It was inevitable, wasn’t it! Maruti Suzuki had to upgrade its ageing workhorse before the new one comes along. To meet the recently instilled safety norms for new cars, India’s largest carmaker has added upgraded the Alto K10’s standard package. The safety kit now includes seatbelt reminder for front seats, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, a front airbag for the driver and a speed alert system. The company recently gave similar upgrades to the Celerio siblings, Ignis and the Eeco.

Obviously, the inclusion of more stuff as standard has bumped up the price list. The ex-showroom prices in Delhi have been increased by up Rs 23,000. As before, the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 is available with a single petrol engine, which can also be had with a factory-fitted CNG kit. It is a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder mill which, if you run on petrol, will produce 68PS/90Nm. Feeding it with CNG will reduce the output to 59PS/83Nm. The engine can be mated to either a 5-speed manual transmission or an AMT, the latter is not available with CNG.

As for the mileage, the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 is one of the most frugal petrol-powered cars currently on sale in India. The claimed fuel-efficiency figures for petrol-MT, petrol-AMT and CNG-MT are 24.07kmpl, 24.07kmpl and 32.26km/kg, respectively. Since the Alto K10 has always been a pocket-friendly offering from the house of Maruti Suzuki, the list of features it offers has been satisfactory at best. For example, features like keyless entry, body-coloured door mirrors and external door handles are reserved for the Vxi (O) MT variant only.

Maruti Suzuki is prepping an all-new Alto for India. Not only will it be bigger on space and features but also kinder to the environment and safer for passengers. Expect Maruti Suzuki to introduce it by the end of the year with a BS VI-compliant engine. Once launched, it will renew its rivalry with the likes of the Renault Kwid and the Datsun Redi-Go, both of which are also due to receive a BS VI-compliant engine.