Jun 25, 2010 06:09 PM
12689 Views
(Updated Jul 06, 2010 11:06 AM)
Even though I am an automobile engineer by training, I am currently working in IT. So I will not be able to use trendy language like pots for cylinders in this review. But let me try my best.
Those who are buying cars like Maruti Wagon R are most likely not intending to participate in the rallys and are not interested in winning the signal races. At least I am not. All I was looking for was a small car to drive in the city. Fuel economy was important to me. Another consideration was that the car must have all the features and conveniences that my Honda City has.
I looked at multiple options. Ford Figo, Polo, and all the Maruti small cars. What attracted to me was the distinctiveness of Wagon-R. It stands out in the faceless crowd of the small hatchbacks. What to others is a ugly tallball is to me a different animal in a herd. I did not like the ride quality of Figo. The gear shift was also not very smooth and firm. Polo looked good but the fuel average was not very exciting. Also I sensed a certain take-it-or-leave-it attitude from the dealers. I also felt that polos are overpriced. Hyundai cars are not reputed for good average. After my first experience indica and its clones were not on my Radar.
With the shrinking options I walked in the Maruti Suzuki showroom with my mind already made up about Wagon R. All that was left was to find out enough reasons to take the final decision.
In the showroom at the first look, I noticed the spacious interiors. I am not particularly tall but the Wagon R gave me a feeling of having ample space all around. The seats were little hard. But the quality of the plastic appeared to be good. I anyway do not see the point in complaining about the cheap plastics when I see the car in the mint condition. Any new car has waxed interiors, they look equally good in any new car. It is only after usage of 1-2 years and exposure to the harsh sunlight, the wheat separates from chaffe. The Indica plastic interiors turned white and dull in about 1 year and in Honda city even after 4 years they shine. The cabin is done in a tastful color combination to appeal to urban test. Only the seats are covered in some blue material that to my eye did not co-ordinate well. That is the only sign of cheapness in the interiors. Probably a color like beige or gray would give a better co-ordinated look in the same budget.
The fully loaded version comes with everything that I needed. Power steering, factory fitted music system, power windows, electrically operated outside rear view mirrors, front fog lamps, rear fog lamp (have not figured out the purpose..), rear wipers, headlamp adjustment.
In the test ride I noticed few other things. The ride was very comfortable for a car of this price range. It was definitely better than Figo. Of course not comparable to the higher end sedans, but is it reasonable to expect 10 lakh comfort in a sub 5 lakh car?The gear shifting was almost as good as City. Big windscreen and wide windowsgive a good view of the outsides. The demo car was standing in hot sun. But when we switched on the AC the cabin went cool in a very short time. Even if the car is pretty tall I did not feel uncomfortable on the turns. In the rear too there was ample space to stretch legs. The visibility of the road in the ORVMs was pretty good. The inside rear view mirror is not satisfactory. It gives a restricted vision and deceptive in the distance judgement that you get. The A column does not obstruct vision on the turns. Because of the taller stance I felt empowered to navigate in the city traffic.
Happy with the road test and the package that I was getting for the money I finally took delivery of the car yesterday. Ithas been only one day, butI am not getting any buyer's remourse. I bought the car in the black color because I could delude myself that I am driving a mini-hummer. The engine is nice and smooth. They say that three engine cylinders generate lot of vibrations in idle. Have not been able to understand the logical reason for that. But that could be part of urban legend. The steering response felt adequate for the speeds at which I drive, which is mostly 70-80 kmph. The steering gives good feedback in this speed. The concrete roads set some cars in a oscillatory mode, did not observe that in this car.
The cabin is very quiet for this category. What are negatives? I am not sure yet. The music system fitted in is of some unknown brand. They had told me Kenwood but it is Nippon. I am not abig fan of studio music in a car, sowas not a major disappointment.
Updates after about 800 KMs of driving.
Drove to Mumbai last week end. Experienced some of the most intense rain and flooding in my memory.
Till about Vashi it was bright and sunny. My fears about the adequacy of the AC in full sunlight in a black vehicle with wide windows were allayed. Even with the blower at 2 the car was cool. The AC is an amazing feature in this car.
The performance on the steeply climbing portions of the ghat leaves you fretting and wishing for a larger engine, you have to drive mostly in 2nd and 3rd gear. The car does seem underpowered in such situations.
I was under the impression that because of the taller stance the vehicle would feel unstable on the curves, but we never felt uncomfortable.
The car hits its sweet spot in the range of 60-90. When my son took over, he could take it to 140KMPH without really trying. On the flat road, the car performs well. Since I like to drive well under 100 KMPH the car is ideally suited for me. Those looking for very high performance cars, this car is not for you.
We also accidentally discovered one other advantage of the high stance of the car. At Parel while going and at Worali while coming there were minor lakes on two lanes. The water was so deep at places that we found the children gleefully swimming. while all the low slung sedans were queued in the lane in the center, most of the SUVs and WagonRs could take to the water with impunity.
We experienced bumper to bumper traffic right from Peddar Road to Vashi. Rain was intense, traffic was horrendous, tempers were high. The performance was uniform.
The visibility in the rains even at nightis excellent owing to high seat positions, big windshield, big side windows. Sometimes one gets a feeling of sitting in glass enclosed penthouse with unobstructed views.
On the roads slick with rain, at speeds higher than 100 KMPH, the steering feels little jittery. A smallest twist and the vehicle could be uncontrollable. May be that is the steering response, or may be I am losing my nerve with the age.
To sum up, the vehicle went thru some very bad driving conditions imaginable, but never regreted for a moment buying the car. On the trip to Mumbai it gave me average of about 17 with AC. As somebody rightly said it is more of a MUV than a hatchback. Closer to Fusion than Figo.
Funnily, when the rain was heaviest there was a trickle of water from the front side left door. Need to investigate that.
