GVG upset from bottom-dollar Suzuki

Suzuki's Alto has taken its rightful place in the latest Green Vehicle Guide update, squeezing in amongst high-tech European company costing double and triple its price

With a combined fuel economy of just 4.8L/100km and CO2 emissions of 113g/km, Suzuki's city car scored five stars with a greenhouse gas rating of 8.5 out of 10, slotting it in amongst smart's fortwo MHD, Fiat's diesel 500 and MINI's Cooper D.

These three, the Suzuki and Toyota's Prius round out the top five in the Guide's overall top performers list. At a base price of $12,490, the Alto drops dramatically the cost of entry to this end of the list. On the road it's closer to $15,000, but that still gives it a $5000-plus advantage over the two-seat smart, around $17,000 over the Fiat and more than $20,000 over the Mini and the Prius.

The secret: low technology and low power -- its 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine is good for just 50kW of power and 90Nm of torque. In mitigation, this is not a performance machine. It's a sub-light sector city car, made for crowded CBD streets and short-haul commuting. But performance is adequate for urban commuting, since the Alto weighs just 900kg -- a little north or south, depending on how you option it up.

Low production costs help keep the price down, too -- it's built in India.

The Alto has drawn praise on the safety front. The only car in its class with six airbags and one of few with standard entry-level ABS, it has picked up a four-star ANCAP rating as well.

It's drawn criticism for its primo fuel requirements, but PULP burns cleaner, leaving buyers to console themselves that every time they fill up, they're investing a couple of extra dollars in further reducing their car's environmental impact.

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