Spy Shots: Production Suzuki A-Star spotted in India
Although it is undoubtedly toned down a bit, Suzuki has been able to create what appears to be a nearly production-ready version of the A-Star concept it showed at the last New Delhi Motor Show just six months ago. The Indian release of the new car indicates just how important the emerging markets are to automakers, though the A-Star is likely to be available in most every country besides North America. Looking over the shots, evidence of cost-cutting is rather obvious, especially in the hard plastic interior. Still, for its intended market, the low price and relatively good looks will likely be more than enough to make this a successful platform for Suzuki.[Source: Team BHP via Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kotse 5:56PM (6/23/2008)
The purported A-Star on the pics has only but a smidgen of looks from the concept...the dash, though "cheepish" looking with the "Armor All" look can be easily remedied by the manufacturer to use better textures for other markets...like the U.S.
Suzuki should bring these over here, pronto and "swiftly" (no pun)...except for the SX4 sedan (the 2.0 4sp auto reportedly can do the high 30s-low 40's mpg in the fueleconomy.gov site) there is a genuine dearth of fuel efficient models in the US lineup.
Reply
andy 6:02PM (6/23/2008)
nothing special, thats just a Opel Agila, with a new nose
http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=opel+agila&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
Reply
asifgrkhan 6:46PM (6/23/2008)
andy: the opel agila has always be a rebadged suzuki. the first generation was a rebadged suzuki wagon r while this second generation model is a rebadged suzuki splash
Jack Edward Sharpe Higginson 7:07PM (6/23/2008)
I shouldn't read to much into the interior quality. Indian built Maruti-Suzukis usually have different interiors to Suzukis and their badge-engineered mates Opels/Vauxhalls marketted elsewhere. The Swift sold in India has an interior made of notably cheap plastics, to cut costs and because that's what suppliers can readily make available.
M-S need all the new models they can get, as their overwhelmingly dominant market position is increasingly being threatened by domestic and international competition flooding in.
Reply
aSr 7:47PM (6/23/2008)
lol...the cars are parked in front of a "No Parking Zone"
Reply
PJ 8:25PM (6/23/2008)
For US enthusiasts, it's a revelation to peruse Suzuki's JDM and Euro/UK lineups. The Swift, in particular, is an awfully pert little car, especially with the 123hp 1.6.
It's a shame Suzuki has flushed its Stateside reputation down the crapper selling rebadged Daewoos.
Reply
Abhinav Goswami 1:03AM (6/24/2008)
India and US are different markets. The car A-star will mostly replacing Maruti Alto. This is the basic end of the market with only the future Tata Nano and Maruti 800 ( 1986 alto ) will be placed lower in the market.
In case of US, the present generation Verna/Accent is scoring low on safety ( 2/5 in ENCAP ). This speaks volumes about build quality of Hyundai.
Recently with Swift and SX4 ( the SX4 sport of US is sold here as SX4 ) Maruti Suzuki has upped the chassis and safety margin. The interiors are not always of ultra high quality, but it has got everything what matters in real life driving in India. The major positive point of Suzuki cars in India is the mechanical reliability.
warm regards,
Reply
Swede 8:57AM (6/24/2008)
Cheapest plastics ever
Reply
Swede 8:58AM (6/24/2008)
This commenting system is annoying. Whats wrong with cookies?
Reply