This is my first car and I had no prior driving experience, so I did not think much about spending a few extra Rupee on a powerful enough model while deciding on Wagon R.
But after driving the vehicle for five months in rain, water, fog, highway, steep mountains, dirt roads, landslides etc etc. I have realized that it was a grave mistake choosing the Wagon R, which Suzuki does not produce outside India anymore, incidentally.
The car is not stable at all in highways because of design fault and small wheel & Tyre size. It struggles in hilly roads and the engine almost collapses as I found out during a drive to Arunachal Himalayas crossing 5694 feet Nechi Phu Pass. And while coming downhill, I was scared to death as the Wagon R kept loosing grip and slipping.
I am sure that most of you like the Wagon R because of its head space and roomy dicky, but believe me, beyond it, the car has nothing good about it. The car’s body is narrow as per Japanese small car norms, which does’t work out for Indian family’s given our larger body size. Specially, if you are having a newborn or toddler who needs to be on the mother’s lap / breast fed, shifting of gear is a real pain due to the narrow interiors. One might hurt a child’s leg during gear change in a Wagon R.
When it comes to sitting, in Japan the Wagon R is officialy a 4 seater car, which is a no go in India for which Suzuki misleads Indian consumers by putting the 5 seater tag. The back seats are for two persons only and is not comfortable at all. The seat height is not enough and too straight and benchy to slide back & sit comfortably. If you want to compare the back seat discomfort level of a Wagon R, just visit a Chevrolet showroom and seat in the Beat’s rear seats, you will immediately understand how bad the Wagon R seats are.
Coming to gear, if you don’t mind struggling to put the back gear and could not find or engage the 5th gear in high speed, go for the current Wagon R, otherwise wait till the new model is available.
So basically if one is looking for a car just for city drive, its ok other than the bad gearbox problem, which shall be solved in April when the new Wagon R with K series engine is launched. The new Wagon R engine will be same as the one in A-Star and Estillo.
For those who will be driving outside city limits, I would not recommend the Wagon R at all, as I found the car to be under powered, under wheeled, narrow and to top it all unsafe beyond 80 speed.
Lastly, a suggestion to all irrespective of which model you decide on, make sure that you get the varient with 1. Fog Light(Front / rear), 2. Rear window defogger, 3. Power windows, 4. Key less entry & safety alarm, 5. Dicky light as these are not luxury or waste of money but essential and could be lifesaving at times.
So if possible spend an extra Rs 1, 00, 000 or so and kindly buy the Ritz if Wagon R is what’s in your mind.
What’s better in Ritz: or What you don’t get in Wagon R:
- Wider heavier stable body
2, Big comfortable front seat
Comfortable back seat
185/60 R 14 wheels
More powerful engine
Better milage
Less maintanence
Gear shifter knob integrated to dashboard area
4 door power window
Double horn
and many more which you will get to know if you take a test drive of both the vehicles.