legibility, single-dial speedometer that incorporates a liquid-crystal display showing an odometer/tripmeter, a fuel consumption gauge, and a clock. Availability of tachometer wîth a sporty design that evokes Suzuki motorcycles depends on grade.
The air-conditioning controls and other dials and switches have shapes and positions that make them easy to use. Centre louvres at the top of the centre stack maximize the benefit of the air-conditioning system.
For listening pleasure, the centre stack also incorporates a CD audio unit that was designed specially for the new Alto. It can play MP3/WMA discs and can, wîth a Suzuki genuine accessory kit, be connected to an iPod*. Sound is delivered by six speakers (a 16cm full-range speaker in each door and two tweeters in the instrument panel).
To match the design and colours of the instrument panel, the front-door trim has two-tone colouring (dark grey and light grey) wîth silver accents. The combination offers a unique layout featuring the aeroplane-wing theme of the instrument panel.
* iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the Ú.S. and other countries.
Storage compartments: Handy storage spaces for small items are located all around the cabin. The front doors each have a 300mm-deep pocket wîth a 240mm x 20mm opening (large enough for A4-size road atlases). The instrument panel incorporates two cup holders (each large enough for a 500ml bottle or a slim can); a pocket that's ideal for handbags, hats, maps, and similarly sized items; a lower box that can hold five compact discs; and an illuminated tray that's ideal for an MP3-Player, a compact camera, or cards. And each rear door has a pocket that incorporates a holder large enough for a 500ml beverage bottle.
Luggage Area: Notwithstanding the new Alto's compact exterior dimensions, there's a usable amount of luggage space (129* litres - VDA) behind the rear seats. Folding down the rear seatback expands the space into a roomy luggage area wîth an almost-flat floor and a capacity of 367* litres - VDA. The rear seatback can be folded down in a single easy action, and even wîth the front seats in their rearmost positions there's no need to remove the rear head restraints. A 50-50-split rear seatback is available for even greater luggage-carrying flexibility. Plus, a luggage area cover helps to prevent theft by concealing the luggage area's contents.
* VDA method Specification may vary for individual markets.
Performance
• Economical three cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine
• Five-speed manual transmission or optional four-speed automatic transmission
• High-rigidity front suspension of MacPherson strut type
Engine and Transmissions: The new Alto is powered by a three cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine successfully launched as an engine of the Splash. This unit is light and compact wîth low friction characteristics. Maximum power output is 50kW wîth maximum torque of 90Nm. Fuel consumption is low at 4.4 l/100km (combined) and CO2 emissions are just 103g/km. The engine reflects Suzuki's vast experience and knowledge of three-cylinder-engine production, and it enables the new Alto to comply wîth the Euro 5 emission standard. Standard transmission is a five-speed manual and a four-speed automatic transmission (uncommon among one-litre cars) wîth gate-type shifter is available as an option.
Suspension: The front suspension is of MacPherson strut type and the large, high-rigidity suspension frame is complemented by further strengthening in the strut mounting areas for superior handling. Also, the stabilizer is directly attached to the struts for maximal effectiveness, further contributing to a superior combination of handling and ride comfort.
High rigidity throughout the front suspension also suppresses vibration and noise in the cabin.
The rear suspension has Suzuki's proprietary 3-link rigid axle design, and incorporates numerous refinements for the new car. Ample rigidity in the lateral rod's mounting points is complemented by an increased lateral-rod length for high suspension rigidity. The trailing arms' mounting points are reinforced for superior high-speed stability and responsiveness. An optimal toe angle further promotes high-speed stability.
The coil springs and dampers were tuned for optimum handling stability through extensive testing on roads in Europe. Suzuki targeted handling that makes driving enjoyable on urban roads, so drivers enjoy linear response, gentle roll movements, light §teering feel, and good absorption of shock and vibration. These benefits reflect the experience Suzuki has gained in motorsport around the world.
Brakes: Large-diameter front disc brakes and rear drum brakes ensure dependable braking performance in diverse situations. A short pedal stroke helps to realize a sporty brake feeling, and a fluid-pressure-speed-sensitive brake-assist function (ESP®* equipped model) or a pedal-speed-sensitive brake-assist function (ESP®* non-equipped model) helps to maximize the brakes' effectiveness in an emergency. Also, a four-wheel anti-lock braking system (ABS) wîth electronic braking-force distribution (EBD) is standard.
* ESP is a registered trademark of Daimler AG.
Tyres: Newly developed 14-inch tyres combine the low-energy-loss characteristics of hard compound rubber wîth the high-grip characteristics of soft rubber, so they offer significant fuel savings together wîth superior handling and braking performance. A relatively high tyre pressure enables the new Alto's CO2 emissions to be 1.7% lower than they would be wîth a typical tyre pressure.
Manoeuvrability: The new Alto has a minimum turning radius of just 4.5m making it easy to manoeuvre a park in tight spaces.
Safety Features
• ESP available to help the driver avoid hazards
• Energy-dispersing frame and a high-rigidity body
• Úp to six SRS-airbags for maximum safety
To help the driver avoid hazards on the road, the new Alto is available wîth Electronic Stability Program (ESP®*), which modulates the engine performance and applies the brakes during cornering and under acceleration.
In the unfortunate event of an accident, the new Alto's body reflects Suzuki's Total Effective Control Technology (TECT) concept in the form of crushable structures that absorb impact energy, frame members that disperse impact energy away from occupants and a strong cabin structure.
The front seatbelts each have a pretensioner and a force limiter for optimal effectiveness. The pretensioners almost instantaneously tighten the belts at the beginning of a frontal collision to maximize occupant restraint, and the force limiters then loosen the belts in a controlled manner to minimize the impact on the chests of occupants.
SRS front, side, and curtain airbags are available to reduce the severity of impacts suffered by occupants in the event of a collision. Energy-absorbing trim materials provide further head protection.
For child safety, the rear seat incorporates mountings for two top-tether-equipped ISOFIX child seats.
And in case the new Alto collides wîth a pedestrian, the body incorporates structures that mitigate the extent of pedestrian head and leg injuries.
* ESP is a registered trademark of Daimler AG.
Environmental Features
• Outstanding environmental performance
• Low fuel consumption und CO2 emissions
• Complying wîth Euro 5 emission standard
The three-cylinder-engine of the new Alto reflects Suzuki's vast experience and knowledge and it enables the Alto to comply wîth the Euro 5 emission standard. Fuel consumption is low at 4.4 l/100 km (combined) and CO2 emissions are just 103 g/km.
The lightness of the new Alto also contributes to its eco-friendliness – it translates into fuel savings and concomitantly low CO2 emissions.Source - Suzuki
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 2010
Suzuki
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