Review of Maruti Wagon R.

For a discussion on the general aspects of the small car market, see: A guide for the Indian car buyer.

One of the highest selling cars in the Indian market, the Fifth Estate reviews Wagon-R from the Maruti stable.

1. The looks.
Until an year back, there was nothing much to comment on the looks of this car. Wagon R until 2011 was nothing but a-box-fitted-with-wheels. In a way it was one of the ugliest cars on the Indian roads. And when the Indian market came to be flooded with new age beauties from around the world, it was really awful for Maruti to live on this box-wagon.

But things did change last year (2011), when  Maruti came up with a thorough revision in the design of Wagon-R. It was not only the looks that did change, the car now came in an all new redesigned platform as well.

2. Brand
You'll get all the advantages of the Maruti brand: the reliability, availability of service, value on resale and everything else.

3. The engine.
From 2011 on, Wagon R comes  with a new engine. The former 1100cc petrol engine has now been replaced with an all new K series 1000cc (K10) engine from the Suzuki stable. The drop from 1100cc to 1000cc is aimed at an increase in the mileage, and it has indeed been achieved. Also the K series engine from Suzuki is one of most advanced petrol engines of this size. The only problem you would feel is a little lack of power in the highways especially when the air conditioner is up. In other words you should not expect the throttle response of a 1.2 litre from this engine.

There of-course are no diesel versions for this small a car.

4. Transmission.
The transmission is good. Wagon-R uses a cable linked shifter as does Maruti Swift as well as the competitors from Hyundai namely Santro and the I series. The shift is as good as it is in the Swift. But I would say Hyundai Santro is better in this department. There is no choice of Automatic in Wagon-R. In this price segment, Maruti offers automatic only is A-Star.

5. Interiors.
The Wagon R had a thorough change in its dash and console in 2011. The central console has become really superb. From 2011 on, the audio system comes integrated onto the central console. This may mean two different things. From one side, the console looks really good and a little up-class. From the other, in a fast changing techno scenario, the system could get obsolete in a couple of years, and you could not replace it with those made for the standard form factor. This is notable especially when the system lack even contemporary features like USB and Bluetooth.

Looking inside the cabin, even-though there is no screw-less finish as do have the Hyundai i series, Maruti has taken care to hide the screws in the support handles.

Space: Where the Wagon-R wins over its competitors is its leg room. Here it beats even higher priced models like Chevrolet Beat, Nissan Micra and the Renault Pulse. And where Wagon R looses over its competitors  is its width. Even in the driving seat and in the front passenger seat, you might feel a little cramped. You feel less freedom for your hands. And never think of seating three in the back seat, especially if they are a little obese.

6. Features.
This is where Wagon-R beats all the others in the segment. None of the competitors could give you all the features that Wagon-R offer at a comparable price. Wagon-R is the one of the few models in the segment to offer wide open doors. And the premium variant of Wagon-R has features like electric-mirrors, power windows on all four doors, rear wiper, rear defogger, and a first-in-class tilt steering. The only shortcoming is that the music system doesn't have USB and Bluetooth.

7. Mileage.
The mileage is good. I think it is best in class. It gives a clean highway mileage of 17.5 kmpl.

8. Maintenance.
Here you get all the advantages of a Maruti. The manufactring quality is good. The spares are fairly priced. Service is avalable anywhere in India.

9. And finally, the resale value.
Of course you get the advantage of Maruti here too. The price is good in the used car market.

Unique advantages:

1. A mileage of 17.5kmlp.
2. Large legroom. Larger compared to many of the premium hatches like Chevrolet Beat, Nissan Micra, and Renault Pulse.
3. Wide open doors. Very few models offer this feature.
4. Four-door power windows, rear defogger, electric mirrors and a tilt-steering. You wont get some of these features even in some of the so-called premium hatches.
5. All the advantages of a Maruti namely low cost spares, availability of service, and choice of service centres.

Shortcomings:

1. Power: You wont get what you could call a 'throttle' response from the 1000cc engine. So no racing on the highways.
2. The new version does look better than its predecessors. But it wont snatch eyes amid the new-age western beauties.
3. The width is not enough to seat three in the rear seat.
4. The audio system lacks USB and Bluetooth.

The final word.
Wagon-R beats all others in the segment with the features it could offer. No other brand could offer you four-door power windows, rear defogger, electric mirrors and a tilt-steering at the same price. The mileage is good. You would also get the unique advantages of using a Maruti in India. The only notable shortcomings being a little short of power, and the problem of width.