In the late ’80s, Harley Davidson had come out with a bike which they actually named ’FatBoy’! And where America goes, Japan must follow, so even if they did not come out with something called a ’FatCar’, they did introduce ’Tall Boy’ styling, and this, the Wagon R, was one of the pioneers
here. And now, with other tall boys like the Santro, and the Matiz etc in the fray, what was it gonna be? Battle of the Boys? Boy-Fest? Blood in Boy-Zone? Boy-O-Rama...?
In spite of its so-called “Tall Boy” styling, the Wagon R behaves pretty much like any other small Japanese car. And no, it will not turn topsy-turvy during sudden, sharp maneuvers, and you can actually corner reasonably hard, without the car getting completely out of shape. But then before anyone goes out on a I-wanna-be-Richard-Burns mission in their Wagon R, let me hasten to add that this is no Alto VX, and if you are brave/stupid enough to try brain-out stuff in this car, things can, and do get hairy. We are not talking about a WRC contender here, after all, are we?
Though most people prefer the Daewoo Matiz, or even Maruti’s
own Alto and Zen, I somehow like the way the Wagon R looks. The design looks purposeful, unlike the usually-bland, ubiquitous Japanese small-car. Right away, you can tell that there is some specific reason for this car’s existence. And soon as I got into the car, I discovered the reason too. Space. Lots of it. Getting into the car is very easy, even for heavyweights like me, and the ride position is relatively high – you get what perhaps some would call a “commanding” view of the road ahead. As you start the free-revving but barely-audible (if the windows are up….) 1061cc, 16-valve, 4-pot, fuel-injected engine, and motor
away, the car feels a bit odd at first. You can feel it wallowing about a fair bit initially, but after some time, you get used it. In fact the more time you spend with the car, the more confidence you gain in its sprinting abilities.
The 4-valve-per-cylinder engine puts out a healthy 62bhp at 6000 revs, and used the right, the 5-speed ‘box will have you racing down the road in a right sprightly fashion.
Unfortunately enough, the gearbox is slightly notchy. That, combined with longer-than-we’d-like throws, means that lightning-fast gearshifts can be a bit of a problem. Also, the Wagon R is about ten percent heavier than the Alto VX, means that it is slightly less peppy than its cousin, in spite of the fact that they share the exact same engine.
Still, the Wagon R did manage to sprint from 0 – 60km/hr in all of 6.3 seconds, and from 0 – 100km/hr in 17.0 seconds flat. And then there is ample elbow-room, oodles of headroom, and ample leg-space – at least at the front. Leg-space at the rear is a bit constrained, and that could possibly bother some owners. There are power-windows for the two front-seat occupants, but those get the
back-seats, wind their own windows down manually! This is an absolute no-no. Hey, Maruti, come on – how about giving power windows to back-seat drivers too...?!
Thankfully, the air-conditioning is quite effective, front and rear. The OE radio/cassette player (Kenwood) is alright if you are a reasonably normal, ‘sane’ listener, but those
who like to have eardrum-busting noise, and earth-shaking, mega-sub-woofer bass-blasting music in their cars, please visit the aftermarket, where all your acoustic needs will be taken care of. The instrumentation is adequate – a tachometer, a multi-trip meter, and a ‘key not removed’ warning buzzer. Of course, we are talking about the VXi version which we tested. There is also a parcel-shelf at the rear, which folds up to reveal the fair-sized boot – enough for two medium-sized suitcases, but not much else. The rear seats fold completely flat though, so the car can handle serious cargo-carrying duties if it comes to that.
But the one thing that really did surprise me, was the fact that the car scraped its underbelly on a not-so-steep drive-in ramp, with just two passengers (each weighing about 60kgs…) in the rear seat, two occupants at the front, and no luggage at all, in the boot! Nothing dramatic – just a mild scrape, and no damage done, but… anyway, go figure.
So enough about its mundane amenities – how does the car behave on the road? Surprisingly enough, much better than I had expected! As mentioned earlier, hard cornering is quite feasible in the Boy, though do, of course, be prepared for lots of body-roll. The Wagon R likes to take banzai corners on the throttle – if you lose nerve at the last moment, and lift off the throttle, the car runs wide, and threatens
to end up in the nearest ditch available. Of course, that is only to be expected of a FWD car in this category, so no complaints really.
The power-steering is just fine, and never feels over-actuated or exaggerated at all. As with all Maruti cars, this one too, will benefit from wider rubber – the Boy is undertyred for its capabilities. And that is all too
easily demonstrated when the entire plot goes completely sideways during very hard cornering. For some (me!), this might be fun, but the average driver might get into serious trouble if he or she overcooks it on a turn, without actually meaning to. Better rubber please! Maruti should
now consider putting wider radial rubber, and alloy wheels, at least on the ‘Options’ list if nothing else...
The ride and handling are, as you would probably be expecting by now, a ‘compromise’ between what would be ideal for road-handling against what would better suit plush ride-comfort. The usual McPherson struts at the
front, and coil springs at the rear will handle almost everything thrown at them, but again, if the ride was just a bit more compliant, most prospective customers would probably be happier. This is, all things said and done, not a “hot-hatch”, and I don’t really think too many boy-racers will be buying this one – they would rather go in for an Alto VX.
This is the quintessential family car for four, and ride comfort would perhaps be top priority for most people who buy the Tall one. Of course, one counter-argument to this could well be that softer spring rates might result in complete loss of control during sudden maneuvers at very
high speeds, but then what are you doing driving like that in a Wagon R anyway? No? Have it your way, then… The Wagon R will, in fact, do a speedo-indicated 148km/hr (no, you can forget about the 180 marked there), and the engine will, according to the tacho at least, go right up to 10, 000 revs per minute. In real life, if you keep the engine above eight-and-a-half thousand rpm for extended periods of time, you might face terminal engine meltdown, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So what is the final take on the Boy? Well, this is certainly a good family car – an all-rounder that is as happy lugging around five adults (it’ll be a bit of a squeeze at the rear, but you’ll manage…) and their luggage, as it is, nipping along at a fast clip on winding mountain roads. The Boy sips about a liter of petrol for every eleven kilometers he travels (mixed driving conditions, but mostly pedal-to-the-metal, with the air-conditioner switched on most of the time…), so that is reasonable too. If only it weren’t for those Palio cars from Fiat, THIS would be the small car to buy...!!!