Maruti A Star AT driving experience

Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car maker after launching the CNG variants of its five most popular models is going to launch the Maruti A Star in Automatic Transmission tomorrow on 15th August. We had a chance to get the first driving experience of the car on the roads of Agra-Delhi highway and in the city areas of the two cities as well. Mesmerized with the vehicle we wish to provide you with a detailed report on what the car offers when on road. The introduction of Maruti A Star AT in such an affordable range seems to be an intelligent and thoughtful move from the car maker as the traffic conditions are getting worse day by day and this would only provide a relief and extra driving comfort to the passengers.

The Maruti A Star VXI (ABS) variant is now equipped with a new 4 speed automatic gearbox. Most of the features have been inherited from the original model and some of the extra bit of goodies that this new car would offer includes integrated music system, seat height adjuster, 4 power windows and central locking. A Star has been a popular car in the hatchback segment of India with its fuel efficient engine. The gearbox would sport a slot shift mechanism rather than the conventional (press button and shift) mechanism. The gearbox has 6 positions which includes P, R, N, D and 3, 2 and L. Amongst these D and 3 have been placed in the same slot. This gearbox can be used to manually shift and drive in 3, 2 and L as well. The L shift functions like first gear and is useful while doing sharp inclines, where one needs more of the low end grunt. With a top speed of 140 kmph, the car somehow starts vibrating after 125 kmph.

The all new Maruti A Star AT has been blessed with a really responsive engine and the acceleration it provides is commendable. Over a long drive a noticeable feature was that there weren't many rattles or vibrations that bothered the passengers. The lag between each gear shift is not very much and falls in the acceptable range. This is an acknowledged fact that an Automatic transmission gearbox makes the driving experience simpler and the all new Maruti A Star can hit 100 km/h within 18.5 seconds. The mileage claimed by ARAI for the car i shelved around 17km/l which stands impressive against the common misconception of automatic transmission having an adverse effect on the mileage of a car.

The company officials would disclose the exact pricing on the launch of the car, but it is expected that the car would be priced somewhere around 4.5 Lacs. In terms of looks the car has a sporty and aerodynamic styling. Maruti A Star offers a good leg-room both for the driver and passengers. An adjustable driver's seat is a really attractive feature for a car in such a low budgeted range. The all new Maruti A Star AT is a great vehicle for the women and elderly drivers as an automatic car offers respite from clutch break functionality. With the car all set to launch tomorrow, the Indian buyers surely have a reason to smile.