[ashis89]

Thanks for such a detailed review!

I own a previous gen K10 powered WagonR, 80k run. After going through the review and seeing few cars on the road, I have the following opinion about this new model.

Negatives:

Most of the negatives are carried over from its predecessor. MS could have easily addressed them since they developed the new model from scratch.

1. Extremely light weight and thin body sheets all around.

2. High body roll. I know this car can't defy physics but was still hoping it could have fared better.

3. Easily affected by cross winds. I have had few horrible experiences on the highway due to this behavior.

4. Stupid placement of AC vents which leave you with freezing knuckles and sweating forehead!

5. Weak AC. I am just satisfied with the AC in my car as I travel alone most of the times. With more passengers, the AC feels inadequate, especially with the large glasses. If the AC feels weaker in the new car, then going will get tough.

6. Fixed headrest are uncomfortable. I use the adjustable headrests in my car and need them.

7. Flat rear seat without any contours is very hard and uncomfortable over long distance.

8. Ground clearance. Not sure about my car but the new one does look much lower. And given my experience on the roads, I value ground clearance a lot.

9. New car looks boring from the rear. Old one was much better.

10. Missing temperature gauge and integrated digital tachometer.


Positives
I am listing out the positives of the new model only.

1. The beautiful K12 engine. I have driven the Baleno extensively and know the potential of this engine. It is free revving, powerful and yet, efficient. The Baleno has been consistently more fuel efficient than my K10 WagonR while being able to maintain higher speeds.

2. Steering controls for the ICE. This is something that I miss a lot.

3. Bottle holders and storage space around the center console. Anything is welcome than having nothing at all.

4. Supple suspension.

5. Better looking front end and side profile. I would prefer the new design over the old one.

6. Increased boot space!


Apart from the above list, I don't care about any other features as they add little value to the car. Given the negatives are higher and are critical ones, I wouldn't choose the new WagonR.

It has been few months since this model was launched but surprisingly, I see very few of these on the road in Hyderabad. I must have seen more number of Harriers and XUV300 during the same time period.

[satrikon_454]

Thanks for the amazing review, blackwasp and CrAzY dRiVeR.

We owned a 2012 Wagon R until recently and it served purely as a city car. It could be maneuvered easily in traffic, and the easy ingress and egress made this a very comfortable car for dad. We planned to replace it when the news of the new Wagon R surfaced the internet. However, I was utterly disappointed when I checked it out in the showroom. It lost a lot of useful features and the only positive for me was the 1.2-liter engine. The top-variant lacks a lot of features, and in my opinion, it is not a VFM offering by any means.

This is when our attention turned to the Ignis. Our main criteria was a car with the smallest foot print possible, tall driving stance, and a host of creature comforts. Although the Ignis was never in our plans because of its absurd pricing, it suddenly started to make a lot of sense after we saw the new Wagon R. Long story short, we picked the Alpha trim a couple of days back (got a good deal!) and are happy with the decision. Thanks, new Wagon R, for helping me a choose a better car from a segment above

[tushky]

Very good review. You have mentioned that there is no illumination at the keyhole just like other cars in the segment. However Tata Tiago has keyhole illumination.

[jetsetgo08]

I would still prefer the older Wagon R, contrary to many talking about the poor build quality of the old Wagon R, I would say it is decently built for City driving. My car has taken multiple hits(read <20kmph) from Bull-bar clad Xylo's and Innova taxis that could only dislodge the bumper from its clips and nothing more. May be due to the lack of crumple zones? Poor ride quality is the only drawback for an otherwise perfectly sized city car.

Originally Posted by ashis89

It has been few months since this model was launched but surprisingly, I see very few of these on the road in Hyderabad. I must have seen more number of Harriers and XUV300 during the same time period.

Yeah. Yet to see where the 15k Wagon R's are heading. But, the city dwellers have jumped a couple of segments higher, almost every other new car that I see are one among Swift, Baleno, Brezza or Creta.

[RajeevSharma]

WagonR is a very important product for Maruti and darling of Indian Masses with fuel economy, tall boy stand and brand value being its USP. The review suggests that that product has only improved and became more premium in looks and practical to use. I will not be surprised to see the sales topping 15000 units per month. It may also dent sales of Hyundai Santro.

It looks good on road too.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Somehow I did not like the looks of this car at all. The older ones were much better at their competition levels then. With the Santro and Tiago in the market, I absolutely hate the exterior and interior design of the car. I was actually looking forward to this one as my second car but seeing the overall design have put my plans on hold until BSVI kick in.

Maruti has made it a disaster with their recent designs- Celerio, Ignis, S Cross (refresh), Alto.

[Mr.Beat]

What a fantastic review! Puts the videos reviewers to shame when it comes to covering the details.

Maruti has an excellent product management team that keeps churning out models after models with significant improvement. To manage such humungous boot in such a small car is no mean feat. I have never liked the Wagon-R, right from its name to the interiors and shape. It's, however, a huge success and with so many improvements, expect it to lead the sales charts for sure.

To the admin team, did you guys take out the harrier and Wagon-R on the same day for review?

Looks like Kharghar, Navi Mumbai to me.

[gjnnbagal]

My father still has a second gen Blue eyed boy since 5 - 6 years, and it's running good.


This time company tried to give it an overall rounded shape compared to previous model.


Dashboard's beige color scheme doesn't seem good, even complete black would have looked better than this.


Tall Tail light design reminds me of Volvo xc90 as well as Tata Indica, both at the same time


All in all, it's a car with practicality than looks or performance

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Thanks for such a detailed review!

I own a previous gen K10 powered WagonR, 80k run. After going through the review and seeing few cars on the road, I have the following opinion about this new model.

Negatives:

Most of the negatives are carried over from its predecessor. MS could have easily addressed them since they developed the new model from scratch.

1. Extremely light weight and thin body sheets all around.

2. High body roll. I know this car can't defy physics but was still hoping it could have fared better.

3. Easily affected by cross winds. I have had few horrible experiences on the highway due to this behavior.

4. Stupid placement of AC vents which leave you with freezing knuckles and sweating forehead!

5. Weak AC. I am just satisfied with the AC in my car as I travel alone most of the times. With more passengers, the AC feels inadequate, especially with the large glasses. If the AC feels weaker in the new car, then going will get tough.

I must say these might be result of the overall dimensions and thing that make it a WagonR. Celerio seems to be better overall in most places except practicality! Even quality of sheet metal seems to be better in Celerio, strictly comparing it with recent Maruti cars.

This car will sell well no doubt. They can easily make an 7 seater version, Looks like an MPV already. hope they don't

[VVN]

I am fairly convinced that Maruti is not too serious about the Wagon R. They have updated the car enough to ensure that it outsells the Santro while also ensuring that the current Wagon R owners shift to either the Ignis or higher segments.

[deovrat]

Thanks blackwasp for this very detailed review. I learned to drive in the first-gen WagonR and can attest to the loyalty factor this car garners.

[fache89]

Great review! Wagon R is always known for its practicality. It carries the same legacy forward, in fact further accentuates it. But, when it comes to design, it is like a mini 'Bread Box'. The shoulder room may be higher than it's predecessors, but nothing to talk about.

I see this car more of Mahindra E20 on steroids from certain angles especially the rear. Anybody else noticed this or is it just me being a little wacky?

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

In-Car Entertainment

No variants get a reversing camera and it is not possible to retrofit one either. Screen resolution and clarity are impressive for a car in this segment (same system is used in the Baleno facelift).

However, you can’t add a reversing camera to this display:

If the system is the same that the Baleno facelift uses, as far as I know, Baleno's system supports a Reversing Camera. Why then this system cannot be retrofitted with a similar setup?

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by tushky

Very good review. You have mentioned that there is no illumination at the keyhole just like other cars in the segment. However Tata Tiago has keyhole illumination.

Thanks for pointing this out. Based on the latest brochure, I couldn't find illuminated key ring mentioned. Maybe the owners of the latest Tiago's can confirm - after all Tata is known to revise their feature list quite frequently.

Attaching a screenshot:

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

If the system is the same that the Baleno facelift uses, as far as I know, Baleno's system supports a Reversing Camera. Why then this system cannot be retrofitted with a similar setup?

My guess is some sort of programming is needed and its not a simple plug and play affair. When you put in reverse, the display changes to parking sensor display; for a reverse camera, this should be changed.

[bvasista]

Originally Posted by tushky

Very good review. You have mentioned that there is no illumination at the keyhole just like other cars in the segment. However Tata Tiago has keyhole illumination.

You are right tushky !

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Thanks for pointing this out. Based on the latest brochure, I couldn't find illuminated key ring mentioned. Maybe the owners of the latest Tiago's can confirm - after all Tata is known to revive their feature list quite frequently

Hey blackwasp !

I own a Tata Tiago - April 2018 model. Illuminated key ring is there in my car. But not sure if they are present in latest models. You could be right.