New Maruti Alto K10 vs Hyundai Eon 1.0 vs Datsun Go: Spec Comparison

Maruti Suzuki is on a new car spree. The company has launched the Celerio and Ciaz already this year. The Swift and Dzire facelifts are right around the corner and in between, they’ve slipped in the new Alto K10. The K10 has the same engine but it is lighter and more efficient and the interior gets a few more features as well. With its improved looks and better overall package than before, the Alto K10, hopes to continue as the best seller in its segment but it has the Hyundai Eon and Datsun Go to fend off first. The Eon with its new 1.0-litre engine makes a strong case for itself as does the Datsun Go’s well thought out package. Let’s see how they fare on paper.

Engines:

Maruti has given the Alto K10 the same 1.0-litre K-series 3-cylinder heart from its predecessor. Maruti has worked on this engine though to make it lighter and more efficient. What we have as a result is a peppy car returning a staggering 24.07kmpl in the ARAI tests. In the real world, you will get close to 20kmpl from a petrol car and very convincingly gives the efficiency prize to the Alto K10. The Hyundai Eon 1.0 returns 20.3kmpl and the Datsun Go returns a similar 20.63kmpl. While all three are light cars, Hyundai and Datsun do not disclose kerb weights. The Alto K10 does feel like a light car and with its small dimensions, could well be the lightest car here, helping it return better fuel economy.

The Datsun has the most torque which should make it quick off the block. It is also the largest capacity engine at 1.2-litres. Power figures are almost identical, the Eon 1.0-litre edging out the other two by 1PS. On paper, there’s little to differentiate the three in terms of performance. 

Size and Space:

It’s tough to beat the Datsun Go in this segment in the size and space department. The Alto K10 is marginally longer than the Eon which in turn is slightly wider. Both are smaller though that the Go by a considerable margin. The K10 also has the shortest wheelbase translating to poor space on the inside. Here the Go is a full 90mm longer than the K10 and 70mm longer than the Eon. While Maruti and Hyundai don’t reveal boot space figures for obvious reasons, the Go can fit in 265 litres of luggage. 

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Features:

On the features front, there’s something one offers that the other two don’t. For instance, you get a driver airbag in the top trim of the Alto K10. Both the Eon and the Go don’t get this option. The Eon and the Alto K10 get front fog lamps, while the Go gets an elaborate drive computer compared to the others. The Go doesn’t get a music system, even in top trim, but instead, it gets a docking station for your smartphone. You have to manually adjust both mirrors in the Go while the Eon and Alto K10 get internal adjusters.  It’s a bit of mix and match and hits and misses between the three on the features front. 

Price:

The Alto K10 juggernaut should strike in full on the pricing front. Maruti is unbeatable when it comes to pricing with their massive economies of scale and we think India’s largest carmaker will be able to easily undercut its rivals on the pricing front at its launch. The Alto K10 is expected come with a starting price of Rs 2.8 lakh, going up to Rs 3.6 lakh for the top end variant. The Go is extremely keenly priced too but it’s the Eon that will find it tough as the base variants could have a price difference of Rs 1 lakh, which is huge for a entry level car.