Maruti WagonR : Test Drive & Review

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by DCEite

1st->2nd @ 15-20 kmph
2nd->3rd @ 30-35 kmph
3rd->4th @ 40-50 kmph

Is this OK?

Well, what we did was :

15 kmph : Engage 2nd.
30 kmph : Engage 3rd
40 kmph : Engage 4th
50 kmph : Engage 5th.

This sequence and vice-versa for downshifts. On highways, keeps speeds below 100. We maintained a consistent 80.

[bluevolt]

@DCEite,

Just forgot to add one more thing. The car should not be driven at one constant speed say 60KMPH for long duration. Keep the speed varying for first 1000KMs.

[carzone]

I have a WagonR LXI and have been severely missing a tacho.
Having to rely completely on engine sound, there is a acceleration boost after a certain RPM. I assume it is around 3k.
A request for the VXi friends, can you describe the engine speeds at different RPM's in different gears?

About the average, my car has done 7K Kms in around 1.5 years. It has not run much, but I get only 11-12kmpl during city runs which includes some short distance runs.
What speeds to change gears (and approx RPM's) to attain good average. haven't yet calculated the average on highway runs as it has run very less on the highways.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Well, what we did was :

15 kmph : Engage 2nd.
30 kmph : Engage 3rd
40 kmph : Engage 4th
50 kmph : Engage 5th.

This sequence and vice-versa for downshifts. On highways, keeps speeds below 100. We maintained a consistent 80.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

@DCEite,

Just forgot to add one more thing. The car should not be driven at one constant speed say 60KMPH for long duration. Keep the speed varying for first 1000KMs.

Thanks for that info..

Its really tempting to drive this engine above 80kmph on Noida Expressway on road to my office. But i will try to vary speed between 60-80kmph for the first 1000 kms.

By the way i am facing two strange issues:

1. When AC blower is set at speed 3, i can notice that the blower speed varies intermittently. That is the blower fan slows down for a second and then picks up speed again and this keeps on happening.
Is this normal?

2. When the car is cold and i engage the reverse gear, there is a rough sound (as if gear is engaged without pressing the clutch even though its pressed fully). However if i press clutch, engage some other gear and then engage reverse gear the shifting is smooth without the rough sound.

[Jignesh]

Hello All,

Recently I was in search of a new Car & my budget made it possible only to go for Hatchback Cars. I was firmly sold on CNG / Diesel options.

The Car is mainly going to be used in City with occasional out-station trips. With rising Prices of Petrol, Diesel seemed to be best option. But none of the Diesel Cars were in our Budget & also a Fuel Price Comparision thread on T-BHP came to our rescue. We realised that given our usage (less than 12,000 kms per year, we are not going to recover the extra amount (Rs. 1,15,000 approx) paid for Diesel Car before next 4 years.

Thus I moved to CNG option, but loss of boot space was a big concern. We would like to go on short 2 / 3 days trips in our Car & lack of boot was not acceptable.

So once again we were back looking at Petrol Cars & as we earlier owned 2007 WagonR, the new WagonR K10 looked impressive to us.

Finally we got a Pre-Owned September 2010 Maruti WagonR K10 with 17,700 kms on ODO for Rs. 3,15,000 & we settled for the same.

The initial drive was little shocking as the lack of power in three cylinder engine was very evident, but over the time, we have adjusted to the driving style. The lack of power is not visible after speeds of 40 kmph.

The overall built & suspension quality is far better than previous generations WagonR's, but the interior plastics seem to be of low quality.

Some pictures:




































Thanks,

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by carzone

A request for the VXi friends, can you describe the engine speeds at different RPM's in different gears?

Me too requesting VXi friends to provide the same.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by Jignesh

The lack of power is not visible after speeds of 40 kmph.


Some pictures:

Hi Jignesh,

The pictures are not visible. Please upload them again.

And I have also observed in my friend's K10 WagonR that engine's response is poor below 2K. It's just like my i10 iRDE which also lags till 2K but after that it flies. But this is not the case with F10D WagonR.

[born_free]

And more thing, first gear is absolutely lifeless and jerky, not good enough even to crawl, when taking off from a signal. I have to shift up immediately to 2nd gear to get it moving smoothly.

And one thing I noted, that sometimes I have managed to get it moving from standstill in second gear, unknowingly. Though it requires precises clutch and acceleration coordination else it will stall.

[Jignesh]

We recently completed 300 kms in the Car & the fuel efficiency was got was as 12.5 kms per liter. This was by tankful to tankul method & 70% of the driving was within city.

Thus we are happy with the current fuel efficiency. I am scheduled to visit Lonavala in next one month & then will get actual fuel efficiency on highways.

In the meantime, I ordered for T-BHP Stickers & it is time for my Car to be branded with T-BHP stickes.





Thanks,

[carzone]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

And I have also observed in my friend's K10 WagonR that engine's response is poor below 2K. It's just like my i10 iRDE which also lags till 2K but after that it flies. But this is not the case with F10D WagonR.

Yes, theres a lack of low end power, but when you adjust your driving style, you don't feel it much except for some bumper to bumper traffic.

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Finally we got a Pre-Owned September 2010 Maruti WagonR K10 with 17,700 kms on ODO for Rs. 3,15,000 & we settled for the same.

The initial drive was little shocking as the lack of power in three cylinder engine was very evident, but over the time, we have adjusted to the driving style. The lack of power is not visible after speeds of 40 kmph.

The overall built & suspension quality is far better than previous generations WagonR's, but the interior plastics seem to be of low quality.

Some pictures:

There is some kind of TURBO BOOST after 40kmph in 2nd gear and the car really picks up after that. I wonder what would be the RPM then. In the 3rd, 4th and 5th gear the low power is not much visible but the 2nd gear is where the real lack of power is felt.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by carzone

Yes, theres a lack of low end power, but when you adjust your driving style, you don't feel it much except for some bumper to bumper traffic.



There is some kind of TURBO BOOST after 40kmph in 2nd gear and the car really picks up after that. I wonder what would be the RPM then. In the 3rd, 4th and 5th gear the low power is not much visible but the 2nd gear is where the real lack of power is felt.

Absolutely right. Its only in the 2nd gear where the lack of torque under 2500rpm is evident. Not in any other gear.
Strange.

Having driven cars like 800, Alto, Spark, Santro, Swift, Ritz, i have yet to come across engine characteristics as strange as the KB10 of WagonR !

[Jignesh]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Hi Jignesh,
The pictures are not visible. Please upload them again.
And I have also observed in my friend's K10 WagonR that engine's response is poor below 2K. It's just like my i10 iRDE which also lags till 2K but after that it flies. But this is not the case with F10D WagonR.

Hello Bluevolt,

Can you view the pictures now? I am able to see the pictures. Or for that matter are others able to view the pictures in my above posts?

Yes lack of power is clearly felt in 2nd Gear & not in any other Gears. earlier I had WagonR 2007 (F10D) & my experiences are also same as yours. There was no lack of power in previous WagonR. Probably this is due to three cylinder engine.

Thanks,

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Hello Bluevolt,

Can you view the pictures now? I am able to see the pictures. Or for that matter are others able to view the pictures in my above posts?

Hi Jignesh,

I am still not able to see the pictures, attaching a snapshot of the screen. I tried IE browser also.Try uploading pics again in separate post.

[carzone]

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Hello Bluevolt,

Can you view the pictures now? I am able to see the pictures. Or for that matter are others able to view the pictures in my above posts?

Not yet Jignesh. I think you should create a new post.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Hi Jignesh,

I am still not able to see the pictures, attaching a snapshot of the screen. I tried IE browser also.Try uploading pics again in separate post.

Attachment 948765

I have been using opera but I too cannot see the pictures.

[dhrupadh]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Me too requesting VXi friends to provide the same.

Here is a very crude idea based on my learning so far:
These speeds are at 2.5K RPM
2nd Gear -> 20 KMPH
3rd Gear -> 35 KMPH
4th Gear -> 55 KMPH
5th Gear -> Havent tried it out yet
Will verify this soon and post my update with more accurate results. Till then hope this helps

Originally Posted by born_free

And more thing, first gear is absolutely lifeless and jerky, not good enough even to crawl, when taking off from a signal. I have to shift up immediately to 2nd gear to get it moving smoothly.

And one thing I noted, that sometimes I have managed to get it moving from standstill in second gear, unknowingly. Though it requires precises clutch and acceleration coordination else it will stall.

First gear is meant for overcoming the initial rolling resistance only which is pretty high. Once you have acquired a speed of 5 to 10 KMPH (which is pretty quick after one push), its advisable to shift to 2nd.

As far as starting to move in 2nd gear is concerned, I have been able to accomplish that as well (accidentally when I forgot to downshift on a signal). However, I believe it is not good for the engine/gear assembly's health so I avoid it.

Originally Posted by carzone

Yes, theres a lack of low end power, but when you adjust your driving style, you don't feel it much except for some bumper to bumper traffic.



There is some kind of TURBO BOOST after 40kmph in 2nd gear and the car really picks up after that. I wonder what would be the RPM then. In the 3rd, 4th and 5th gear the low power is not much visible but the 2nd gear is where the real lack of power is felt.

Yes there is a lack of power but what I read from a lot of reviews is that the engine's ECU is designed that way to help in increasing FE. So for the people who are not power hungry, this is a good car.

Frankly I dont take my car to 40 KMPH at 2nd gear. For me the surge comes between 2K and 2.5K which occurs around 20 to 25 KMPH.