My WagonR Duo Lxi is now ~3yrs and 41000km. Today I change my recommendation to a ’NO’ for this car. Reasons are many- the LPG run kills the engine gradually. Over a period the engine becomes rough on both LPG & petrol. The Rs.1 you save every km running on LPG spoils your 4lac+ car. The low quality clutch wears out every 10k km. The gearshift feels as if it’s not a synchromesh box!
On a free-run the engine gives such high friction that one doubts if the handbrake is pulled up. It’s not a smooth car anymore which I believe is due to the LPG choice I made. With petrol prices shooting up people might think of LPG option, but strongly advise-never ever go for LPG, unless it’s for taxi use; simply because your car won’t last more than 3-4 yrs as a car! If you are cost conscious on fule price, please choose diesel; never LPG, that too from Maruti.
My WagonR Duo Lxi is now 2yrs and 27500km. I GOT MY CLUTCH ASSEMBLY REPLACED!!Yes I said it. For last one month I was feeling the clutch very hard and not smooth. When I took it to my dealer (Pratham Motors, Bangalore) the technician told that the clutch is worn out and needs to be replaced at a cost of 4000/- I was shocked and I declined to accept what he suggested. I drove a Santro for 5 yrs/90000km during which I never had to replace the clutch. Then he offered to replace the clutch cable @400/-and see if it soleves the problem. I agreed, but the problem didn’t solve.It’s not the clutch plate that’s gone, but the fingers!
But I didn’t have to really fight;eventhough the clutch is not covered under warranty they agreed to consider it as a special case and replace it under warranty! Obviously I’m quite happy and now my car is fun to drive w/ new clutch.. My only concern is themechanic’s words.. this clutch fingers hardness is common, and it happens in city usage, he’s many customtakeouter who replaces clucth assy. in 20000km.. Anyone knows if that’s true?? can a city car be so bad..? Im checking further on this with other WagonR owners..
With my WagonR Duo Lxi completed 1 yr (10000km), I think I must give a comparison with Santro (ZipPlus) which I used for 5 years (90000km), and if possible give a comparison with my friend’s 1 month old Chevy Spark.
BAD things first:
Santro : Bumpy rear ride, comparatively lower mileage, very bad performance if you fit an LPG kit - Never convert your santro to LPG, it will spoil your car, go for the factory fitted model (Eco) if you are desparate.
WagoR: VERY BAD TYRE DIMENSIONS. It’s 145/70R13 tyres badly fail to cushion your vehicle from even small stones on the road. Any bad road takes your suspensions & frame to bear all the jerks. The pathetic part is that it comes with 4J rims which limits your tyre up-sizing, unless you replace the rims.
Next, the gear is not so smooth & precise like santro or Spark, and the clutch engagement always has a slack. you get pulled while chaging gears. Now the rear seat - it’s for 2, though in new models you get the license for 3, the dimensions are same. Last, the AC load on engine is not linear, meaning, as you increase the engine rpm with AC on, the speed doesnot increase steadily/smoothly
Never plan for it if you ever have to drive above 120kmph. The power steering seems to loose it precision.
Spark: The initial low rev torque is very low. You can’t really pull the car on clutch in a higher gear. Pedals spacing to too close, the driver’s legs are not so relaxed as with other cars.
GOOD stuff:
Santro : The driver’s car amonng the 3, build quality, appeasing interior & space
WagonR: Mileage, Proven LPG (factory fitted) performance - Unbelievably low pollution levels in the Emission test. Best rear-seat height & ride for 2 persons.
Spark: Smooth, very compact but spacy, best tyre dimensions & ground clearence relative to the vehicle size & weight. It’s supposed to have the highest mileage, I have not tested though. Allot of useful goodies in the entry variant (LS) itself like day-night rear view mirror, internally adjustable outside mirrors, two trip meters, digital clock, tubeless tyres, etc. whcih you won’t get in others even after paying 20-30K extra.
My recommendation: I would go for Santro ECO, if I have to pick a new one from these 3 (Research more! I saw some very bad reviews by Eco owners, my experience is good with Santro petrol). I’m very passionate about being green. Unfortunately we don’t have electric cars that is economical & useful like in Europe