Before deciding on which car to go for, decide what it is you want. If you want to buy a good car and have lots of money to throw around, look for some other car (other than a WagonR).
If you need a lot of boot space and are a frequent traveller, look for some other car. If you want a car that you will keep only for a year or so and then plan to sell, then again look for some other car (because after a year with a WagonR, you surely will love it too much to sell it!)!!
OK...OK...now that I have told you what you wont find in a WagonR, let me get down to why to buy a WagonR A little over a year and a half ago, when I was planning on buying car, I put down my requirements as:
1) affordable (4 lakhs at the most)
2) comfortable (I am 5’11’’ and I needed something that I would not have to wriggle into and squirm out of!)
3) something cozy for my family (4 of us!)
4) nice-looking (kind of!)
The cars I had in mind were Esteem, Swift, Spark, i10, Alto, Zen Estilo. I nearly went for the Estilo out of these, but at the last moment, my brother-in-law who is in expert in cars told me that there was some serious problem with it! The Esteem was nice but a little too long and finding parking space would be a problem and it is not being manufactured nowadays anyway. Liked the Swift too...but the shape was too frog-like and sitting in the driver’s seat does not give you a great view at what is just beyond the front bonnet and with a small rear window, not a great view through that either! The Spark seemed cute, but at the place where I live, there was no Chevrolet Service centre (that is something that you need to look out for!). Same for the i10...and besides both were a little on the shorter size! Used to love the Alto...but that was before I put on weight...and now thinking of squeezing into and out of the seats in the Alto too...was...!!! Didn’t really have the WagonR in mind as I never liked its flat backside look!!!! However, it was just coincidence that a close friend of mine, a cousin, my brother-in-law as well as my wife all individually suggested looking at a WagonR. So it is that I went into a showroom without any prejudices. And what I saw impressed me! And 16 months after buying it, I am more than pleased with it!
To start off with the positive side...It is very comfortable to drive (especially for tall people!). It gives me decent mileage (16km per litre). The AC cools well. I have done quite a few long trips (long here to be read as being approx 150 km) and at quite good speed (120kmph) and it has been quite stable and easy to handle. Infact, I have eagerly waited for the long clear stretches to push the car!
On the negative side, the reverse gear gives a little bit of trouble...does not engage smoothly. Takes a little coaxing often! There isn’t a whole lot of boot space. That is to say, if you have to pick people coming "from the foreign" on a regular basis with their huge baggage, forget it! However, considering some of the other small cars, the boot space in WagonR is HUGE! If you go for the LPG version (that is the WagonR Duo), you can just about fit in a few grocery bags! The back seat is meant for two grown ups and maybe one tiny kid. But hey...it is meant for a family!
Some mistakes that I made when buying it that you would be wise to avoid: I bought a midnight black car! I LOVE black!! but...it definitely feels hotter in it and the AC therefore grumbles a little more while cooling! Also, dirt shows on it so so fast...people sometimes think that my car is either a place to be used as a grafitti corner or that the car has been abandoned!
Some good things you could do for your car: get an anti-rust and a teflon coating job done. Get a nice audio system (I picked a Sony having USB and iPod connectivity with Xplod speakers - worked out to about 14, 000 for it), get rubber mats for the front, back and dicky. Get RTO approved screens on all windows and a good anti-glare film on the front glass. The WagonR comes in three models - LX, LXi and VXi. Would suggest an LXi as it has power steering and is only a little more expensive than an LX. A VXi has power windows, which would be safer to avoid. Also, you are paying about 50, 000 extra for a silver colour along the middle of your dashboard and different coloured interiors in a VXi. Personally, I think the inetrior colours of the LXi are better!
Having said all that...let me end on a personal note...I bought my car in Sep 2007 and have been in love with it ever since! However, on 30th Jan 2009, a huge tamarind tree fell on it and crushed it to beyond recognition!! :( Broke my heart as I was/am so attached to it! Anyways, when I buy my next car...whenever that is, it is definitely going to be a WagonR! After all...they say it is for the SMARTER RACE!!!!!! ;)