Suzuki goes sub-$12k in price attack

THINGS just got hotter at the low end of the Australian new-car market, with Suzuki using January 1’s five per cent import tariff cut to slice the price of its entry-level Alto GL manual hatchback to $11,790 – a $700 reduction over the 2009 price.

This makes the Indian-made five-door light car officially the most affordable car on the market by manufacturers’ list price, although Proton’s S16 manual sedan is currently advertised for $11,990 driveaway, effectively making it cheaper again.

But Suzuki will also sweeten the deal, this month offering the Alto GX manual for a driveaway price of $12,490 – covering the usual statutory and dealer charges nationwide for just $700 extra.

By April, Proton expects to raise the heat another notch when it introduces a 1.3-litre version of its Malaysian-made S16 sedan for just $10,990, plus statutory and dealer charges.

Announcing the price cuts today, Suzuki Australia general manager Tony Devers pointed to Alto’s standard list of safety features – including ABS and six airbags – as a mark of its superior value.

“Other manufacturers have additional costs at the entry level end of the new car market for safety features such as ABS braking, but the Alto GLX comes standard with ABS plus the potentially life saving technology of ESP stability control, six airbags, alloy wheels and driving lights,” he said.

“Surely this highly specified five door vehicle is the best value package on the market.

“There have been some attempts by other manufacturers recently to match the Alto’s outstanding safety and value, but no one comes close to the total package. We will offer the GLX in January at a driveaway price of only $12,990.”

Left: Suzuki Swift Sport. Below: Proton S16.

While the Alto is powered by a 50kW 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, the bigger Proton S16 has an 82kW 1.6-litre four-cylinder powerplant.

Suzuki’s price cuts apply to its entire passenger car range in the wake of the import duty cut to five per cent (SUVs and light commercial vehicles are unaffected).

The company lopped a spectacular $2000 from the list price of the Alto GLX, to $12,490 for the manual and $13,990 for the automatic, meaning the upper spec Alto can now be had for a premium of just $700 over the base model.

The Alto GLX can also be had at a special January driveaway price of $12,990 for the manual and $14,490 for the GLX auto.

Suzuki Swift prices also came in for a trim, although not as large as those of its smaller sibling.

The Swift range now starts at $16,290 for the entry level manual, a drop of $500, while the automatic is now $17,990.

The smallest price cut was reserved for the Swift RE4, which is now $300 cheaper at $17,990 for the manual and $19,690 for the auto.

The price of the top-of-the-line Swift Sport has been lopped by $1000 to $23,990 for the manual version On Swift, the cost of the optional side and curtain airbag package also has been dropped, from $700 to $550.

Suzuki passenger range pricing:
Alto GL	$11,790
Alto GL (a)	$13,290
Alto GLX	$12,490
Alto GLX (a)	$13,990
Swift	$16,290
Swift (a)	$17,990
Swift RE4	$17,990
Swift RE4 (a)	$19,690
Swift S	$17,590
Swift S (a)	$19,290
Swift Sport	$23,990