I bought the VXI version, in Sep 2010. Have done about 7000 kilometers till this review.
I will try to keep this review short, but focusing on the important points which might help people make decisions -
- If this is a first car for you, it will be generally good. Since I moved from an M800, I had more expectations on the pick up. Pick up with AC is not so good (this is bothersome only in the 2nd gear), and leaves you a little frustrated. In peak hours, it can get boring to switch back to 1st gear when you are already at 5-8kmph (I guess all drivers have an expectation that 2nd gear pickup should be good starting even at 5kmph which happens with few cars and with this car it isnt even fair to expect.
The gear ratio is standard, but perhaps standard isnt good enough). Here, older wagon R was perhaps better. People owning those may comment if they have driven both. Having driven the following somewhat comparable cars, let me rate pick up on a scale of 1 to 5 - Alto K10 (4), Figo Diesel (4 - assume petrol will be similar), Beat (4.5), Wagon R (3). Further, to clarify, the lack of power is only WITH AC in 2nd gear, without it is very satisfactory for me and not lacking.
Mileage is decent - without AC and conservative driving in city, it is 15 for me in Bangalore in the Whitefield area. With AC all the time it is 13.5. These days I don’t drive so conservative (Change to 2nd gear at 15-20, 3rd at 35, 4th at 50 and 5th at 60). With that it is around 13. So. At least I enjoy the driving more this way. So when I compare this with something like Chevrolet Beat, which was a tad more in price but has very good pickup, I would still go for this, for the high seating factor and better mileage and features ( I heard Beat shows as low as 11 for some people).
Features are fairly good for this range and that is why, if power / pick up isn’t the greatest concern, you should straightaway go for this car for this kind of money. VXI version has more features and that is why it was overbooked, though normally LXI is. Some things I liked are the rear wiper and defogger (haven’t used defogger yet though), the light angle adjusting is just excellent and I find it very useful. Equally useful is the driver’s console for all power windows (very very useful) and the mirror adjustment. Stereo is very good. I have a very good ear for music and I am very satisfied. Electronic power steering is quite good too, if not the best. Dashboard material looks are decent enough and a level up from the previous plastics. Steering tilting may be useful for some and is for me too. The auto alignment at turnings is very useful.
In the 2nd gear at around 35, there is a little vibration in the accelerator pedal (others, if you have felt this, pls reply). But this shouldnt be serious.
Big drawback compared to old WagonR (not easy to figure out) - the boot space is reduced which is why you see increased space in the cabin. I am able to fit in my baby’s pram with difficulty. So parents with kids in this age group might consider this factor. This is the only reason, I can’t rate it 4 instead of 3 on space.
I find that with 4 people seated, not only is the pick up less, vehicle body touches the speed bumps (though really the awkward bumps are to blame). I am guessing this is true for many sedans also, so shouldnt be a consideration, best slow down over ’such’ bumps.
AC is pretty ok, but not great, so with your vehicle out in the sun for long, those seated in the rear may have to wait a few minutes till it gets comfortable. Ford Figo cools better.
Gear shift is excellent (except in first gear, slightly stiff even with full clutch pressed), two of my friends who drove this car said the same thing. It is comparable to sedans. Ford Figo gear shift was very stiff and so was Alto K10.
Suspension isn’t the best, but you will feel is only if you are on bad roads most of the time.
To summarize -
if you are not looking for much power,
want good value for money in this range
generally trust maruti cars more than Hyundai or Chevrolet
this is good value for money. However, if you trust Maruti only and are able to add a little more, I would think Ritz would be perfect (I hear mileage is marginally less, but with 85 bhp vs 67 and more torque and same high seating, it should be better). The reputation of Maruti Suzuki in terms of long term maintenance of cars and service network was imp to me (hence did not consider Beat or i10). I half-regret I didn’t buy a Ritz for 60k or so more but had some money constraint then.
Hope this helps. Those already owning the new Wagon R, I request them to tell what mileage it is showing in the city. It improved from 12 with AC on all the time to 13.5 for me. Need to get some comparison. I find some people getting 16 with AC.
Review after 18000 km -
Very very happy with my car. After third servicing at 9000, gears have been like makhhan. Before I bought my other car (Estilo) for my Dad, I test drove lot of older wagonRs (1.1 ltr versions) to check for options, and found that my WagonR is way better, a much more ’suave’ vehicle, considering interiors, gearshift, handling ease and features. Mileage is still 13 with AC on all the time in city. On two long drives, it gave me 18 and 19 with AC. And the interesting thing here is - looks this engine is meant to be revved a little more (I concluded this independently before reading an opinion like that). So much so that even if I change to 3rd gear at 40 and 4th at 55, mileage still stays at 13 ! . The idea is do not press the accelerator too much and let the engine steadily come upto 2800 - 3000 rpm. That way somehow, the sound is also crisper without the bassy hum (when you press it too hard) and allows me leave all those Indicas behind easily! I feel this is where this car is different from the previous version - maybe a little less throttle response but actually smoother and probably more powerful in the mid-range of each gear.
For those considering Ritz or Swift - backseat of Wagon R has more legroom definitely for (more than any hatchback within another 60k range and even more than the under 4 meter sedans like Indigo CS and new Swift Dzire) This would be due to the higher seating position and the inclinded rear seat and the reduced boot, so that you never ever feel that the seat in front is an obstruction (the feel of space sitting in the rear is way above expectation to me). So people thinking of comfort of your family in the back, do consider this point even over Swift, i10s and Santros ! I have sat in i10s many times, but their seats arent as comfortable (WagonR seats nicely fill you up under the knee and still give you legspace). And bootspace is same as i10 at least (checked with a friend’s i10). Now that I know, I have rated the space to 4 instead of the initial 3, also because I was able to fit in the pram after all !
What a beauty this would be if only the low-end torque was just 5% extra. Hope MSIL is hearing (can you believe I wrote to them too) and can do that in the next version.
I HAVE A REQUEST TO READERS. KINDLY PLS RATE THIS REVIEW HONESTLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION. CERTAIN NEGATIVE MINDED PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BRING DOWN THE RATING OF THIS REVIEW (SEE COMMENTS, THEIR REASONING LOOKS RIDICULOUS) EVEN THOUGH CLEARLY BOTH POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES ARE MENTIONED HONESTLY.
cheers
Alok