Why Suzuki Alto Leads With Best Fuel Average in Pakistan?

If your only concern when buying a car is fuel economy, then you must focus on the Suzuki Alto. With 18-24 km/l, the Suzuki Alto is the fuel economy king not only among PKDM cars but also among Japanese 660cc cars.

Any other JDM cars, such as Hyundai Mira, N-One, and EIS, comes with the similar 660cc engines, but those cars only reach 14-19 km/l. why is that? Here we elaborate on how the Suzuki Alto achieves such good fuel economy.

Lightweight Body

People call it “Peppa” because the Alto’s body is very light and made of very thin sheets. Suzuki designed the Alto this way for a reason to keep the body light.

A low dry weight means that the engine needs to produce less force to move the car, which results in better engine efficiency and therefore better fuel economy.

On the other hand, the JDM 660cc cars use thick sheets and sound dampening material. This improves road grip and cabin insulation, but also increases body weight. As a result, the engine has to generate more power to move the car, which reduces fuel consumption to some extent.

For example:

• Dry weight of Suzuki Alto: 650 kg
• Dry weight of Daihatsu Mira: 790 kg.

Thin Tires

Alto If you see the Suzuki Alto on the road, the tires are thin, just like Suzuki is putting tires on it’s 2 wheel bikes. That’s why after 80 km/h the road grip is not good.

However, due to low drag resistance, this strategy provides better fuel economy.

Friction between the tires and road is rolling resistance. The Alto’s thinner tires have less contact with the road, so they experience less rolling resistance. This means that the engine uses less energy to keep it running, resulting in better fuel economy.

The wide tires used in the JDM 660 come with a fuel economy penalty, which holds up better, especially at high speeds. A wide contact patch creates more rolling resistance, forcing the engine to work harder and burn more fuel.

That’s why Suzuki uses bicycle-thin tires on the Alto to save as much fuel as possible.

Suzuki Alto Aerodynamics

The overall profile of the Alto is short in width and length, so the body offers less wind resistance when traveling. Therefore, the engine requires less effort to move the body from rest to a certain speed, which translates into a less efficient and fuel-efficient engine.

The short wheelbase also affects fuel economy. Because less physical structure is needed to connect the front and rear axles, the overall weight is reduced. It works less in the engine and burns less fuel.

Suzuki Alto Efficient Fuel Engine

It uses an engine called Suzuki’s iconic R06A, which is a generational upgrade from its predecessor, the K-series engine.

The new engine is one of the Suzuki engines with the highest compression ratio, eg 1:9.1. Higher compression means the engine can produce more power with less fuel, resulting in less wasted fuel, better efficiency and better fuel economy.

This is why, even though it is a 660cc car, the Alto can still beat the Suzuki Mehran (800cc) in a drag race and consume less fuel than the Mehran.

No Sound Isolations

JDM 660ccs often use body-lowering moldings in the interior, hoods, trunk, and underbody. These strips reduce wheel, traffic and other external noise from entering the cabin and increase the efficiency of the AC. However, the downside is that it adds 100-200 kg to the dry weight of the car and reduces fuel efficiency.

That is the reason why Alto’s body does not use sound deadening material. Other hand, it brings aggressive engine noise, tire noise and other vehicle noise into the cabin. But, on the plus side, you get good fuel economy because of the low dry weight.

Also Read: Best Fuel Average Used Cars For Salaried People in Pakistan