Maruti Suzuki Wagon R review |
This car set off a segment so to speak; it speaks for all those cars that don't look very good, not to say that the Wagon R is ugly; but it is not exactly beautiful, is it? The Wagon R was launched more than 5 years ago and it has received many cosmetic face lifts since its inception, but the crux of the matter has remained pretty much the same. Very Maruti, don't you think?
Design and interiors
The Wagon R is based on the very Japanese way of creating cars; in japan small cars must pass strict dimensional regulations. That's the reason why maruti cars are not wide, so the only way to liberate space is by going up. Thus making the car look disproportionately tall, this brought about the Tall boy design which can also be seen in the Hyundai Santro. I agree that the design is very like it or leave it; but the fact that the Wagon R is able to consistently sell more than 8000 units every month goes to show that people do like its design.
Step inside the car and you feel that it is quite roomy, on the vertical front at least, the leg room though is a bit low. The car has nice seats, but the support is really lacking. The front seats also seem rather constrained for width. The rear seats are split, 60:40. They are very uncomfortable if you are 3 people at the back but as Hyundai would have it, its a 4 seater and not meant for 5. Point noted, but if you are four; both people in the rear can choose between more than 5 steps of seat inclination(individual). Further, with the front seats moved all the way to the front, and the rear seats bent backward; we have 2 beds, full size.. Bravo. Although the Wagon R is unable to compete with the likes of the indica xeta in terms of space, it definitely offers more space when compared to the Zen and the Alto. The disappointing part about the Wagon R is the dash board, although it has many cubby holes and places to keep your newspapers, dolls and so on; the plastic quality is very poor and leads to many vibrations in the course of time. The boot space is also very good and with this car can haul quite an amount of luggage, perhaps more than the Xeta too.
Well, the main reason for its sales though is not that, its the cars ability to slice through traffic, mainly because of it its low width, also, since the car has such little front overhang, maneuvering through city becomes so easy. The positioning of the wheels relative to the chassis also means that the Wagon R has an amazingly low turning radius. This car is built purely to take on the urban traffic and this is attained with ease. Here I wish to point out that is HVAC is very good, but because of the sharply raked front windscreen and the large glass area, cooling could seem bit inadequate during harsh summers, felt most in the rear seat.
The Wagon R is built with the same grade sheet metal as any other Maruti, making it very light at just 825Kgs. This has much influence on its overall dynamics and most importantly as any maruti owner will tell you, the fuel efficiency. On the flip side, the wagon R feels too fragile and anything, including some fast moving flies could cause a prominent dent.
Engine and Transmission.
Ride and handling, verdict. |
![wagon r exterior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=wr3.jpg&imagetitle=Wagon R exterior"))
![wagon r interior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=wrint1.jpg&imagetitle=Wagon R interior"))
![wagon r interior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=wrint3.jpg&imagetitle=Wagon R interior"))
![wagon r interior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=wrint2.jpg&imagetitle=Wagon R interior"))