WAGON REDEFINED
The all new WagonR might retain its external DNA, but that’s about the only similarity with the outgoing model says Bunny Punia
What do you do when you have a product that in spite of being around ten years old in the market still manages to sell in large numbers? Do you, like most companies out there relax and sit on your laurels, ignoring the constant feedback from over 8 lakh customers? Or do you get back to the basics, the drawing board, gather all the feedback and come out with an upgrade that is ready to smoke the competition for the next few years? In the case of the Wagon R, Maruti decided to be in the latter category and hence was born the all-new model launched a few days back. 
We have a three year old current model back home and I tried to remember everything about it that I could before stepping into the thoroughly upgraded variant of the same car for an evening’s spin down the beach road at Puri. First were the refreshed, no, fully revised interiors that caught my attention. As I selected neutral before starting the car, the smooth ‘box action felt impressive. I turned the key and the car came to life with surprisingly almost no vibrations at all. Everything seemed to be going in this car’s favour. I tried acting tough and wondered if the smaller capacity engine, the new KB10 unit, would fare as nicely as the older 1.1-litre four cylinder one. A minute later, three of us were cruising down the single lane highway at 100 kays with the air-con working overtime. A tab on the right pedal and the needle briskly went onto the wrong side of 120km/h with no hint of fatigue or audible strain from the engine. The all-new Wagon R surely had me hooked now. 
The current model has been around for more than ten years. Even today, it continues to sell in decent numbers, translating to around 11,000 to 12,000 new owners each month – a figure double than that of its main rival, the Hyundai Santro. But of course, there were always a few areas where the car failed to meet consumer expectations and the constant customer feedback highlighted those pointers pretty well. The company took the criticism in a positive manner and the result is a variant with feedback incorporated in the form of positive changes, so much so that the company now claims it to be one of the most practical small cars around in India today. 
But if this is an all-new Wagon R then why continue with the same looks? The aim here was to retain the same DNA and strong resemblance to the current variant which had already won the hearts of lakhs in India. Of course there are a lot of changes, starting with the front. The bigger and modern looking headlamps, for instance, give it a bolder as well as a dynamic look. The bumpers are redesigned and so is the grille. The wheel arches are more prominent and add muscle to the side profile. In fact, the Wagon R has now grown in size too, being longer as well as wider than its predecessor. At the rear, there is a prominent ‘V’ shaped profile that has been executed with the design of the windshield, tail lamps and number plate. I particularly loved the embossed WagonR logo on the chrome plate. The car also has the longest wheelbase in its class at 2400mm which only translates into roomier interiors – one of the main talking points here.
The first thing that greets your eyes inside is the completely redesigned fascia. The steering wheel is all-new and so is the speedometer console. Contrary to the little changes on the outside, it is the interior of the car that has received the maximum attention and how. I particularly loved the design and background colour of the three pod instrumentation console. Even more impressive is the central flowing console which houses a smart integrated music system at the top followed by air-con controls at the bottom. The air-con vents on the extreme sides are of the rotary type and work well to cool cans positioned in the pop out can holder below them. The gear lever is much shorter and now works via a cable as compared to a rod earlier. This has worked wonders in the shift action. Legroom up front is class leading and the seats have a long travel of 240mm making it roomy for really tall individuals as well. A very thoughtful touch is the parcel tray location under the co-driver’s seat which can be taken out by lifting the base of the seat. Even with the front seat adjusted for my 6 foot frame, there was enough space at the rear for me. This has again been possible due to the liberation of extra legroom at the rear. 
Enough of the interiors, let’s get down to serious business now. The all-new KB10 engine, doing duty on the A-Star as well as the Estilo, has gained famed for its peppy as well as efficient nature. On the WagonR too, it seemed to perform very adequately. In fact, this little engine loves being revved and that is exactly what it was subjected to most of the time. The new WagonR weighs more or less the same as the A-Star which means performance figures ought to become better as compared to the outgoing model. It does lose out on engine capacity by 63cc, but definitely makes up on power and torque figures. The ARAI figures for fuel efficiency stand at 18.9kmpl, around four percent less than that of the A-Star’s. This means you can expect around 14-15kmpl in city traffic with the air-con on. 
The WagonR has always been a great city car and it continues to remain so. It was always practical and has only improved on this parameter by a huge margin. The light steering, so important for flawless city driving, is a joy though it does become a little lifeless at highway speeds. The WagonR’s platform is all-new which not only allowed for increased length and width but also for a completely new suspension set-up. Frankly, the current WagonR did lack on the suspension front as compared to its rivals. The new L shaped front suspension frame helps improve ride quality, especially with a full load of passengers, while also offering better lateral stiffness. The new rear suspension offers better load resistance hence reducing the old vehicle’s tendency to bounce its rear end like a pogo stick over undulated roads while being driven with a full load of passengers.
For the upcoming Indian summers, the air-con unit gets a bigger condenser thereby improving its efficiency considerably. Airbags and ABS are offered as options – thumbs up to Maruti for this safety initiative. Further, the new WagonR is E10 complaint, meaning it is ready for ethanol blended fuel as well. So, is the all-new WagonR one of those rare upgrades which can satisfy almost all kinds of prospective users? Most likely. With all these positive changes in place, the all-new Wagon R further manages to improve on its value for money tag. This blue eyed boy, as Maruti calls it, seems all set to steal the limelight in the tall boy segment for a long time to come.
