[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle on 31st May, just before the price hike. Petrol retailing at 62.57 then.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 156.1
Litres consumed - 13.11
Bars before refill - 7
FE - 11.90 kmpl

FE is heading south as the rpm heads north. I feel the K10 motor is very sensitive to traffic conditions. The more time you spend at traffic lights and bumper to bumper traffic, higher toll it takes on the FE. My in city FE has varied between 11.90 and 15 kmpl.

[ashis89]

I have observed that each bar on the meter disappears after about 50 kms (100% City+AC). The very first one to disappear goes slightly more than 50, because of the extra fuel in the line during tanking up.

No.of bars - 10
Tank Capacity - 35 lits.
Capacity represented by each bar - 3.5 lits (roughly)
Distance per bar - 50 kms (roughly)
FE - 14.3 kmpl

On the highways and with some sedate driving, these bars last for 70+ kms.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ashis89

No.of bars - 10
Tank Capacity - 35 lits.
Capacity represented by each bar - 3.5 lits (roughly)
Distance per bar - 50 kms (roughly)
FE - 14.3 kmpl

While that is good rule of thumb and a simple (but crude) way of keeping track of the FE, the full tank to full tank method is more accurate and these days with so many smartphone Apps around, is very easy to track your cars FE (App will give you calculated FE, charts, etc with you just providing the data for each fuel top up).

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by NPV

While that is good rule of thumb and a simple (but crude) way of keeping track of the FE, the full tank to full tank method is more accurate and these days with so many smartphone Apps around, is very easy to track your cars FE (App will give you calculated FE, charts, etc with you just providing the data for each fuel top up).

I tank up every single time and measure my FE on alternate tankfuls (used to do it regularly and kept a note too but have given up off late). These above description is a mere observation of mine which has been fairly consistent over the past 3 years. It just helps in gauging a crude range with the remaining fuel and can also help track changes in FE with change in driving style. For example: if I drive aggressively, the bar disappears in 40 odd kms.

Hope it helps in some way.

[sanjayk]

Originally Posted by longhorn

My in city FE has varied between 11.90 and 15 kmpl.

I am surprised K10 giving such low FE. My 2006 WagonR gives between 15 and 18 in city and 20 on highways. Are we to blame the bumper to bumper traffic?

[longhorn]

The location, traffic density, ambient temperature, tyre pressure, driving style all play a role in determining your FE. I feel the K10 motor is very sensitive to bumper to bumper traffic. The poor low end torque contributes to this. We need to raise the rpm to get the vehicle moving, more so impacts the FE in bumper to bumper traffic. Even the showroom guys told me I can expect anywhere between 11-13 kmpl in Chennai city conditions.

My M800 used to give only 15 - 16 kmpl in Chennai even though I could easily extract 20 kmpl in Kerala and 22-23 kmpl in tolled highways.

[longhorn]

Uploading a couple of snaps of the WagonR's boot. The first picture shows the loop that can be used to lift the boot floor lid. Guess it has been removed in later models. The second picture shows the boot loading area with the boot mat in place.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by longhorn

Uploading a couple of snaps of the WagonR's boot. The first picture shows the loop that can be used to lift the boot floor lid. Guess it has been removed in later models. The second picture shows the boot loading area with the boot mat in place.

Hi Longhorn,
The boot floor lid is made up of plain cardboard covered with a layer of cloth. Don't load anything heavy on this as it won't sustain the weight of it. Mine has a nice crack across its width and the lid bends around the crack when I pull it out. Only the outer cloth covering is providing support to keep it in one piece. I believe it happened after I went on a trip with a couple of baggage in the boot.

regards,
Ashis

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Hi Longhorn,
The boot floor lid is made up of plain cardboard covered with a layer of cloth. Don't load anything heavy on this as it won't sustain the weight of it.

I guess it depends on the way the weight is distributed over it, in the sense the weight must actually be borne by the boot floor and the boot lid must only be used to provide a flat loading bay. I had my boot loaded to the gills when I drove back from Kerala 18 months back. It's holding up good so far.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle today. Petrol retailing at 62.06.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 326.7
Litres consumed - 24.17
Bars before refill - 3
FE - 13.51 kmpl

The vehicle has covered 7500 kms now. No niggles to report. Surprised to see an FE of 13+ inspite of some idling with the a/c running.

[longhorn]

Tanked up the vehicle yesterday. Petrol retailing at 59.67.
Usage Pattern - 100% city driving
Aircon usage - 95 %
Kms covered - 365.3
Litres consumed - 32.69
Bars before refill - 1
FE - 11.17 kmpl

The odometer stands at 78xx kms now.

Did the 1st paid service as well, this time at Khivraj Motors, Mount Road. Total bill amount came to Rs. 6800 odd. They managed to sneak in engine flushing for Rs 1150. Wouldn't recommend this workshop except for regular service. Front brake overhauling/caliper greasing was billed at Rs 550. Don't see an iota of difference before service and after. Overall the service bill seems like a ripoff. The Maruti care app shows an expected bill amount of Rs 3600. They have billed me more than double that, inspite of which the work done wasn't any better than Popular.

The WagonR's LH side CV joint boot had a minor cut. Inspite of asking the SA to replace it he didn't show much interest to do it, saying they don't have stock of the rubber boot. This inspite of my vehicle being there for 4 days, to fix a minor dent above the wheel arch, courtesy a taxi Tavera. It seemed to me that each SA is given a target billing amount per vehicle and they try to push out the car on the same day.

There is a seperate SA for the bodyshop work. They body repair was neatly done with perfect colour matching. The only giveaway is the clear coat, which has more glaze now than before. Washing was neatly done. This repair cost me 1000 bucks over and above the service bill, the rest being covered under insurance.

[gearedup]

Originally Posted by longhorn

The location, traffic density, ambient temperature, tyre pressure, driving style all play a role in determining your FE. I feel the K10 motor is very sensitive to bumper to bumper traffic. The poor low end torque contributes to this. We need to raise the rpm to get the vehicle moving, more so impacts the FE in bumper to bumper traffic.

Hi Longhorn,

Thanks for your review of WagonR. I have also closely followed NPV's thread on his Waggy® and ashis89's blued eyed boy.

I am using a 1999 Zen (Carb) since 2012 and now want to upgrade. Don’t have the courage to look beyond Maruti (I don’t know why. Manufacturing quality has certainly deteriorated over the years, but Tata A.S.S is scary and Hyundai is perceived expensive to maintain)

I was planning for a used Wagon R 2011 – 2013. But the prices quoted online are only 1 to 1.5 lakhs shy of a new one. This makes me go for a new Wagon R, but I have some concerns.

My fixed requirements are Petrol engine, Annual run 12000 kms, budget on road 5 to 6 lakhs.
Good FE is a priority. I stay on outskirts of Bangalore and travel to ORR for work and am easily getting 13 in Zen with 50% AC.
Low end torque (I am spoiled by my Zen, I use its 3rd gear like an automatic in city traffic) My top speed will never cross 80.
Long term owner and very fussy on replacing even the smallest part– so future availability of all spare parts a must.

Concerns with Wagon R:
Am not able to understand FE of 11 for Wagon R even in harshest of traffic (despite your explanation). I read in one of the Wagon R related posts that keeping an RPM of >2K helps to have a better FE in Wagon R. How to achieve that RPM in traffic and that to for FE?
Low end torque: I don’t mind shifting gears (always prefer manual over AGS/AMT/AT/CVT), but I hear that even on 1st gear with AC and 3 occupants on an incline like any city flyover – Wagon R could struggle?

Swift Vxi would definitely be out of my budget, but then for the 1.2 lakhs odd, I don't see much value add other than the 200 cc extra since my requirement isn't a super mini.

[ashis89]

@Longhorn, very sorry to hijack your thread repeatedly.

Originally Posted by gearedup

Hi Longhorn,

Thanks for your review of WagonR. I have also closely followed NPV's thread on his Waggy® and ashis89's blued eyed boy.

Thanks.

I am using a 1999 Zen (Carb) since 2012 and now want to upgrade. Don’t have the courage to look beyond Maruti (I don’t know why. Manufacturing quality has certainly deteriorated over the years, but Tata A.S.S is scary and Hyundai is perceived expensive to maintain)

Do give a look at the Tiago. People are reporting good FE numbers, the engine torquey (one of your concerns), the 50k km endurance run shows some credibility of the engine and with extended warranties, you are safe for 4 years.

I was planning for a used Wagon R 2011 – 2013. But the prices quoted online are only 1 to 1.5 lakhs shy of a new one. This makes me go for a new Wagon R, but I have some concerns.

WagonR seems to hold its resale quite well. But I would still suggest to look around, negotiate hard and you might land up a good example at 2.5-3L. Similarly, you can look at Swifts for about a lakh more than the above.

My fixed requirements are Petrol engine, Annual run 12000 kms, budget on road 5 to 6 lakhs.
Good FE is a priority. I stay on outskirts of Bangalore and travel to ORR for work and am easily getting 13 in Zen with 50% AC.
Low end torque (I am spoiled by my Zen, I use its 3rd gear like an automatic in city traffic) My top speed will never cross 80.
Long term owner and very fussy on replacing even the smallest part– so future availability of all spare parts a must.

Concerns with Wagon R:
Am not able to understand FE of 11 for Wagon R even in harshest of traffic (despite your explanation). I read in one of the Wagon R related posts that keeping an RPM of >2K helps to have a better FE in Wagon R. How to achieve that RPM in traffic and that to for FE?
Low end torque: I don’t mind shifting gears (always prefer manual over AGS/AMT/AT/CVT), but I hear that even on 1st gear with AC and 3 occupants on an incline like any city flyover – Wagon R could struggle?

For the past 10 months and ~15k kms, I am the sole user of my car. It has seen a lot of city roads and highways alike. The car's FE has never been less than 13 kmpl whatever the road conditions maybe. I'm not a light footed driver at all. With all my shifts coming between 2-5k RPM, my avg. FE has been 14+ (100% city, 80% AC) . I believe the car can achieve 15-16 kmpl with shifts between 2-3.5k RPM.

I have driven it to Bangalore twice during this period and I am familiar with the prevailing road conditions there (I lived there for 2 years before relocating). This car will return FE very similar or even slightly more than your Zen in the same stretch of road.

The car is sensitive to high RPMs (3.5+k RPMs) and high speed runs (lack of aerodynamics at speeds above 100 kmph) and this is where the FE falls.

Regarding achieving 2k+ RPM, always upshift between 2-3.5k for the best acceleration and FE. For crawling traffic, if you are the sole occupant, engage the 1st and releasing the clutch gives you enough momentum (even with AC on) with mild accelerator inputs only when you need speed. For a loaded car, you need to climb to ~2k RPM before leaving the clutch to prevent stalling, maybe a very slight slipping of clutch too. I have been to mountains and ghat sections with 4 healthy people on board. I followed the above methods and have never faced any difficulty. That said, driving in stop-go traffic is slightly frustrating due to lack of torque.

Hope it helps in some way.
regards,
Ashis

[NPV]

Originally Posted by gearedup

I am using a 1999 Zen (Carb) since 2012 and now want to upgrade. Don’t have the courage to look beyond Maruti (I don’t know why. Manufacturing quality has certainly deteriorated over the years, but Tata A.S.S is scary and Hyundai is perceived expensive to maintain)

If you're looking at a car from the Maruti lineup, the Alto K10, WagonR and Celerio will probably make it to your contender list. While the K10 and the WagonR share the same K10B engine, the Celerio has the same engine in a different state of tune.
If you have a long or continuous bumper-to-bumper drives as part of your daily commute, probably all 3 cars will perform similarly with the Celerio being slightly better in terms of drivability, but clearly WagonR's driving and passenger seating positions are best in my opinion.

but I hear that even on 1st gear with AC and 3 occupants on an incline like any city flyover – Wagon R could struggle?

Haven't experienced this. Recently did a ~700Km trip on 4 laned National highway roads as well as 2 laned State Highway roads and a bad stretch of 2-3Km on a muddy, gravel path with inclines and the WagonR polished it off with aplomb!

I would say Test Drive the cars you shortlist (in conditions that you expect to be driving on a daily basis) and don't make a hasty decision - what I think is good from my perspective may not be good for you - To Each His Own.

Consider the Tiago & Bolt from the Tata lineup (I don't have too much insight especially on the Petrol engines).

Alternatively look for pre-worshipped examples of the Swift.

On the FE part, I'm seeing that it is increasing past the 11 Kmpl in city driving conditions with AC on (you can see my ownership report for more details) and on the recent highway run it returned around 18 Kmpl.

With our traditional approach to driving, we still haven't mastered the art of shifting gears at higher RPMs (2-3.5K rpm) as others have recommended on some threads here, so probably that is a reason for the lower FE numbers but I can't say for sure.

*Right now I find we're upshifting at 2k or slightly more rpm but downshifts are mostly at the 1.5k-1k rpm range

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by gearedup

Good FE is a priority. I stay on outskirts of Bangalore and travel to ORR for work and am easily getting 13 in Zen with 50% AC.

If FE is the top most priority, I'd suggest you look at the Celerio rather than the WagonR. The Waggy is the least fuel efficient Maruti with the K10 engine.

Originally Posted by gearedup

Low end torque (I am spoiled by my Zen, I use its 3rd gear like an automatic in city traffic) My top speed will never cross 80.
Long term owner and very fussy on replacing even the smallest part– so future availability of all spare parts a must.

The WagonR's low end torque sucks. It's dead below 1500 rpm and barely pulls till you hit 2000 rpm.This is with the aircon running and at least two people on board. What a waste for a car that otherwise excels in the urban environment. Its got decent pull if the aircon is off though and there is only the driver on board. Power is available from 2k to at least 5k rpms, but you normally wouldn't need to go beyond 3.5 k rpms in the city.

The WagonR does 11-12k units a month, almost double the Celerio's sales figures, that too without a diesel engine. Spares availability shouldn't be a problem till at least 5 years after this model is pulled out of production.

Originally Posted by gearedup

Concerns with Wagon R:
Am not able to understand FE of 11 for Wagon R even in harshest of traffic (despite your explanation). I read in one of the Wagon R related posts that keeping an RPM of >2K helps to have a better FE in Wagon R. How to achieve that RPM in traffic and that to for FE?

You can realistically expect 11-13 kmpl in Chennai city conditions with the aircon running full time. Highway runs gave me 17-18 kmpl. Why you need to keep the rpm above 2k as far as possible is because the engine is pretty much dead below that. You can't do that in bumper to bumper traffic. In flowing traffic you can time the gearshifts so as to hold those rpms. If you shift gears at around 3-3.5k rpms, you should land at around 2k rpms in the next higher gear.

Originally Posted by gearedup

Low end torque: I don’t mind shifting gears (always prefer manual over AGS/AMT/AT/CVT), but I hear that even on 1st gear with AC and 3 occupants on an incline like any city flyover – Wagon R could struggle?

Sounds like an urban legend to me. Haven't faced any such issues so far. I have climbed ramps inside malls that are much steeper than any flyover with 3 or more people on board.

Originally Posted by gearedup

Swift Vxi would definitely be out of my budget, but then for the 1.2 lakhs odd, I don't see much value add other than the 200 cc extra since my requirement isn't a super mini.

The K12 motor is superior in every aspect. Much much better than the K10. No such flat spots with this engine, it goes on pulling like nobody's business till you hit the rev limiter. Also the FE would be 10-12 kmpl in city conditions.