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.
