[asit.kulkarni93]

I really am bad at writing and neither should you expect anything special here.This is about our family workhorse and all the views presented are mine and my family's.



What you'll like
1. A practical VFM Family Hatch
2. The most comfortable seats in its class.
3. Being a tall boy has its benefits like a good headroom and easy in/egress.
4. Great low end torque- very helpful in the city.
5. 50:50 rear split seats are a boon when travelling over long distances.

What you won't
1. The stock tyres are bad. The 155's on the Vxi are still better.
2. The L variant gives you no- tachometer, power windows, 155 specs tyres and rear wiper.
3. Being a tall boy at higher speeds taking corners is difficult. Beyond 70kmph body roll is terrible.

Background
Dad was in India for Diwali Vacations when this topic came up as to how we would be travelling to Ahmednagar for my cousins wedding in December. Dad wasn't sure if he could make it in December so it was 5 of us who were supposed to travel. My grandparents, mom, brother and me. Since my mom had shifted to India in May 2013 every time Dad came here for vacations we always took a self-driven rental car. But in December it was difficult for dad to get a leave. So mom and dad were discussing about hiring an Innova or taking a shivneri when i casually said why not just buy a car. I anyway had got my learners license and on Dads insistence i joined a Driving school. So buying a car will have the following benefits-
1. Dad can use it whenever he is in India. No need to ask any relatives for their spare cars nor a self-driven rental car.
2. I can use it to take mom and grandparents around. It gets difficult to manage hospital trips with my grandparents in a rickshaw.
3. It would be easy for me, mom and my brother to travel in or around Pune for family functions and our Mumbai airport runs.
So Dad agreed to my point and was ready to buy a car. It took us a little time to convince mom, But eventually she agreed.


The need
1. A japanese/ Korean Hatch/Sedan.
2. No low slung cars due to my grandparents. They would find getting in and out difficult. Both my brother and mom are tall which was another reason.
3. It had to be a petrol.
4. The ODO should read less than 55k kms

After loads of looking around we had the following options-

1. Honda City 1.5 (2003 model)
57k on the ODO
Complete service history available with Deccan Honda. (non-certified car found through cartrade.com)
Asking price= 2.10 lakhs
I was very much inclined towards this car. I have loved the OHC since it came into the market. This was a golden opportunity and i had convinced my dad. But the dealer was not ready to negotiate at all which made me walk off the deal. Sometimes I do regret walking off this deal, But then 60k+ than the market price for a 10 year old car wasn't something acceptable.

2. Maruti Suzuki Baleno (2006 True value)
56k on the ODO.
asking price- 1.6 lakhs
My mom and Dad were against the Baleno since i had asked them about it Reasons being- low slung car, out of production and mom found it too long. Somehow after the OHC incidence i convinced mom for this Baleno as it was certified. So the first day we went the car wasn't available as it had gone for some bumper paint job. The next day we saw the car in the evening and as the headlamps were not turning ON. Upon asking the SA he said car will be delivered like this only. My mom did not like the car so we had to walk off.


We came across this particular Wagon-R at cartade.com dealership.
2006 Maruti Suzuki Wagonr Lxi (cartrade.com)
The Wagon-R and Santro Xing were the only two cars fulfilling our requirements. We barely found any good santro's and Wagon-R's. Either they had a high price or a high odo reading.
This particular Wagon-R was good.
54k on the ODO.
Asking price of 2 lakhs with RSA(for 1 year all over india), 6 months warranty and 3 free services.
My aunt,uncle and mom negotiated further and got a good deal including comprehensive insurance, RSA, 6 months warranty,3 free services and RTO charges for 1.9 lakhs.
The only grouse was this car was a 'L' variant. The things Maruti offers on the L and V variants (after the introduction of the Z variants) makes one feel really bad.

As the Lxi was very basic i wanted many accessories installed but mom only allowed me a few. Now waiting for Dad to come and get the rest
The following accessories were purchased-
1. Power Windows for all 4 windows
2. Fog lamps
3. The side patti on the door.

Dealership Experience
Our experience with dealership was really good. The negotiations went in very smooth and as soon as we decided on the car we gave them 5k. We took the delivery of the car within 2 days. We had to wait for a day due to the clearance of the cheque and one more day because of grandfathers insistence on bringing the car home at some auspicious time.(i wanted the car on 11/12/13 )
So 12/12/13 the car came home. When we went there to hand over the cheque i was pointing out some minor things with the car to the guy at the workshop, rest the car was in a really good condition.
On 12/12/13 we reached the showroom. The car was being washed, while mom signed all the documents i went to check the car. The ribbons were put on and a pic while handing over the key to my mom was clicked. We asked them for the insurance papers which were unavailable then. Though i did not like that but they got me the policy papers the very next day by noon. Overall the dealership experience was great. ( http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/other-...dhan-pune.html )

Now talking about the car-

Exterior
I love straight lines, not much in favour of the fluidic/curvy designs. The front is okay but i like the rear end. Though the car would be complete once i get alloys, better tyres and a good spoiler. The fog lamps help enhancing the front part of the car and i am quite happy with it.


Interiors
Its a 'L' variant so i never really expected anything good. The power windows were purchased from autocops with a 1 year warranty. There is no tachometer and the stock steering wheel is just pathetic. I soon plan to get the steering wheel from the face lifted Wagon-R. Though there are small and very useful spaces below the steering wheel and has just 1 bottle holder. Maruti was never meant on giving luxurious things so i was quite prepared for it.

Performance
The 1061cc 4 cylinder engine churns out 64bhp at 6200rpm. Though the Power output figures on paper are low but considering the size of the car it is adequate. The car feels powerful without the AC on. The acceleration in the 2nd and 3rd gear is very good, it can take you to speeds around 100kmph easily. Without the AC, On the highways the performance is good and you can get ahead of the crowd easily.
Switch the AC on and car feels very sluggish. Overtaking becomes a real pain especially on 2-lane roads. I usually ask my brother to switch the ac off till i am done with my overtaking maneuver. In the city though the difference is not much felt as the average speeds are low. The 'AC' difference is much felt when i have to reduce speeds to 20ish km/h and again start accelerating. With the AC on i always have to downshift to 1st or 2nd whereas without the AC i can continue in the 3rd gear.


Braking
The braking on the tall boy is sufficient. I never found it inadequate. We must not forget that this is a tall boy and has it limitations at high speeds. Drive it within its limits and you will never find braking an issue. I have had incidents where i had to brake from 120kmph to 30 kmph and the car performed good in the braking department.

Gearbox
The transmission quality is average. The two main problems are face while slotting 1st and reverse gear. The gear gets stuck half way 80% of the times. The Transmission quality isn't as smooth as the Santro Xing. I found it better with the K-series Wagon-R. Though now i am used to it, in the initial days it was irritating in the traffic.

Ride Quality
One word- amazing. Everyone in the family is happy about the ride quality. Though i find the road noise increase when i cross 90kmph but that will be sorted out once i get better tyres and the methods mentioned in parag sirs ownership thread. My mom found the comfort level better in the Wagon-R on comparing to the Ritz, Zen, Alto/Alto k10, i10 and Santro Xing.(These are the comparable cars to Wagon-R in the family). The biggest complain that my grandfather and my brother had in the past with other cars was of the headroom which is not a problem with the Wagon-R. Overall everyone is very happy with its ride quality. I was always scared of tall boys on the highways after having a ride in the Xylo last year it got worsened. But the Wagon-R doesn't play the bouncing game, which was a big relief.

Handling
I never expected it to be that great. In the city the PS and the 4.6m turning radius is a boon. The car feels good to drive in the city. Out on the highways where there is a real test of handling the car performs poorly. The steering has very low feedback nor does it weigh up with speeds. Initially i wasn't able to judge the speeds while taking corners but now know the limits. The high speed stability is acceptable though i haven't driven the car in the 3 digit speeds for a long time, But it is stable at speeds between 80-95kmph.

Kitna Deti hai
Frankly speaking i haven't calculated the FE till date. I prefer the tankful to tankful method. We rarely get a tankful done so haven't really calculated it.
But roughly from the Ahmednagar trip i guess we got about 19kmpl.

The First accident

I was coming back from Ahmednagar when this Verna was tailgating me and a dog started crossing the road inspite of me honking he came in my lane. I couldn't brake as the Verna behind me started honking and was very close. I eventually hit the dog and the Damage was mainly to the front bumper. One of my friends owns a garage so got it done from his place. Total cost-Rs1800

Issues faced so far
1. The Temperature indicator never reached the half mark. I took it to the dealer on the 3rd day after our purchase. He found the problem with some circuit and got it replaced for free of cost within 2 hours.
2. The car was jerking a lot. My friends called it a turbocharged Wagon-R as the car suddenly gave a jerk and the engine came to life after crossing 40kmph in any of the gears.
I consulted Parag sir where i got to know that during washing some water must have had entered the engine due to which it was jerking. I was anyway going to the dealer for some insurance work so i thought getting this done. So as suggested by Parag sir to open the Ignitors and blow air using a compressor for a few minutes in each of the 4 cylinders. Inspite of doing this the car was still jerking. Finally the culprit was some carbon deposit on the springs in the ignition coil. They applied a decarbusrising spray and it worked.
Apart from this the car has given us no problems.

Overall i am happy as the car has been performing its duties very well. It has never disappointed us anywhere. I really am worried about finding a replacement for this family work horse.
Leaving you all with some pics of the car-




Yours truly with the car

[Ashkait Kapoor]

Congratulations on the waggie! Fits for your requirements perfectly.
Do let us know what FE figures are you getting. The only thing that disappoints me with my waggie is the FE.

[pdma]

Congratulations !!! on the buy. Maruti is always a good option with its strong network spread across every nook & corner of our country.
The 2003 Honda city would have been an excellent choice as well however the car is comparatively low and your grand parents would have had some problems with the ingress & egress as I read that this is also a criteria for short listing the car.
I see that this car has fog lamps may be the previous owner got them installed as I doubt if Lxi comes with fog lamps.

Drive safe.
Cheers,
pdma.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Ashkait Kapoor

Congratulations on the waggie! Fits for your requirements perfectly.
Do let us know what FE figures are you getting. The only thing that disappoints me with my waggie is the FE.

Thanks Ashkait Kapoor. I still haven't checked the FE properly. Will do it and update here.

Originally Posted by pdma

Congratulations !!! on the buy. Maruti is always a good option with its strong network spread across every nook & corner of our country.
The 2003 Honda city would have been an excellent choice as well however the car is comparatively low and your grand parents would have had some problems with the ingress & egress as I read that this is also a criteria for short listing the car.
I see that this car has fog lamps may be the previous owner got them installed as I doubt if Lxi comes with fog lamps.

Drive safe.
Cheers,
pdma.

Thanks pdma. I sometime do regret walking off the OHC deal but looking at the family's needs Wagon-R has worked out better. We purchased the fog lamps from the accessories shop at the cartrade.com dealer.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Motoringlover]

Congratulations on the Car, Wagon R is very close to my heart, brings my bachelors days to mind, I own one in the family with over 100K on the ODO and still runs like a dream and i have no immediate plans of changing it. It still runs stock clutch + Flywheel, the So the reading you have on your ODO is no issue at all.

Some general advice

1. Get used to the dimensions of the car, the car has terrible high speed manners, gets wobbly if have road undulations.

2. I moved to Mobil 1, it’s a bit expensive, but the car loves it.

Interesting you find the low end torque good, i find it terrible, you get used to it and then it’s not a problem, for rattle sounds if any ever that creep in look for noise from the seats and also from the glove compartment.

Enjoy the ride, the car is very special. All the best

ML

[a4anurag]

The most comfortable hatchback in the country without a doubt, sales figures speak too even after the car being around for so long. This shows how the market (families specially) love the car due to the space + ergonomics + comfort + practicality + FE + performance (not a fire breather but decent for city runabouts).

Gearbox and the shifter is a pain in the WagonR but it is the matter of getting used to.

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

What you won't
1. The stock tyres are bad. The 155's on the Vxi are still better.

When is the upsize then?

2. The L variant gives you no- tachometer, power windows, 155 specs tyres and rear wiper.

Install the Ritz P tacho's. Refer to Parag Sir's thread!

3. Being a tall boy at higher speeds taking corners is difficult. Beyond 70kmph body roll is terrible.

This car was designed for city commute and for FE in mind and not to burn rubber and take corners at speed.

Congratulations for the car and I am waiting for the MODS that will begin eventually.

Anurag.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Motoringlover

Congratulations on the Car, Wagon R is very close to my heart, brings my bachelors days to mind, I own one in the family with over 100K on the ODO and still runs like a dream and i have no immediate plans of changing it. It still runs stock clutch + Flywheel, the So the reading you have on your ODO is no issue at all.

Some general advice

1. Get used to the dimensions of the car, the car has terrible high speed manners, gets wobbly if have road undulations.

2. I moved to Mobil 1, it’s a bit expensive, but the car loves it.

Interesting you find the low end torque good, i find it terrible, you get used to it and then it’s not a problem, for rattle sounds if any ever that creep in look for noise from the seats and also from the glove compartment.

Enjoy the ride, the car is very special. All the best

ML

Hello sir,
Thank you!
Good to know about your Wagon-R serving you well over 100k kms. I have a long way to go. After two of my highway drives i have pretty much understood how this car should be driven and got this one basic thing in my mind that it is really not meant for 3-digit speeds, especially on our highways. If you compare the low end torque to the 1.0 k-series engine you will love the f10d engine. I was just about to ask which engine oil to go for and here comes your reply. By the way did you find any difference in the pick up with Ac on after using mobil 1?

Originally Posted by a4anurag

The most comfortable hatchback in the country without a doubt, sales figures speak too even after the car being around for so long. This shows how the market (families specially) love the car due to the space + ergonomics + comfort + practicality + FE + performance (not a fire breather but decent for city runabouts).

Gearbox and the shifter is a pain in the WagonR but it is the matter of getting used to.



Congratulations for the car and I am waiting for the MODS that will begin eventually.

Anurag.

Hello boss,
We all love the practicality of the Wagon-R and you having used 2 Wagon-R's know much better of it. I too hate the gear shifter especially after driving my cousins Santro xing.
Well about the mods- I really don't have to tell you how eager i am to get those done. Just waiting for dad to come here. I guess i can get the tachometer/steering wheel done before he comes. Lets see its a work-horse so i have been strictly asked not spend unnecessarily on it. I don't think mom will ever understand the necessity of these mods.

[dipen]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Its a 'L' variant so i never really expected anything good. The power windows were purchased from autocops with a 1 year warranty.

Congratulations on a reliable workhorse.
Can you please post few pics of the after-market power windows and if possible the cost. Want to see how do these look when a non-PW door and handle is fitted with PW later on.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by dipen

Congratulations on a reliable workhorse.
Can you please post few pics of the after-market power windows and if possible the cost. Want to see how do these look when a non-PW door and handle is fitted with PW later on.

Please check post No. 30 by Alexpaul where he had installed the front power windows in his Ritz LDi which will cost you 5-6K.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...erience-2.html

Anurag.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by dipen

Congratulations on a reliable workhorse.
Can you please post few pics of the after-market power windows and if possible the cost. Want to see how do these look when a non-PW door and handle is fitted with PW later on.

I got after market power windows installed in my Zen - all 4. It costed me about Rs. 11K inclusive of all. The 11K includes an 'up-module' which automatically winds up all windows one by one when the car is locked by the remote. The module is a useful inclusion I must say and roughly costs 2K in itself. The power windows are made by RD; they have been OEMs for Maruti power windows and my MASS SA had nice things to say about RD, hence went ahead with it. So far no problems with it. It's about an year old now.

Regards,
Saket

[paragsachania]

Wondering when and how I missed this one Asit. That's a well narrated, brief and a lovely ownership report I must say.

The WagonR has been with me for over 2,14,000 Kms now and the ownership has been completely niggle-free. I would never drive a car for 10,000 and call it niggle free. To me, a car should be reliable even after crossing a lac. The F10D engine is one of them. Troublefree & Torqy.

Yes, there will be comments on its NVH levels at high speeds but c'mon, most of the manufacturers of Petrol cars never bothered too much about it then. NVH is only a much sought after USP these days.

There will also be opinions on its High speed "Handling" knowing that its a light Tallboy. Wouldn't want to comment on that having driven mine majorly on highways. You cannot have a cake and eat it too. If you want a car that you can throw it around corners, we have manufacturers who have it!

The Jerking issue you mentioned in your opening post is a very common one with the WagonR F10D. The design of the ignitors make it easy for water droplets to enter the head and makes the circuit wet before the spark-plugs.

The rust that you mention (In the springs of the Ignitor coils) is nothing but a result of water coming in contact with the spring and rusting it.

However, the new ignitor design comes with a protective plastic cover that doesn't allow water to get inside.

Here's wishing you may more happy miles with the Tall boy.

Before I click on Submit, Did I say that your Hatch is rarest among the rare since early 2000 which came with split and reclining rear seats that would help convert the seats into an almost flat bed (with headrests removed)? - Something latest manufacturers boast of today in SUVs.

[ravradha]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

....This is about our family workhorse .....

Congrats Asit. Nice write up. I liked the photo (with the camel in the background).

My WagonR is having better gear shifts, but the low end torque has gone for a toss.

My WagonR has also got a tear in exactly same place in the bumper! Good that you got it fixed. I'm planning to fix it over the next weekend.

Happy motoring.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by dipen

Congratulations on a reliable workhorse.
Can you please post few pics of the after-market power windows and if possible the cost. Want to see how do these look when a non-PW door and handle is fitted with PW later on.

Thanks dipen,
I will post the pics of the after-market power windows setup tomorrow when i click them in the day light.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Wondering when and how I missed this one Asit. That's a well narrated, brief and a lovely ownership report I must say.

The WagonR has been with me for over 2,14,000 Kms now and the ownership has been completely niggle-free. I would never drive a car for 10,000 and call it niggle free. To me, a car should be reliable even after crossing a lac. The F10D engine is one of them. Troublefree & Torqy.

Yes, there will be comments on its NVH levels at high speeds but c'mon, most of the manufacturers of Petrol cars never bothered too much about it then. NVH is only a much sought after USP these days.

There will also be opinions on its High speed "Handling" knowing that its a light Tallboy. Wouldn't want to comment on that having driven mine majorly on highways. You cannot have a cake and eat it too. If you want a car that you can throw it around corners, we have manufacturers who have it!

The Jerking issue you mentioned in your opening post is a very common one with the WagonR F10D. The design of the ignitors make it easy for water droplets to enter the head and makes the circuit wet before the spark-plugs.

The rust that you mention (In the springs of the Ignitor coils) is nothing but a result of water coming in contact with the spring and rusting it.

However, the new ignitor design comes with a protective plastic cover that doesn't allow water to get inside.

Here's wishing you may more happy miles with the Tall boy.

Before I click on Submit, Did I say that your Hatch is rarest among the rare since early 2000 which came with split and reclining rear seats that would help convert the seats into an almost flat bed (with headrests removed)? - Something latest manufacturers boast of today in SUVs.

Here comes the comment from the Wagon-R god
Thank you sir. Looking at the car's practicality i don't find any complaints. Apart from the things present in the Vxi, i really dont mind the NVH levels, Body roll.etc. Everyone in the family loves the tallboy, as its for them and they are happy with it which leaves me with no complaints. Thanks for your guidance then, i was able to sort out the jerking issue. Now i always am careful whenever i take the car for washing. My brother is in love with the rear seats. Our Rav4 back in Bahrain had a similar 50:50 split seat arrangement and we all loved it. Since my mom and brother shifted back to India we have been travelling around in different hatches. My brother only likes the Wagon-R's rear seating arrangement where he can relax as per his convenience. Well i always thought of what should the tallboy be replaced with, if at all we need a diesel in the future. Well you gave me the answer yet again

Originally Posted by ravradha

Congrats Asit. Nice write up. I liked the photo (with the camel in the background).

My WagonR is having better gear shifts, but the low end torque has gone for a toss.

My WagonR has also got a tear in exactly same place in the bumper! Good that you got it fixed. I'm planning to fix it over the next weekend.

Happy motoring.

Thanks ravradha.
The photo with the camel was clicked by my brother at panchgani. Well everyone here is complaining about the low end torque, i guess i need to compare it with something else in the same class apart from the k-series 1.0 engine. Please get the bumper fixed and do tell me about the involved costs.
Drive safe!

[asit.kulkarni93]

Sorry for the late reply. Here are the pics of the Autocop's Power windows which i got from the accessory shop of the dealership. They come with a 1 year warranty.
I really got angry when i saw the light colour on the power windows console. Upon asking the fellow he said it should match with the interiors
But as my mom and brother were cool with it i had no option left but accept it.
PS- sorry for the bad quality of pics. had clicked them in hurry.