The Maruti Suzuki A-Star made its grand debut in 2008. Two years down the little sporty hatch has received an automatic gearbox. We take a look at what the automatic version packs.
The A-Star has been a great peppy little hatch from the Maruti Suzuki stable. Its small dimensions, ease of driving and overall versatility as a city car have given it quite a fan following. For those who miss the old Zen (the jellybean), the A-Star is possibly the closest Maruti that you can get that offers such peppy performance. In fact, Maruti offers the A-Star (manual) with a rather sporty dashboard mounted tachometer to highlight the element of youthful fun sportiness. Fitted with a neat 1.0 litre 3 cylinder K series engine that offered spirited driving and great mileage, the A-Star has made its mark as a great city car as well.
Taking its versatility further, MSIL has plonked in a four speed automatic gearbox in the A-Star. The fact that it was launched on Independence Day might be a coincidence, but an automatic does liberate you from the worries of having to use the clutch a thousand times a day thanks to our congested city roads-Independence indeed! Having said that, the automatic avatar of the A-Star transforms the car from an out and out peppy hatchback to more of a city slicker that is convenient and offers ease of use.
Marking this change is the tell-tale sign of the tachometer missing from the dashboard. The automatic does take away from the peppy driving slightly and the car now offers a sober driving experience. Fire the A-Star up and shifting into drive, one will definitely notice the change. I wouldn't say it's sluggish, and I wouldn't call it peppy either, it actually feels a bit heavy, however once the car shifts up a bit of normalcy returns. It's not something to complain about and the car performs effortlessly on the whole. Gearshifts are reasonably smooth while shifting up, however kick downs are slightly more pronounced. The automatic transmission is a decent box that does its duty well. It allows for an above average driving experience and the A-Star is reasonably quick off the mark, overtaking does not require much effort and reaching three digit speeds isn't a monumental task either.
source of article: zigwheels.com
