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Remember the iconic Suzuki Fronte from the 1960s? The new Suzuki Alto Lapin LC evokes inspiration from the same with its retro design.

The category of Kei cars from the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) is one fascinating space to watch out for affordable car buyers. Born as a result of tight restrictions for dimensions, engine displacement, and power output, these Kei cars are designed and engineered keeping only the Japanese car market in mind. The all-new Suzuki Alto Lapin is one such car, which has gained a lot of popularity in recent years with its retro design, primarily among female car drivers.

In one of the recent launches in the Kei car category of the Japanese Domestic Market, Suzuki introduced the all-new Alto Lapin LC. This retro iteration of the ninth-generation Suzuki Alto is based on the third-generation Suzuki Alto Lapin, which debuted in Japan in 2015. The retro theme of the exterior of the Suzuki Alto Lapin has been tweaked for this new model, and in the process, it has become even more cutesy. Let’s have a look at what all changes this cute little car from Suzuki is bringing to the table.

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Adorable is the word for the way the Suzuki Alto Lapin LC looks from the outside. Suzuki says that this new Alto Lapin LC pays homage to the Suzuki Fronte 360 from the yesteryears, and we couldn’t help but nod to their claims in acceptance. To add more flavor to its retro appeal, Suzuki has introduced this car in cool-looking shades like pastel pink, light green, blue, brown, and beige. The car is also offered with dual-tone paint shades with a contrast white and brown roof.

The front fascia of this chic-looking micro-car from Suzuki has a small grille with rounded edges in the middle, which gets key-shaped chrome accents inside. This fascia of the Alto Lapin LC also gets retro-themed round-shaped headlamps with projector units on the inside and chrome garnish around them.

The off-set license plate housing, slim air vent above the front grille, and clamshell hood are some of the other elements of the frontal look of the Alto Lapin LC. Even the round-shaped rearview mirrors, which come integrated with turn indicators, and white-colored steel wheels match the old-world charm of retro cars. At the back, the Suzuki Alto Lapin LC looks the same as the standard Alto Lapin, save for the different wing-shaped badge in the middle of the boot lid.

The new Suzuki Lapin LC retains the functional yet attractive layout of the standard Alto Lapin. Though, Suzuki has tried to spruce the cabin with a few innovative touches and livelier choices of color combinations for the interior.

The seats and armrests on the inner door panels of the Suzuki Alto Lapin LC feature a combination of chocolate-colored faux leather and brown plaid fabric. The beige-colored headliner, inner door panels, lower part of the dashboard, and steering wheel make this compact car feel airy on the inside. In addition to these color choices, the optional wood-effect or dark gray pearl touches for the dashboard can be opted for at an additional charge.

While the upper center console has a housing for the infotainment system, the lower center console gets occupied by the switches for the automatic climate control and transmission lever side-by-side. The part-digital instrument console behind the steering wheel also matches the retro theme of the overall design with old-school fonts for the analog speedometer. The term ‘Lapin’ means ‘rabbit’ in French, which is why you will find animated rabbit motifs below the instrument console.

In terms of features, the Suzuki Alto Lapin LC gets basic amenities like heated front seats, automatic climate control, audio and Bluetooth controls on the steering wheel, push start-stop button, height-adjustable driver's seat, and an optional 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

As expected, the new Suzuki Alto Lapin LC shares its 660cc, three-cylinder, naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which matches the Kei car norms decided for powertrains. Coupled with a smooth CVT gearbox, this engine pumps 63 hp maximum power output. While the Suzuki Alto Lapin LC comes with a front-wheel-drive configuration as standard, there is also a more robust all-wheel-drive configuration on offer.

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As far as the possibility of seeing this cute little car from Suzuki on the roads of the USA is concerned, it will not come here anytime soon. Suzuki had packed its bags from the USA much long ago. With that, the Suzuki Alto Lapin LC has zero possibility of coming here officially. In Japan, the Alto Lapin LC has gone on sale with a starting price of 1,409,100 Yen ($10,438), which goes up to 1,646,700 Yen ($12,199) for the top-spec variant.

While we would love to see such fascinating-looking Japanese Kei cars on the American roads, such expectations will only be unfulfilled.

Hailing from India, Jeo has grown up dreaming about a red-colored Porsche 911. This fascination led him to study more about cars and their functionality in his automotive engineering days from the past. His passion for writing about cars directed him towards blogging, which he has been doing for almost a decade.